If one consecrated leased or ancestral land by donating it to the Temple’s treasury and then wishes to redeem it, the Torah in this week’s parsha, sets the conditions of how the field is to be evaluated for redemption. The Torah also requires him to add a fifth to the monetary evaluation.
In the previous portion of Behar the Torah details the laws regarding one who sells their ancestral land or property to another person due to their dire financial situation. If one wishes to redeem the property, the Torah sets the terms of when and how the redemption is evaluated. If the land is not redeemed, in most cases, it returns to the ancestral owner at the beginning of the Yovel – 50th Jubilee year.
One who consecrates property to the Temple does not do so due to financial constraints; rather, he does so because he wants to donate. Nevertheless, the Torah recognizes that over time he may have a change of mind and therefore sets the terms for redemption. However if one sells his property due to financial straits, the Torah allows him to redeem it when either his relatives help him or his personal financial situation improves and he is able to purchase it back before the Yovel.
The verse states, “If a man has no relative to redeem it, but gains enough wealth to be able to redeem it himself.”
Rabbi Avrohom Schorr wonders, if the Torah is addressing a person who personally gained the wealth to redeem his property, why does it preface, “If a man has no one to help him to redeem the property”? After all, he did it on his own without any help.
He explains it beautifully with the following concept. The Talmud teaches us that a Jewish slave may only be acquired when the Sanhedrin – high court in Israel ― is in session and is able to sanctify the 50th Yovel – Jubilee year. He explains the reason behind this. A Jewish slave is set free in the Jubilee year, so that he always knows that eventually he will go free. However, when Yovel is not observed, he does not have that opportunity to be freed.
The Imrei Emes expands on this concept. Just as the law is that a Jewish slave cannot be enslaved if he lacks the option of the Jubilee redemption – meaning, that one cannot be enslaved without hope on the horizon that he will be freed, so too, G-d’s guarantee that ultimately we will be redeemed, affords all of us the ability to face, weather, pull through and rise above any challenge or burden that a person may face!
Getting back to the question why does the verse speaking of one personally gaining the means of redemption of his property need to be prefaced that he had no one to help him?
The answer says Rabbi Schorr is that the Torah is telling us that when a person feels he has no one else to help him out of his predicament, he will come to the realization that he has only Hashem/G-d to rely on, and then he will find deep within himself the G-dly instilled ability, strength, talent and wherewithal to handle, manage, resolve and achieve what needs to be done to rise above and succeed!
