Parashat B'har
The Mitzvah of Shemitah
The concept of the sabbatical year reveals the awesome splendor of God's
earth.
By Noam Yehuda Sendor
This
commentary is provided by special arrangement with Canfei Nesharim. To learn
more, visit www.canfeinesharim.org.
Before
the sin of Adam and Eve, the earth provided sustenance not through the plotting
and plowing of people, but rather through prayer. In the Talmud, the Sage Rav
Assi explains that vegetation did not break through the earth until Adam came
along and prayed to God to have mercy on the earth. The rains fell and the
earth sprouted (Hullin 60b).
The removal of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil can be interpreted as a decision to derive pleasure from God's earth
without paying attention to the consequences. As a result, humankind's working
of the land was no longer within the context of safeguarding it. And thus, the
earth was cursed, sprouting thorns and thistles, only giving forth its fruit by
the sweat of one's brow.
The commandment of Shemitah (the sabbatical year) in
the portion of B'har enables a return
to the ideal relationship between humankind and creation. The laws relating to
the Shemitah year are numerous and complex, but there are four general
commandments in the Torah from which they are derived.
The first commandment is that the land should rest, as it
says "and the land shall rest a Shabbat to Hashem (Leviticus 25:2)."
Though this commandment is directed at the land, it is humanity's
responsibility to return all of creation to proper relationship with God. When
we refrain from planting, pruning, plowing, harvesting, or any other form of
working the land, the land is allowed to rest and move towards achieving the
union of Shabbat.
The second commandment is to declare all seventh-year
produce hefker--ownerless and free for all to take and enjoy. The third
general commandment is to sanctify all seventh-year produce. We are prohibited
to do any business whatsoever with the produce and obligated to ensure that it
is consumed properly and equitably and does not go to waste. The fourth
commandment requires us to absolve all loans from one Jew to another in the
seventh year.
Moving Away from Materialism
The conscious and meticulous observance of these laws and
their rabbinic application can expand our awareness of the true nature of
reality. The mandated abstinence from attempting to physically and commercially
control the land and the positive commandment to give up all sense of ownership
of its produce can free us from the enslavement of the constant pursuit of
material goods and the idolatrous illusion that material things serve as a
testament to our existence.
Additionally, the sabbatical year provides ample time to
contemplate and understand that it is not through the strength or the might of
our hand that the earth brings forth its fruits. This not only instills a
deeper sense of faith and trust in God, but it allows a shift in how we relate
to the earth. The earth must be viewed as a precious gift that has been entrusted
to us and therefore we must treat it in a caring and sustainable manner.
Ecosystem Destruction
The inner teachings of the commandment of Shemitah
are vital today as humankind flirts dangerously with destroying the beautiful
world we have been given. One example is the deforestation of vast portions of
the earth's most vital ecosystems in order to support the growing demand for
beef.
The "slash and burn" method of clearing land for
agriculture, employed globally by both small and large-scale cattle farmers,
involves cutting the vegetation of a plot of land and allowing it to dry, at
which point it is burned. The land is then cultivated for a few seasons, and
eventually abandoned--left fallow for cattle pasture.
Though this process may release nutrients which fertilize
the soil, it is only sustainable on a small scale and on nutrient-rich soil.
When applied on an industrial level to nutrient-poor soil, like the current
situation in the Amazon Rainforest, the result is an ecological disaster.
Richard Robbins writes: "Hundreds of thousands of acres
of tropical forests in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, to name
just a few countries, have been leveled to create pasture for cattle. Since
most of the forest is cleared by burning, the extension of cattle pasture also
creates carbon dioxide, and, according to some environmentalists, contributes
significantly to global warming (Global Problems and the Culture of
Capitalism)."
Such operations lead to erosion and remove all nutrients
from the soil, leaving it desolate. The result is severe damage to the
biodiversity of the rainforest, an increase in the release of carbon dioxide,
and general biosphere instability.
Instead of being elevated and sanctified, the earth has
become trampled and disgraced. The frightening ecological reality we are facing
obligates us to rethink our relationship with the land and the consequences of
our actions. Many of our actions may derive pleasure from God's earth without
paying attention to the drastic consequences they have.
Yet even with the damage humanity has caused, Shemitah
teaches us that we must have faith that God is in control, waiting for us to
return from our careless and selfish ways. We must also know that the
fluttering of the wings of any change in our relationship with creation on the
physical dimension will cause a tornado of movement in the spiritual worlds.
The Water & Rock Episode
The mitzvah of Shemitah
provides insight into one of the most puzzling episodes in the Torah. As the
Children of Israel prepare themselves in the desert to enter the Land of
Israel, the prophetess Miriam passes away and the miraculous source of water
that had sustained the people goes dry. God commands Moses to carry out one
more miraculous act to instill the true nature of the relationship with the
land of Israel deep within the consciousness of the new generation. God tells
Moses to speak to the rock to bring forth water.
On this verse,
Rav Simcha Meir Cohen of Dvinsk (Eastern Europe, 1843-1926), in his book Meshech
Chochmah, explains that God
wanted the Children of Israel to experience the Divine Speech flowing through
Moses' mouth, drawing even inanimate objects towards His Will. The intention
was for them to "see that which is heard" in a similar manner to the
awesome revelation at Mount Sinai where "the entire people saw the Voices
(Exodus 20:25)."
This
incomprehensible act would significantly strengthen the people's faith in God's
Providence over all. As a manifestation of this new-found faith, they would
also understand that the Holy Land which they were about to enter is not a land
that is conquered, used, and abused by the sticks wielded by humans. Rather,
the Land of Israel is a celestial land which will pour forth its abundant
blessing according to the divine prayers spilling from the lips of the Jewish
people, a people who are sensitive and respectful to the needs and nature of
all God's creation.
Moses, possibly shaken by the death of his dear sister and
frustrated with the complaints of the people, tragically strikes the rock. God
rebukes Moses and Aaron and says "because you did not have faith in Me to
sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel, therefore you will not bring
this congregation to the Land that I have given them (Numbers 20:12)."
Because they failed to express to the people the sanctity of
a proper relationship with the Land based on pure faith in God and not human
strength, they could not lead the people in.
Awareness of Sinai
When the Torah introduces Shemitah, it begins:
"God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai saying (Leviticus 25:1)." Rashi
asks: "Why is Shemitah mentioned [specifically] by Mount Sinai?
Were not all the mitzvot said at Sinai?"
In truth, living a life of Shemitah consciousness is
a constant reenactment of the receiving of the Torah at Sinai. God gave us the
Torah so that we could sanctify and reveal the Truth of all of creation through
passionate and dedicated observance of mitzvot.
And so, when we come to proper relationship with the earth
and give it rest and respect through the mitzvot of the Shemitah year,
the awesome splendor of the earth's divinity is revealed. The sensitive eyes of
the caring and enlightened individual will be opened to the radiance of the
Divine Speech flowing through all of creation, as it slowly but surely brings
the world closer to its perfected state.
Suggested
Action Items:
1.
This year, 5768, is a Shemitah year in Israel. Learn the laws of produce coming
from Israel and take care to observe them.
2.
Reduce one beef meal per week, and replace it with a vegetarian dish, kosher
organic chicken, or sustainable fish.
Noam Yehuda Sendor is studying for rabbinic ordination at
the Bat Ayin Yeshiva in Israel.
