Parashat Behar-Behukotai
The Desire for Control
Towards the beginning of Parashat Behar the Torah discusses the laws of Yovel, or the "jubilee," which, although they do not practically apply today, provide ideas and lessons from which we certainly have much to learn.
One of the laws of Yovel is the emancipation of all Jewish servants. Jews would sell themselves into servitude if they needed money or if they stole and could not return the stolen funds. On the fiftieth year, anyone who had purchased a Jewish servant was required to release him. In the book of Yirmiyahu, the prophet admonishes the people for neglecting this obligation, and keeping their servants beyond the jubilee year, and he mentions that God had issued this command on the very day of Yetzi'at Mitzrayim, right when the people left Egypt. Some Rabbis explain that at that moment, when Benei Yisrael were finally freed after over two centuries of bitter slavery, they could most fully appreciate and accept this Mitzva. Having themselves just experienced firsthand the pain and humiliation of bondage, they could easily relate to the plight of the servant and commit themselves to freeing their servants on the Yovel.
This is but one example of how G-d sought to ensure Benei Yisrael's compliance with this law. Besides issuing this command immediately at the time of the Exodus, He also instructed that the emancipation of servants take place specifically on Yom Kippur of the jubilee year. On Yom Kippur, everybody is serious and focused on their religious responsibilities. More so than on any other day of the year, on Yom Kippur a master will likely acquiesce to the Torah's demand that he release his servant despite the difficulty entailed, and the Mitzva therefore takes effect specifically on that day.
Furthermore, the Torah requires that the entire nation free their servants at the same time. Rather than establishing different times for different geographical areas or groups, the Torah demanded that all servants be released on a single day. This, too, was to help ensure compliance with this Mitzva. It is said that "misery loves company." A master who found it difficult to free his servant would be comforted by the knowledge that all his peers faced the very same challenge, and he would therefore be less inclined to ignore this Mitzva.
Why did the Torah have to go to such lengths to ensure the master's compliance with this law? What particular aspect of this Mitzva made it so difficult, that the Torah had to provide such unusual measures to make certain that the servant would be released?
One Rabbi explained that the Torah understood the powerful, instinctive desire for control, to exert power and authority over others. We find this in many areas in life, particularly among family and friends. Spouses often struggle with each other over control, parents tend to seek absolute control over their children, and friends quite frequently try to impose their will over one another. Unfortunately, so many families and relationships have been broken because one member tried to exert authority, to bring the other party under his absolute control and have the final word on all matters.
The Torah therefore anticipated that a master would find it awfully difficult to free his servant, to release his grip of control. For all these years he could tell the servant exactly what to do and where to be, which gave him a feeling of importance and authority. This is something that would be very difficult for him to lose, and for this reason the Torah took certain measures to ensure his compliance with this demanding obligation.
Seeking to exert control over others is not a sign of strength; to the contrary, it is generally the weakest people, those with little self-confidence, who find it necessary to exert their authority over others, in order to elevate their low self-esteem. The Sages tell us that a "strong person" is somebody who can control his Yetzer Ha'ra (evil inclination). The true sign of strength is exerting control not over other people, but over oneself. A person who succeeds in controlling himself, in controlling his passions and negative tendencies, will feel no need to exert control over others. Our efforts must therefore be focused on controlling ourselves, rather than trying to exert our authority over family members and friends.
