Parshas Behar - A Test of Trust

Thoughts on The Parsha

Parshas Behar

A Test of Trust

By: Daniel Listhaus

שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ: וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיהֹוָה שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרָע וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר

“For six years you may sow your field and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and you may gather in its crop. But on the seventh year there shall be a complete rest for the land, a Shabbos for Hashem; your field you shall not plow and your vineyard you shall not prune.”

-Behar 25:3-4

            The laws of shemittah are many and are hard to keep. However, as hard as it is to keep the laws of shemittah, it is exponentially harder to comprehend them. If one would tell a farmer that every seventh year he must leave his land fallow and not only refrain from working it, but that he is also prohibited to derive benefit from selling its produce, the farmer would look at this person and either think you he or she is crazy or would laugh, saying that a person who says such nonsense has a naive understanding of farming. A field cannot just be laid fallow for a year doing no work on it. Not only is it bad for the field, but even more so, how is a farmer supposed to make money if he is giving away his produce for free? Yet, Hashem commands us to do this in Eretz Yisrael every seventh year. As a matter of fact, Hashem not only promises that we will not lose in the process, but even promises that we will have plenty of food and profit to live off of for the seventh and eighth[1] year[2]. 

            The Gemara in Kiddushin[3] and Rashi[4] at the end of the Parsha state that even the lighter prohibitions of shemittah must be taken with an extreme seriousness. Both the Gemara and Rashi proceed to point out that the juxtaposition of all the topics contained in Parshas Behar is not accidental, but rather coming to teach what happens to the one who transgresses on even a minor prohibition of shemittah. One who as so much becomes suspect with regard to shemittah and goes ahead and sells his fruits to ensure and feel secure that he will have cash in his wallet, will find himself needing to sell his possessions. If at that point he does not do Teshuva, he will find himself needing to also sell his ancestral heritage. If he still refuses to repent, he will reach a state of poverty in which he will be forced to sell his house. If he continues his stubbornness he will be in such a bad financial position and need to borrow money on interest[5]. If he has not yet learned his lesson he will come to having no alternative but to sell himself as a slave to a Jew. If even this is not enough to awaken him, he will come to being sold to a non-Jew.

            Additionally, the Gemara Sanhedrin[6], as well as Rashi in our Parsha[7], and Rashi in Parshas Bechukosai[8] describe that the reason we went into Galus Bavel (the Babylonian exile) for seventy years is because we did not keep the laws of shemittah[9].

            What is so important about keeping the laws of shemittah which calls for such severe punishment on Earth, even for merely transgressing its most minor prohibitions?

            The Gemara in Sanhedrin[10] asks, “Why did Hashem command the B'nei Yisroel (Jews) to keep the laws of shemittah? In order that they should know that the land is mine.” The Kli Yakar[11] and Cheshek Shlomo[12] explain further. They write that the reason for the mitzva of shemittah is to work on one's Emunah and Bitachon in Hashem. Hashem was concerned, so to speak, that after entering the land of Israel and working the land through Minhagei HaTivi (normal means of working a field), we will get so into the routine of planting, working the field, and gathering the crops that we will come to forget that it is in fact Hashem who is hiding among the works of “nature”; instead, we may start to consider that it is through our hard work and accomplishments which created our own crops thereby providing us with wealth. Therefore, every seventh year Hashem takes us completely out of Minhagei HaTivi and commands us to leave the land to rest. By us keeping the laws of shemittah and refraining from working our fields despite having nothing tangible in our wallets other then the IOU guarantee from Hashem that every sixth year will produce enough for three years, we achieve the highest form of faith and trust in Hashem. We are forced into the realization of Hashem Echad (is One). That everything in this world is dependent on Hashem, though He is dependent on nothing.

            This is why the one who transgresses on even a minor aspect of shemittah is punished so harshly. The one who sells the fruits of shevi'is is exhibiting a lack of faith and trust in Hashem and is punished measure-for-measure. He must be shown that despite the fact that he went ahead and tried to secure money, he will ultimately find himself selling himself as a slave; while his friends, who kept the shemittah and learned the lesson to constantly remember that Hashem is the one running the world, albeit behind his mask called nature, enjoy their abundance of food and wealth. And if happens that the nation as a general whole will begin to disregard the shemittah with the belief that it is through our own hard work and effort which provides for us, we must then go into exile to realize that we are nothing without Hashem and that the land belongs to Him.

            The Orchos Tzaddikim[13] (Ways of the Righteous) a book on ethics devoted to perfecting one's characteristic traits, writes that the opposite of worry is joy. He explains that true simcha (Joy/Happiness) is specifically measured on how much faith one has in Hashem. A person with no faith could have all the money in the world and not be happy, whereas the one who has faith and trust in Hashem could have little but be the happiest person on Earth.

           

            With this in mind, let us revisit the one who disregards the shemittah year. The reason one would be hesitant to adhere to laws of shemittah is because of a nervousness that it is impossible to accumulate wealth while one's field remains fallow. This person is worried because he lacks the faith in Hashem. The one who is happy, however, meaning that his Emunah and Bitachon are an essential part of him, remains happy as he knows that there is a Master of the world Who does not merely watch as an outsider, but actually involves himself in a Hashgacha P'ratis way – taking care of the needs of each individual. This is why the Orchos Tzaddikim writes that the trait of worry and joy are exact opposites of each other.

            The lesson we could take out of the importance of the mitzva of shemittah is to remember that Hashem is the One who is truly behind all the workings of this world, even the things which we sometimes feel we maintain full control over. We must keep in mind that just as an employee recognizes that it is not the mailman who writes his check, but rather his boss using the mailman as a means of delivery, so too we must realize that Hashem is the source of all, hiding behind a mask, and chooses to deliver our needs to us through means of His messengers. This is why Hashem gives us this test of trust every seven years.

             

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[1]    The eighth year is really the first year, because the shemittah cycle is a seven-year cycle. However, for simplicity's sake the Torah refers to it as the eighth year. The exception to this is the Yovel year which is every fiftieth year (after seven shemittah cycles) of the Yovel cycle.

[2]    Vayikra 25:21-22 These verses promise that the sixth year will yield enough crop for three years (i.e- years 6, 7, and 8). This is one of many places in the Torah where it is so clear that the Torah was written by Hashem and not man, for how could man promise and guarantee such a miraculous thing that every seven years he will provide all those keeping the laws of shemittah with three years worth of crops?

[3]    Kiddushin 20a

[4]    Vayikra 26:1

[5]    At this point, Rashi interjects and writes, “All these latter ones are harsher than the previous ones”. The Nachalas Yaakov explains that the reason Rashi writes this at this particular point is to counter the thought one may have that borrowing with interest is not as bad as having to sell your house, ancestral heritage, or possessions. The reason Rashi counters this thought is because one can redeem one's house, ancestral heritage, or possessions, but when paying interest on borrowed money, that money is lost forever.

[6]    Sanhedrin 39a

[7]    Rashi, Vayikra 25:18

[8]    Rashi, Vayikra 26:35

[9]    Rashi in Vayikra 26:35 makes the calculation of when the seventy years were, during which the Jews did not keep the laws of shemittah.

[10]  Sanhedrin 39a

[11]  Vayikra 22:1

[12]  Cheshek Shlomo Kiddushin 20a

[13]  Orchos Tzaddikim: Sha'ar HaSimcha (Orchos Tzaddikim: The Ninth Gate; The Gate of Happiness)
Photo Credit: earthsky.org/human-world/dawn-of-agriculture-took-toll-on-health