Parshat Behar: The Mitzvah of Shmitah

Jun 22

Original author - Noam Yehuda Sendor, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021

Before the sin of Adam and Chava, the earth provided sustenance, not through the plotting and plowing of people, but rather through tefillah. In the Talmud, Rav Assi explains that the vegetation would not break through the earth until Adam came along and prayed to Hashem to have mercy on the earth. The rains fell and the earth sprouted.[1] The removal of the fruit from the Eitz Hada’at can be interpreted as a decision to derive pleasure from Hashem’s Earth without thought to the consequences it would bring. As a result, humankind’s working of the land was no longer within the context of safeguarding it; and thus, the earth is cursed, sprouting thorns and thistles, only giving forth its fruit by the sweat of our brow. In Parshat Behar, the mitzvah of shmitah is discussed. Here, Hashem enables a return to the ideal relationship between humankind and creation.

The halachot relating to the shmitah year are numerous and complex, but there are four general commandments in the Torah from which they are derived.[2]

The land should rest, as it says “and the land shall rest a Shabbat to Hashem.”[3] It is humanity’s responsibility to return all of creation into a proper relationship with Hashem. Through our refraining from planting, pruning, plowing, harvesting, or any other form of working the land, the land is allowed to rest and move towards achieving a Shabbat.
We must declare all seventh-year produce hefker—ownerless, and free for all to take and enjoy.
We must sanctify all seventh-year produce. We are prohibited from doing any business whatsoever with the produce and are obligated to ensure that it is consumed properly and equitably and does not go to waste.
We must absolve all loans from one Jew to another.

The conscious and meticulous observance of these laws and their rabbinic applications expands our awareness to the true nature of reality. The mandated abstinence from physical and commercial control of the land, and the positive commandment to relinquish all sense of ownership of its produce, free us from the enslavement of the constant pursuit of material goods and wealth. It dispels the illusion that physical acquisitions serve as a testament to our existence.

Additionally, the Shmitah 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 Hashem, 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.

The lessons we draw from Shmitah are vital today as we dangerously toy with destroying the beautiful world Hashem gave us. One example is the deforestation of vast portions of the earth’s most essential ecosystems to support the growing demand for beef.[4] 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 that 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 [5]. As Richard Robbins puts it,

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. [6]

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. [7]

Instead of being elevated and sanctified, the earth has become trampled and disgraced. The frightening ecological reality we are facing morally obligates us to rethink our relationship with the land and the consequences of our actions. Many of our actions may be deriving pleasure from Hashem’s earth without paying attention to the drastic consequences they bring.

Yet even with the damage humanity has caused, shmitah teaches us that we must have faith that Hashem 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 ripple effect in the spiritual world.

The mitzvah of shmitah provides insight into one of the most puzzling episodes in the Torah. As Bnei Yisrael prepare themselves in the desert to enter Eretz Yisrael, Miriam Hanevi’ah passes away and the miraculous source of water that had sustained the people goes dry. Hashem commands Moshe 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. Hashem tells Moshe to speak to the rock to bring forth water. On this verse, Rav Simcha Meir Cohen of Dvinsk (Eastern Europe, 1843-1926), in his sefer, Meshech Chochmah, says Hashem wanted Bnei Yisrael to experience the Divine Speech flowing through Moshe’s mouth, drawing even inanimate objects towards Hashem’s will. The intention was for them to “see that which is heard”[8] in a similar manner to the awesome revelation at Mount Sinai where “the entire people saw the Voices.”[9] This incomprehensible act would significantly strengthen their faith in Hashem’s Providence over all. As a manifestation of this new-found emunah, they would also understand that this 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, Eretz Yisrael is a celestial land, that will pour forth its abundant blessing according to the tefillah spilling from the lips of the Jewish people, a people who are sensitive and respectful to the needs of all of Hashem’s creation.

Moshe, possibly shaken by the death of his dear sister and frustrated with the complaints of the people, tragically strikes the rock. Hashem rebukes Moshe and Aharon 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.”[10] Because they failed to express the sanctity of a proper relationship with the Land based on pure emunah in Hashem and not human strength, they could not lead Bnei Yisrael into the land.

When the Torah introduces shmitah, it says “Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai saying.”[11] Rashi asks “Why is shmitah mentioned [specifically] by Har Sinai? Were not all the mitzvot said at Sinai?” In truth, living a life of shmitah consciousness is a constant reenactment of receiving the Torah at Sinai. Hashem gave us the Torah so that we could sanctify and reveal the truth of all of creation through the passionate and dedicated observance of the mitzvot. And so, when we come to a proper relationship with the earth and give it proper rest and respect through the mitzvah of the shmitah year, the splendor of its divinity is revealed. Should we choose to view the mitzvah of shmitah in a sophisticated and all-encompassing manner, we may be zochim to bring the world closer to a healthy and holy state.

Suggested Action Items:

Every seven years is a shmitah year in Israel. Learn the laws of produce coming from Israel and take care to observe them that year.
Reduce one beef meal per week and replace it with a vegetarian dish or kosher organic chicken.
Learn about sustainable fishing practices.

Click here to sponsor a parsha.

Notes:

[1] Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Chullin 60b

[2] Sefer HaShemittah, HaRav Yechiel Michel Tukachinski (Mossad HaRav Kook).

[3] Vayikra 25:2

[4] This is in addition to the inherent health issues with eating too much beef, and other practices of the meat industry which cause health and environmental problems.

[5] Slash and burn techniques have also been historically used by indigenous tribes, including those in the Amazon forest, to create very small plots of ground for growing crops for a few years. Because of the small plots and small, scattered populations, the effect on the forest dynamics was much less (but still evident) than that done in today’s more industrial cattle farming.

[6] Richard Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism (Allyn and Bacon, 1999) p.220

[7] Wikipedia

[8] Cohen, Rav Meir Simcha Meshech Chochmah (Even Yisrael) pg. 297 (Parshat Chukat).

[9] Shemot 20:15

[10] Bamidbar 20:12

[11] Vayikra 25:1-5