Behar 5774

“You shall sound the shofar throughout the land.” (Vayikra/Leviticus 25:9)

This week’s Torah portion contains the commandments of the Yoveil (Jubilee Year) in which Jews must free all of their indentured servants. On Yom Kippur after each fiftieth year, the shofar (ram’s horn) was sounded nationwide.

What was the purpose of sounding the shofar in the Yoveil year? Why did it sound “throughout the land”?

On Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) the sound of the shofar calls to mind Avraham’s near sacrifice of his son Yitzchak (Isaac). Freeing one’s indentured servants, relinquishing one’s low-cost laborers, surely was a financial sacrifice which many people might be reluctant to make.

Writes Rav Frand on torah.org: “The knowledge that he [the servants’ master] was not alone, that thousands of others throughout the land were experiencing the same wrenching ordeal, this gave each individual the strength and courage to do what he knew was right…When he heard the shofar the idea that he was not alone came to life in his mind and he was able to do what he had to do.”

Explains the Sefer HaChinuch: “There is nothing that will so encourage the heart of human beings as something done by all.” In other words, peer pressure, the desire to conform, is a great motivator.  The notion that “everyone is doing it” easily removes obstacles to difficult courses of action.

Rav Frand cautions that peer pressure can influence positively as well as negatively, and unfortunately, one does not outgrow susceptibility to peer pressure.  Therefore, it is important to surround ourselves and our families with people who want “the right things out of life.”

As parents living in times of unprecedented prosperity, it is hard to fight our tendency to “keep up with the Cohens” as they buy fancy homes and cars and host elaborate events. For the sake of our children and for our own well being, we must attempt to “keep up with the Cohens” who do many mitzvos (follow the commandments and do acts of lovingkindness) and willingly part with their money for the greater good.

http://torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5768/behar.html