This week’s portion combines “Behar” and “Bechukotai”…
Parashat Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2)
Leviticus 25
25:4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Comment: This is an extension of the concept of the sabbath day: Every seventh year is a sabbath YEAR. In fact, some people believe that there will be a greater extension of the sabbath day into the “sabbath MILLENNIUM” (the messianic age, see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_6000), which I think corresponds to the Christian concept of the millennium kingdom after Jesus’ second coming, as foretold in Revelation 20.
[Note: Pastor He told me that it is problematic to consider the seven millenniums as literally seven thousand years, since it would contradict the New Testament teaching (Matthew 25:13) “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” So it may be more appropriate to consider each millennium as an unknown period of human history.]
25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
2026 Comment: “the fiftieth”: What is so special about the number 50?
With the presence of a biblical system of periods of 7 (such as sabbath of weeks, or sabbath of years), and a natural system of periods of 10 that is easy to count (easily countable by 10 fingers), the number 50 becomes a stepping stone between the two periods. 50=7×7+1, two of which combine to 10×10. So the centuries can be easily divided into 100+…=7×7+1+7×7+1+…So that may be the mathematical reason why after 7 cycles of 7 years, the 50th year is separated out and called the year of Jubilee. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_(biblical) In this 50th year, Jewish slaves are freed (v40), debts are cancelled (v28).
[Note: There is a halachic dispute whether or not the Jubilee year should be included as the first year of the next 7-year cycle: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/1331/is-the-yovel-every-49-or-50-years]
A similar 7×7+1 counting is in process now while we read the Torah portions, which is the counting of Omer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_of_the_Omer, and about 7 weeks after the first holiday sabbath of Passover, on the 50th day, we have the Festival of weeks, also called the Pentecost (related to the number 50). On that 50th day the Torah was given to the Jews. Many years later on that 50th day (after Resurrection of Jesus), Holy Spirit was given to the Christians.
Leviticus 26
26:2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
Comment: According to some views, just as the sabbath day will be greatly expanded to be 1,000 years (which may represent an unknown long period of time) in the sabbath millennium (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_6000, which may correspond to the millennium kingdom in Revelation 20), the sanctuary will also be greatly expanded to be the new Jerusalem, measuring more than 1,000 miles in each direction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jerusalem, where Gd will dwell together with His people (Revelation 21).