Parashat Behar introduces the institution of shemita – the seventh year of a seven year cycle.
Shemita touches two areas of life:
What messages should one take away from experiencing a shemita? What enduring understandings does the Torah teach through the laws of shemita?
The most obvious understanding that shemita conveys derives from its comparison to Shabbat. In fact, the Torah calls shemita a Shabbat for the land. Shabbat occurs every seventh day – shemita occurs every seventh year. Shabbat is a weekly reminder that G-d created the world and that G-d sustains the world. On Shabbat, we refrain from all creative labor. We direct our energies to serving and learning about Hashem. We testify to the fact that G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day of creation. We simultaneously testify to G-d’s relationship with the world.
There is a close parallel between Shabbat and shemita. Every seventh year, we refrain from agricultural work. Loans are cancelled. Through performing these commandments, we review and reinforce the idea that as the Creator, G-d is the ultimate owner of the entire world. We own and work the land only on the authority of Hashem. We have and use money only with a permit from the Almighty. By refraining from agricultural activities and by cancelling loans in the shemita year, we remember that G-d created the world and that G-d sustains the world.
There is another message that shemita conveys. Not only does the Torah prohibit working the land during the shemita year. It also permits anyone to take any wild produce from any field. The produce does not go to waste – it sustains all who need it. Furthermore, the benefit of canceling loans does not only accrue to the lender. It most certainly also benefits the borrower. The money from the loan is not wasted. The borrower keeps the money that he borrowed, his loan is cancelled and his bottom line is better for it. From this perspective, the laws of shemita teach the value of kindness and charity. In the shemita year we review the enduring lesson of chesed.
To review, shemita teaches us two enduring understandings:
Hashem designed each mitzvah to help us relate to Him and to understand His ways. Shemita helps re-balance the socio-economic order. Shemita helps give the poorer man a leg to stand on with the support of the wealthier. As the divide between rich and poor becomes greater and greater in a society, the level of identification and connection between the two groups subsides.
As the rich lose their identification with the poor, they forget the tenuousness of poverty. They forget their dependence on others for their success. They attribute their own success to their own greatness and they attribute the poor man’s failure to his weakness. They become cruel. They forget about Hashem.
As the poor lose their identification with the wealthy, they lose hope. They forget that Hashem is the source of everything. They forget that a man’s fortunes can change instantly, particularly when we improve our ways. They give up. They forget about Hashem.
Shemita helps counteract these errors in thinking. All societies have wealthy people and poor people. By cancelling loans and allowing all to partake of the wild fruit of the land of others, shemita helps recreate a balance between the wealthy and the poor and cement identification with all groups. Kindness pervades the society. This kindness helps the entire Jewish People to use the shemita year and future years to recognize and reconnect with the Almighty and to re-calibrate our relationship and dependence on Him.
Shemita touches two areas of life:
- Shemitat karka – agriculture
- Shemitat kesafim – loans
What messages should one take away from experiencing a shemita? What enduring understandings does the Torah teach through the laws of shemita?
The most obvious understanding that shemita conveys derives from its comparison to Shabbat. In fact, the Torah calls shemita a Shabbat for the land. Shabbat occurs every seventh day – shemita occurs every seventh year. Shabbat is a weekly reminder that G-d created the world and that G-d sustains the world. On Shabbat, we refrain from all creative labor. We direct our energies to serving and learning about Hashem. We testify to the fact that G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day of creation. We simultaneously testify to G-d’s relationship with the world.
There is a close parallel between Shabbat and shemita. Every seventh year, we refrain from agricultural work. Loans are cancelled. Through performing these commandments, we review and reinforce the idea that as the Creator, G-d is the ultimate owner of the entire world. We own and work the land only on the authority of Hashem. We have and use money only with a permit from the Almighty. By refraining from agricultural activities and by cancelling loans in the shemita year, we remember that G-d created the world and that G-d sustains the world.
There is another message that shemita conveys. Not only does the Torah prohibit working the land during the shemita year. It also permits anyone to take any wild produce from any field. The produce does not go to waste – it sustains all who need it. Furthermore, the benefit of canceling loans does not only accrue to the lender. It most certainly also benefits the borrower. The money from the loan is not wasted. The borrower keeps the money that he borrowed, his loan is cancelled and his bottom line is better for it. From this perspective, the laws of shemita teach the value of kindness and charity. In the shemita year we review the enduring lesson of chesed.
To review, shemita teaches us two enduring understandings:
- G-d is the Master of the World and is the Ultimate Owner
- We should use our resources to benefit ourselves and others. In other words, we should be kind.
Hashem designed each mitzvah to help us relate to Him and to understand His ways. Shemita helps re-balance the socio-economic order. Shemita helps give the poorer man a leg to stand on with the support of the wealthier. As the divide between rich and poor becomes greater and greater in a society, the level of identification and connection between the two groups subsides.
As the rich lose their identification with the poor, they forget the tenuousness of poverty. They forget their dependence on others for their success. They attribute their own success to their own greatness and they attribute the poor man’s failure to his weakness. They become cruel. They forget about Hashem.
As the poor lose their identification with the wealthy, they lose hope. They forget that Hashem is the source of everything. They forget that a man’s fortunes can change instantly, particularly when we improve our ways. They give up. They forget about Hashem.
Shemita helps counteract these errors in thinking. All societies have wealthy people and poor people. By cancelling loans and allowing all to partake of the wild fruit of the land of others, shemita helps recreate a balance between the wealthy and the poor and cement identification with all groups. Kindness pervades the society. This kindness helps the entire Jewish People to use the shemita year and future years to recognize and reconnect with the Almighty and to re-calibrate our relationship and dependence on Him.
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