Making sense of the sedra: Behar-Bechukotai
Playing the long game
Life is a constant battle of living in the moment, versus living for the moment. How do we balance the desire to both focus on the here and now, whilst at the same time forward planning for the future?
Last week we read about the mitzvah of counting Sefirat HaOmer, the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot (Vayikra 23:15-16), and this week in Behar-Bechukotai we read about the mitzvah to count the seven sabbatical years leading up to the Jubilee (Vayikra 25:8).
Although similar in nature, there is one significant difference between the two acts of counting, and it tends to be missed in translation. The counting of the Omer is in the plural usfartem lachem whereas the counting of the years is in the singular vesafarta lecha.
What is the nature of this distinction?
Chazal (Menachot 65b) teach us that in the case of the Omer, the counting is the duty of each individual. The pasuk thus issues the command in the plural to accentuate that it applies to everyone personally. In the case of the Jubilee, however, Chazal (Sifra Behar 2:2) tell us that the counting is the responsibility of the Beit Din. The pasuk is thus phrased in the singular to highlight that it is the duty of the Jewish people as a whole, performed centrally on their behalf via the court.
Implicit here, says Chief Rabbi Sacks, is an important principle of leadership. As individuals we count the days, but as leaders we must count the years. As private people we can think about tomorrow, but in our role as leaders we must think long term, focusing our eyes on the far horizon. Leaders, if they are wise, think about the impact of their decisions many years from now.
Whilst contemporary influencers are relentlessly focused on the “now” and the perceived acclaim in the headlines of the present, great leaders think long term and build for the future.
The way to make our days truly count is by keeping our eyes firmly fixed on building towards the future.
Rabbi Brendan Stern is at Hendon United Synagogue
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