What happens when economic principles clash with the Torah’s instructions in handling the finances of our impoverished neighbors? Why would anyone want to buy property if it’s the most unsafe deal around? A look at what it means to understand that in the end we’re all brothers
Someone in our community runs into financial trouble and winds up losing his livelihood. What if any are our obligations toward him?
The answer to this query — which has unfortunately become applicable at every turn in today’s precarious economic climate — is spelled out in this week’s parshah: “If your brother becomes impoverished and his hand falters beside you you shall support him” (Vayikra 25:35).
Parshas Behar presents several scenarios of financial downfall and details the kind of help we are required to give in each situation. Studying the solutions mandated by the Torah the picture that emerges is one of a different sort of economy than the one we see in the world around us.
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