Sefer Vayikra

Parshat Behar: On Preventative Measures

In Parshat Behar, meaning “on the mount,” God gives Moses more commandments on Mount Sinai, this time regarding the shemitah year (sabbatical year) and the yovel year (the jubilee year), times when the land is to rest, slaves are to be set free, and debts are to be forgiven. 

Among these instructions, we are taught in chapter 35:

If your kin becomes poor, and their means fail with you, then you shall uphold them; let them live by your side. 1

The medieval commentator Abraham ibn Ezra places special emphasis on the word “imach,” “with you.” He says, “You are obligated to the one who is found with you, the one that you see.” 2 In this view, we don’t get to pick and choose the people we deem worthy of our help. We have a duty to help whoever in our lives needs it, those who fall within our immediate, or even our periphery, circles.

Ibn Ezra also looks at the phrase “let them live by your side,” and points to the word “vachai,” “shall he live,” to say that by our doing this mitzvah, our neighbor shall truly live 3. Living is not only about getting from one day to the next, but finding a steady ground of contentment and prosperity. 

How does one seek to accomplish this? The Torah further commands:

Do not exact advance or accrued interest, but fear your God. Let your kin live by your side as such. Do not lend your money at advance interest, nor give your food at accrued interest. 4

The Rambam (Maimonides) uses these verses as the basis for the statement in his Mishneh Torah, “It is a positive mitzvah to give tzedakah to the poor, according to what is fitting for the poor person, if he has the means to do so.” 5 The Rambam goes on, “We must be especially careful to observe the mitzvah of tzedakah, more so than any other positive mitzvah, for tzedakah is a sign of the righteous lineage of Abraham.” 6 

In addition to holding the mitzvah of tzedakah in such high regard, Maimonides calls these interest-free loans the highest form of tzedakah, above the seven others forms he identifies. Why? Because greater than giving someone a gift of fleeting benefit, such as enough money for a meal, is helping someone get fully on their feet so that they no longer need to ask for help. Caring for others has no expiration date. He further explains:

The greatest level, higher than all the rest, is to fortify a fellow Jew and give him a gift, a loan, form with him a partnership, or find work for him, until he is strong enough so that he does not need to ask others [for sustenance]. Of this it is said 7, [‘If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority,] and you hold him as though a resident alien, let him live by your side.’ That is as if to say, “Hold him up,” so that he will not fall and be in need. 8

The task is not simply to help the person who is struggling. While that is completely necessary, if that were our only justice work, the systemic problems that cause people to fall into poverty or be subject to some form of discrimination would never end. The goal is to strengthen people so that they don’t need assistance. In short, this mitzvah ensures continued and sustainable health and happiness of everyone.

Centuries before Maimonides, Rashi had a similar thought on this verse. He commented: 

Do not wait until he has gone down and fallen, because it will be difficult to raise him up. Instead, strengthen him at the time where his hand is slipping. To what is this compared? To a load upon a donkey. When it is still on the donkey, one can support it and hold it in place. Once it falls to the ground, even five cannot [lift it and] hold it in place. 9

This can be done in several ways. The first one, outlined in Leviticus and highlighted by the rabbis, is that we must intervene on behalf of those facing financial challenges before they descend into debt, hunger, and homelessness. 
The idea here is preventive justice. It is both better for the world, and more sustainable for activists, to implement methods of giving and involvement that lift people out of impoverishment than for those people to continually be in need. Therefore, we can’t help only those who have sunken into the depths of poverty. We must establish systems of preventive justice to make the problem more solvable altogether, treating the root of the problem rather than only the immediate symptoms. 


Second, we should bring this mindset of preventive justice to health care. So much of our health-care system is built around caring for people only after they become severely sick. We, rightly so, devote our resources to treating people once they already have cardiac disease, cancer, and diabetes. But in order to reach, as Maimonides put it, the highest level of justice, we must place additional attention on preventing diseases from developing in people in the first place. 

Another thing we can and should do in the spirit of this mitzvah is bolster public schools to prevent young people from falling off the path to a successful life. Doing so reduces crime (in turn keeping individuals from getting trapped in the prison system) and furthers their chances of meaningful employment that maintains that upward trajectory. 

And with regard to foreign policy, we must preventively uproot corruption and anti-democratic forces that lead to conflict and oppression. That way, fewer refugees will need to flee their homes and become vulnerable. 

Beyond being merely a matter of money, this mitzvah is about preventing suffering and injustices from getting worse before it’s too late. 


So much of social-justice and humanitarian work is geared toward doing damage control for already-existing problems, picking up the pieces after disaster. We would all benefit from also providing resources toward preventive measures, addressing the root causes of injustice before things reach a state of despair. The Torah expects nothing less of us, and we must expect nothing less of ourselves.

Sources

  1.  Leviticus 25:35
  2.  Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 25:35:3
  3.  Ibid. 25:35:5
  4.  Leviticus 25:36-37
  5.  Mishneh Torah, Gifts to the Poor 7:1
  6.  Ibid. 10:1
  7.  Lev. 25:35
  8.  Mishneh Torah, Gifts to the Poor 10:7
  9.  Rashi on Leviticus 25:35