Challah for Parashat Behar

The Jubilee year.

By Julie Seltzer

Commentary on Parashat Behar, Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2

Every week, Julie Seltzer, artist and Torah scribe, bakes a challah depicting an aspect of the week’s Torah portion.

Six years you will sow your field…and the seventh will be a rest of rests for the land…and you will count seven Shabbat years seven times…The 50th year is a Jubilee. (Leviticus 25:3,4,8,11)

…שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶך

…וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת, שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ

…וְסָפַרְתָּ לְךָ, שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים–שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים

יוֹבֵל הִוא, שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה

challah for b'har

The six years followed by a seventh year of rest for the land (shemitah), and keeping track of seven shemitah cycles culminating in a 50th year celebratory rest (jubilee), is similar to the counting of the Omer period (see the challah for Parashat Emor). The first six celery stalks on each row, from right to left, are upright. The last celery stalk on each row lays fallow.