I am God your Lord who brought you out of Egypt to
give you the land of Canaan. (Leviticus 25:38)
When you come into the land that I give you, the land
shall observe a Sabbath rest for God. For 6 years you may sow your field and
for 6 years you may prune your vineyard and you may gather in its crop. But the
7th year shall be a complete rest for the land. (Leviticus 25:1-4)
(Guest blogger for Behar is our sabra grandson Or
Alexenberg. He read Behar from
the Torah at his bar mitzvah. He is a talented photographer and serious cyclist
who completed his service in an IDF intelligence unit last week.)
Behar evokes loving care for the Land of Israel as we celebrate our 63rd Independence Day more than 3 millennia after our exodus from Egypt.
In Behar, we are led from the exodus to receiving the Torah
at Mt. Sinai to entering our land with ecological consciousness.
Judaism is a way of life that emphasizes action, working and
planting. However, 7th day and 7th year
are Ecology Day and Ecology Year.
Angels in the World of Action (Asiyah) are bits and
bytes of consciousness of everyday life called ofanim. Bicycles are ofanayim.
Or uses the most ecologically-friendly mode of
transportation to bicycle from the verdant Galilee to the arid Negev where he
lives.
Or loves the Land of Israel from the Banyas waters to the
desert hills to the oasis lake at the edge of his home town of Yeroham.
Through his camera lens, Or reveals the beauty of a camel in
the wilderness and a donkey and stray dogs that wandered into a playground.
Or photographed Lake Yeroham from a distant hilltop and the
63rd Independence Day celebration in the Yeroham town center.
