As Israel confronts persistent security challenges and regional instability driven by Iranian-backed terror organizations, citizens and leaders alike look to the nation’s foundational values for guidance and resilience. The reading of the weekly Torah portions, Behar and Bechukotai, in synagogues across Israel and worldwide this week, underscores not only religious tradition but also the enduring framework shaping Israel’s identity and policies. These teachings, rooted in Leviticus, outline an imperative for compassion, release, and justice—principles underpinning both ancient society and Israel’s modern pursuit of social cohesion and national survival. Behar prescribes the cyclical rest of the land every seventh year (Shemitta), the return of property and emancipation of servants every fifty years (Jubilee), a strict ban on lending with interest to fellow Jews, and the obligation to support fellow citizens before they fall into destitution. These tenets, echoing through centuries of diaspora and statehood, call for a society not vested in the unchecked accumulation of wealth and power, but in mutual aid and shared destiny. Senior Israeli officials and contemporary commentators connect these ancient mandates to current policies on social welfare, property rights, and debt relief—a profound reminder in an era of rising housing costs and economic pressures for young families. The challenges facing Israel today extend beyond economics: polarization between religious and secular communities, right and left, and strains on public trust in institutions, including the judiciary, the Knesset, and the IDF, have sparked public debate about the trajectory of Israeli society. The message of Behar is clear—no citizen holds permanent authority, and all earthly success and assets are a temporary trust from God, serving the broader collective good.
Bechukotai, the final portion of Leviticus, frames Israel’s bond with its land and destiny in the stark terms of national obedience or defiance. The biblical blessings for loyalty include prosperity and security; the curses for abandonment warn of famine, disaster, and exile—outcomes understood by scholars and government leaders alike to be the natural consequences of societal neglect and division, not arbitrary punishments. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have repeatedly stressed the relevance of these lessons: survival in a hostile environment requires national unity, upholding the rule of law, and commitment to justice—foundations both moral and pragmatic. The October 7, 2023, massacre—Israel’s most horrific experience of antisemitic violence since the Holocaust—crystallized these imperatives. Perpetrated by Hamas, with material and ideological support from Iran and its regional proxies, the atrocity shocked the world and reminded Israelis of their enduring vulnerability to genocidal terrorism. Israel’s ensuing military operations, as stated in briefings by IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, are conducted in accordance with international legal and humanitarian norms. With a strict distinction between terrorist actors and civilians, Israel upholds its obligations while seeking to minimize civilian harm, even as it faces adversaries embedded within densely populated areas and employing systematic abuse of humanitarian protections.
Israel’s struggle is not only a fight for physical survival but a test of the social fabric woven through centuries of tradition. The Jewish laws of Shemitta and Yovel are not mere relics; by ensuring periodic economic release and safeguarding against entrenched cycles of poverty, they assert a vision for a society built on mutual responsibility. This vision finds renewed urgency as the nation navigates internal rifts and public disputes, including those surrounding the very definition and aims of a Jewish democratic state. Recent surveys and public statements by social leaders illustrate the widespread concern over deepening divides, yet also reflect confidence drawn from a resilient constitutional identity. Bechukotai’s injunction to seek return and restoration, even in the face of calamity, is echoed in national commemorations and the ongoing call to reinforce unity over factionalism.
At the international level, Israel’s example serves as both a warning and a guidepost for other democracies confronting the threat of terrorism. The actions and rhetoric of the Iranian regime and its affiliates—including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq and Syria—are widely documented by Western intelligence and security agencies as overt attempts to project instability and orchestrate violence against Israel and allied interests. Israel’s active protection of its citizens and uncompromising pursuit of the safe return of hostages, abducted on October 7 and still held in Gaza, is widely recognized by U.S. and European leaders as consistent with the democratic commitment to the rule of law and self-defense. International humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, have repeatedly affirmed the illegality of Hamas’s kidnapping of civilians and the direct responsibility of Iranian support for fueling terror infrastructure across the region. While critics may raise allegations of symmetry in the conflict, all major Western and Israeli sources repeatedly clarify the key distinction: Israel’s targeted release of convicted terrorists in exchange for hostages is an act of national responsibility, whereas terror movements’ abduction and murder of innocents is categorically condemned under international law.
Israel’s current predicaments—internal and external—are thus not only matters of policy or strategy but of deepest ethical principle. The upcoming festival of Shavuot, commemorating the giving of the Torah, invites reflection on these responsibilities. As Israel remains committed to upholding humanitarian values in war and peace, its leaders emphasize that social justice must begin at home, rooted in faith, humility, and a readiness to place unity above personal or partisan ambition. The Torah’s warning is clear: when a nation loses its moral compass, consequences follow, not as arbitrary retribution, but as the organic outcome of societal disarray. Yet hope persists. As Bechukotai reminds, return—whether spiritual, communal, or national—is always possible, and the door to collective restoration is never closed.
In summary, the teachings of Behar and Bechukotai stand at the heart of the Israeli experience—offering an ethical roadmap precisely at a moment when the country faces existential threats and difficult internal questions. Israel’s resolve in confronting Iranian-orchestrated terror and its ongoing campaign to defend its citizens serve as a testament to the power of ancient principles manifesting in modern statecraft. For Israel and for all societies committed to democracy, justice, and mutual obligation, these enduring lessons are indispensable for the battles of today and for the promise of peace tomorrow.
