This class was presented on Tuesday, 22 Iyar, 5785, May 20, 2025, Parshas Behar-Bechukosai, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.

The class explores three forms of acquisitions in Jewish law, reflecting three paths in our service of G-d. Selling the tree, selling the future fruits of the tree, and selling a tree for its fruits. 

Generally it is assumed that there are two moral paths through life. There is the sure, tranquil path of the perfectly righteous person who has succeeded in remaking his very character and personality—a path that few can aspire to and even fewer achieve. And there is the path of the imperfect soul whose life is an endless battle—a battle in which defeat is always a possibility and, in the long run, a statistical inevitability. A path which runs along the edge of a moral precipice, in which the slightest misstep or lapse in vigilance sends one hurtling into the abyss.

Is there no other way? Is there no middle ground between utter perfection and perpetual self-doubt? Is there no way to gain control over one’s life short of remaking one’s inner self?

Such was the moral landscape of man until Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi wrote the Tanya and introduced us to the "banuni," “the intermediate man.”