Parashat Behar- The Effects of Peer Pressure
**Candlelighting in Brooklyn, NY, May 16th is at 7:49 PM.
Minha, followed by Derasha by Rabbi Mansour, and Arbit ,on Shabbat, May 17th will be at 7:00PM **
One of the Misvot presented in Parashat Behar is that of "Yovel," the jubilee year, which was observed every fiftieth year. A number of different laws applied during Yovel: a prohibition against agricultural activity (similar to the septennial "Shemita" observance), the return of purchased lands to their original owners, and the emancipation of all Jewish servants.
Interestingly enough, the Torah (25:9) requires sounding the Shofar throughout the country on Yom Kippur at the onset of the Yovel, and it was upon the sounding of the Shofar that the servants became free to return home. How might we explain this obligation of sounding the Shofar? After all, every master and servant was certainly well aware that the "contract" ends on Yom Kippur of the Yovel; nobody needed a reminder that the servants may return home. Why did the Torah require sounding the Shofar?
The Sefer Ha'hinuch (anonymous work explaining the 613 Biblical commands) explained by noting how difficult it must have been for a master to part with his servant. In many cases, the servant had been working with him for many years, perhaps several decades. He had become very familiar with the master's routine and preferences, and knew exactly what the job entailed. Now that he has left, the master must try to find another qualified candidate for the job and begin training him from scratch. This would undoubtedly have a significant impact upon his household and his affairs, which would not run as smoothly as they had with the help of the previous servant.
For this reason, the Sefer Ha'hinuch suggested, the Torah commanded that the Shofar be sounded. Masters would thus be reminded that everybody faced the same situation, that all servants throughout the country were freed. Human nature is such that when a person confronts a difficult situation, the knowledge that many others face the same problem provides a certain degree of comfort. When a person realizes that his situation is "normal," that his challenges are common and widespread, he is less likely to experience distress and frustration. The perceived "normalcy" of the situation somehow enables him to approach it with confidence and fortitude.
This insight reminds us of the powerful influence of one's peers upon his outlook. More often than not, a person's sense of right and wrong, normal and unusual, depends on what the people around him think. This powerful effect of peer influence accounts for the tragedy of self-destructive habits such as drug and alcohol abuse. Most adolescents who resort to such behavior do so as a result of peer pressure, because this has become normal and accepted in their circles. Even the most harmful and destructive conduct is eagerly embraced once it is deemed "normal" by one's peers.
This is why community plays such a vital role in religious life. By living in a close-knit religious community, we ensure that our values and perceptions will be shaped by ethical, God-fearing people. We must therefore impress upon ourselves and our children the importance of living within an established Torah community, so that we come under peer pressure that encourages commitment to a life of strict religious observance, rather than exposing ourselves to the pressure to abandon our religious values and traditions. By living in a vibrant religious community, we ensure that a life of Torah and Misvot will be deemed "normal," and everything else is seen as unusual and an aberration of the accepted norm.
