Parashat Behar introduces the institution of shemita – the seventh year of a seven year cycle. Shemita touches two areas of life: Shemitat karka – agriculture Shemitat kesafim – loans From an agricultural perspective, shemita demands that we allow our land to remain fallow. No planting, no commercial harvesting, no tilling the soil. Anyone is permitted to harvest for personal use from any other’s field. These laws apply only to the land of Israel and are in force even today. From a monetary perspective, shemita demands that we cancel loans. These laws apply today even outside of the land of Israel. 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. ...
Rabbi Benjy Owen, Dean, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, Memphis, TN