The Essence of Shmittah

Parshat Behar

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

Most of Parshat Behar discusses laws and rules surrounding Shmittah and Yovel, the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, during which, among other things, the entire land of Israel was to remain untilled. 

 Kli Yakar notes the different explanations raised by varying commentators.

 Many: the reason is for the land to regain its strength (this is the view of Rambam)

 Others disagree: were that the case, then the repercussion for not observing Shmittah would be that the land would not produce food. But the punishment outlined for not observing Shmittah is exile! He also notes that this would indicate the Shmittah should be called שבת לארץ, while it is referred to in the second verse of the parsha as a 'שבת לה. (The Slonimer Rebbe addresses this noting that Shmittah is referred to as שבת שבתון... לארץ.) Furthermore, what benefit is there for the land if the people are exiled and the gentiles who settle there will work the land endlessly and it surely won’t rest at all! 

Akedah: The purpose of this mitzvah is to remember the renewal of the earth, and to remember the days of yore. The problem with this is that Shabbos, which comes once a week, is supposed to remind us of the renewal of the earth. If Shabbos is unsuccessful in doing so, how could Shmittah, which comes far more infrequently, possibly be successful in conveying a reminder of the renewal of the world? 

Therefore, Kli Yakar feels, the purpose of Shmittah is to implant in Israelites the quality of Emunah (faith) and Bitachon (trust) in the Almighty. God was concerned that when the nation of Israel would enter the land they’d work it as per how people live, and one thing would lead to another, and they’d forget that God runs the world and provides the produce and they’d think it grows from the might of their hands and labors. 

He goes on to say that the custom of farmers throughout the world is that over a 6 year period, they rotate their fields’ usage, planting two years, then having a field rest while utilizing a different part of the land (I recently heard a podcast about people who are trying to regenerate the soil around the world, using methods that aim to reverse damage done by certain types of industrial farming – see kisstheground.com, and the documentary “Common Ground”). [The non-Shmittah approach rotates fields, but is always planting. The Shmittah approach has the entire country laying fallow, all while being unable to plant ANYWHERE within the land for an entire year!] 

God’s promise is that the 6th year will be so productive, it will yield food for 3 years – the 6th, 7th (when nothing is planted), and the 8th (when the land is only starting to produce per new planting after an entire year of not working the land at all). 

The notion of the field producing for three years is indeed the workings of miracles, certainly after working it SIX years, the field then producing three-years-worth of food is even moreso. However, there is an inference, based on the letter ה in the word התבואה, that the amount of food that would be produced in year 6 would be enough for one year, but the amount that people would need to eat in order to be satiated would be much less than usual. Thus the food would last for 3 years. THIS is an even greater miracle - וזה ודאי נס נגלה וגדול מכולם. 

 These miracles will lead the nation to see that “the land is Mine” (כי לי כל הארץ), which would cause people to lift their eyes to God. A similar pattern followed with the manna, when the people turned heavenward to demonstrate their appreciation for the source of their food. The reliance on miracles for our sustenance is the purpose of Shmittah, based in a premise of having faith and trust that God will provide as He promised, conditioned on our keeping our end of the deal of keeping the land unworked during Shmittah. 

 This is why the punishment for ignoring Shmittah is exile. Those who don’t trust in God in order to live in the land on His benevolence do not deserve to live in the land, is essentially what the Torah is telling us. 

 Gentiles will not have such a fallback because their existence in the Land is based on seeing things through the lens of the natural world and science. Our existence in the land is based in miracles. 

 Through the continuing of his commentary on the Parsha, Kli Yakar demonstrates how the verses and phrases support this meta-analysis of the concept of Shmittah. 

 While there is a big push to observe Shmittah these days in the land, and there are other methods utilized for the land to not completely lay fallow for a year (Heter Mechirah, etc), that is in the Land of Israel. 

 Perhaps it goes without saying, but huge admiration is due to those who live in the Land of Israel, who are quite literally on the front lines of the story of the Jewish people, and who most clearly live in the Land on account of a deep faith and trust in the Almighty. 

This does not call anyone else’s faith and trust in the Almighty into question, as every person has reasons for being where we are, and every person has one’s own relationship with God that is based on many factors, including a variety of which are nobody else’s business. 

 However, the notion that we live our lives in a manner that is wholly devoted to God, or that our very existence relies upon our faith in God is something we ought to consider and reconsider. 

How much do we look at our homes, cars, assets, etc. and thank God for what we have? 

How much do we look at our families and thank God for what we have? 

How much do we look at our friends and neighbors, thanking God for what we have? 

How much do we look at our kehillah expressing gratitude to the Almighty for being part of a network of kind people? 

If Shmittah and Yovel are meant to remind us of our connection to God and reliance upon Him for His good graces while me make our own sacrifices to fulfill His will and live according to His precepts, then we need to translate that notion to wherever we live, however we live, and into whatever sacrifices we are willing to make to abide by the laws of His Torah, which give us the direction for living lives of holiness. 

 If life seems easy, we are truly blessed. From a different perspective, perhaps we are not sacrificing enough to demonstrate our love for the Almighty and our appreciation for the role He plays in our lives every single day.