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Drash for Shabbat Behar-Bechukotai By Sharon Megdal - May 11, 2007 After I decided to enroll in the adult B'nai Mitzvah program, I looked at the Torah portion for the Shabbat of my Bat Mitzvah. I knew this was the finally the time for me to do a Drash. The reason: Behar starts with the Lord’s commandment to Moses that for every seventh year that the land shall lay idle. The land shall have a Sabbath. The idea of a year of complete rest – the Sabbatical Year – was something I’ve been thinking about. In the not-too-distant future, I will be eligible for a Sabbatical at The University of Arizona. Although I love my job, a semester or year of rest from the usual grind of every-day work is very appealing to me. There are some similarities and differences, however, between the commandment for the land to lay idle every seventh year and the modern-day university sabbatical. The purpose of the rest of the land was for it to be rejuvenated, but, more importantly, for the people to be rejuvenated. Whether rich or poor, all would be provided for during the Sabbatical Year. In contrast, the academic sabbatical year requires that a plan of activity for the Sabbatical period be approved. It is not an automatic thing. Its purpose is "to enable …personnel to make advances in their profession, to remain effective in their current positions, or to render the greatest possible service" to the University. But, although there is supposed to be some sort of work associated with the academic sabbatical, I believe it is intended to rejuvenate the mind of the academic, perhaps the body, and maybe even the soul. As I thought more about the Torah portion, I perceived more than this connection to my professional life. Those working on water resources policy and management are particularly focused on the drought we are experiencing and whether global warming will further exacerbate the challenges of providing water to the growing population. What will happen to agriculture in this state? If all the water goes to meet the growing demands of the human population, what happens to the environment? These and others are important questions that I and many, many others ponder. When I thought about this idea of belief that God will provide enough to cover a year of non-production, I had to wonder about the possibility of year six being a drought year. What would happen then? I have to believe that people thought about that and stored for the future, much like we are storing water for future times of shortage on the Colorado River. An additional and final connection to note between the Sabbatical Year in and of the land in Israel and my future Sabbatical: I intend to spend a portion of my Sabbatical in Israel studying water management and policy there. So, I do feel very connected to this portion of Leviticus and look forward to chanting the portion dealing with the Sabbatical Year commandment tomorrow morning. Shabbat Shalom.
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