Parshat Behar 5779-A deeper look at Shemitta and Yoval

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May 22 2019
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A Deeper Look at Shemitta and Yovel-Parshat Behar 5779


(Based on a wonderful shiur given by R’Isaac Bernstein zal in London in 1994)


 


a)     The Shemitta year



ב  דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם, כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם--וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ, שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה.


2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.


ג  שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ, וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ; וְאָסַפְתָּ, אֶת-תְּבוּאָתָהּ.


3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof.



 


The Ohr Hachaim addresses the double expression at the beginning of the laws of Shemitta-


ב  דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם


We know that ‘dabeir’ refers to more harsh aspects of the law and ‘veamarta’ refers to some ‘lighter’ aspects of the law. This is his explanation:


דבר וגו' ואמרת וגו'. טעם הכפל, לצד שיש במצוה זו ענין מניעת עבודת אדמה והפקרת הפירות העולים מהאילנות וצמח האדמה, כנגד מניעת עבודת האדמה והכנת הצלחתו אמר דבר לשון קושי, כי הוא דבר שאין רצון אדם חפצה בו לצד היותו מניעת הטוב, וכנגד הפקרת הצומח אמר ואמרת, כי הוא דבר שכל אחד ישמח בו שיאמר ידו בכל, גם לצד ההבטחות שצוה בענין (פסוק כ'א) ועשת את התבואה לשלש השנים אמר ואמרת אמירה המסעדת את הלב:


דנר אל בני ישראל, "speak to the children of Israel, etc." The reason the Torah repeats דבר ואמרת is that this legislation involves both a prohibition to work the land (for a limited period) as well as denying oneself ownership of what one's field or orchard produces during that year (especially the fruit of the trees which grow without planting). The Torah uses the relatively harsh expression דבר to introduce the prohibition to work the land seeing it is difficult for a farmer to reconcile himself to such a commandment. The expresssion ואמרתapplies to the requirement to declare one's produce הפקר, i.e. accessible to anyone who finds it, something which does not involve too much hardship as the farmer becomes the beneficiary of his neighbour's parallel declaration. Moreover, G'd's promise that the land would produce an extra generous harvest during the sixth year of the cycle (compare verse 21) will gladden the heart of the farmer and reconcile him to loss of ownership of what his own field or orchard produces during the seventh year.


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The prohibition to work the land is the ‘harsh’ aspect of the law, as it involves hardship, whereas making the produce ‘ownerless’/hefker is less ‘onerous’, for the land owner benefits from his neighbor’s declaration in the same way as his neighbor benefits from his announcement of ‘hefker’. Also God has promised a blessing in the soil in the 6th year before Shemitta time, and this again is a benefit for the owner who loses his crop in the Shemitta year but is compensated beforehand by God.


The Ohr Hachaim gives another approach to answer this question:


עוד ירצה לצד שמצוה זו של שביתת הארץ יש בה ב' דברים, הא' דבר מלך שלטון שעל עבדיו חיוב לקיים כל דבר, והב' הגם שיהיה דבר זה בין אדם לחבירו יתחייב עשותו כפי הדין, כי הנותן מתנה לחברו ומתנה עמו בשעת המתנה תנאו קיים, וכמו כן האדון ב'ה בשעת המתנה מתנה תנאים כאומרו אשר אני נותן ולא אמר אשר נתתי, אשר על כן אמר כנגד דבר מלך שלטון אמר דבר, וכנגד היות הדבר מתחייב מהמשפט אמר ואמרת פירוש בלא טעם גזירת מלך יקבלו המאמר:



‘Another reason why the apparent duplication of   דבר ואמרת is justified is the dual nature of the "Sabbath" i.e. rest, of the land. One aspect of this legislation is that the King commanded us to let the land lie fallow, ergo we carry out this command. 2) Although the practical performance of this commandment involves the relationship between man and man rather than the relationship between man and G'd, our obligation to comply is anchored in our relationship with G'd, i.e. the fact that the gift of the land to the Jewish people had been made conditional on our observing the Torah. When G'd did not say: "I have given you the land," but "I am giving you the land," He made it plain that the condition which is attached to that gift is an ongoing one, i.e. the land never became ours irrevocably. The word דבר therefore alludes to G'd's right to legislate; the word ואמרת  on the other hand, refers to the social element of this legislation which also is the prerogative of the King to legislate. The Torah is under no obligation to furnish us with the reasons which motivated G'd the legislator, when He commanded us to perform these statutes.’



He adds that Shemitta can be viewed as a law imposed by a king on his subjects, which seems harsh. However we can say that Shemitta represents terms of agreement between God and the Jewish people. This is part of a deal which is very much to our benefit as it is a condition within the gift of receiving Eretz Yisrael , which makes it very beneficial for us  and therefore we see the lighter aspect to the Shemitta arrangements as well.


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The Kli Yakar takes us to a new understanding of the whole aspect of the law of Shemitta.


ושבתה הארץ שבת לה'. בטעם מצוה זו יש דיעות חלוקות כי רבים אומרים שהטעם הוא שתשבות הארץ כדי שתוסיף תת כחה לזרוע, ולדעה זו נטה הרב המורה, ורבים חולקים עליו ואמרו שאם חששה התורה לזה שלא תחלש האדמה למה יתחייבו גלות על שמיטת הארץ יהיה ענשם שלא תוסיף הארץ תת כחה להם, ועוד שאין זה שבת לה' כי אם לצורך הארץ, ומהו שאמר אז תרצה הארץ את שבתותיה מה תרויח בזה שיגלו ממנה ישראל וישבו עליה הגוים אשר לעולם בה יעבודו ואיך תשבות הארץ בהשמה מהם, ובעקידה נתן טעם אחר ואמר שתכלית מצוה זו לזכר חידוש העולם ולזכור ימות עולם וסוף ימי חלדו, וכן כתב מהרי"א והוסיף עוד נופך משלו וגם זה רחוק מכליותי כי הוא דומה ליהודה ועוד לקרא כי יום השבת התמידי בכל שבוע בא לזכר חידוש העולם ואם הוא לא יועיל מה יושיענו זה הבא לעיתים רחוקים.


'The land shall be at rest. There are differing opinions about the reason for this mitzvah. Many say that the reason the land should rest is so that it will continue to be fertile for planting, and this is the reason favored by Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim. However, many disagree with him. They say that if the Torah was concerned about the land becoming infertile, why should they be liable exile for not keeping shemittoh? Their punishment would be the natural consequence that the land becomes infertile. Furthermore, this is not “a Shabbos for Hashem” but rather for the land. Additionally, why does it say (26:34): “The land will then be appeased for its Shabbosos”? What does it have to gain that Israel will be exiled from it and non-Jews will settle there? They will work the land incessantly!'


כדי ליישב כמה דקדוקים בלשון הפר', אומר אני שטעם מצוה זו היא להשריש את ישראל במדת האמונה, והבטחון בה' כי חשש הקב"ה פן בבואם אל הארץ יתעסקו בעבודת האדמה על המנהג הטבעי וכאשר כביר מצאה ידם ישכחו את ה' ויסורו בטחונם ממנו, ויחשבו כי כחם ועוצם ידם עשה להם את החיל הזה ועולם כמנהגו נוהג ויחשבו שהארץ שלהם היא והם הבעלים ואין זולתם. על כן הוציאם ה' מן המנהג הטבעי לגמרי כי בשש שנים דרך האומות לעשות שני שנים זרע ושנה אחת בור כדי שלא להכחיש חילה, והקב"ה אמר שש שנים תזרע שדך. מידי שנה בשנה ואני מבטיחך להוסיף כחה שלא תכחיש. ועוד נס בתוך נס שאחר שזרעתה שש שנים אם בשנה הששית לא יכחיש חילה הנה לכל הפחות לא יוסיף לה זה כח, ואמר ה' אדרבה שבשנה הששית יוסיף לה כח כל כך עד שנאמר וצויתי את ברכתי בשנה הששית ועשת את התבואה לשלש השנים. ואם היה הנס שתעשה התבואה לג' שנים הרי זה מעשה ניסים, אבל ושלישים על כלו. שהתבואה שתעשה בשנה הששית אף אם לא יהיה בה כי אם שעור אכילה לשנה אחת מ"מ ישלח ה' את הברכה באסמיהם שיאכל קמעא ומתברך במעיו עד שתספיק התבואה לשלש שנים, מדקאמר ועשת את התבואה בה"א הידיעה, והיה לו לומר ועשת תבואה לשלש שנים. אלא שרמז בה"א הידיעה שאותה התבואה שהיא רגילה לעשות מידי שנה בשנה כן תעשה גם בשנה הששית, ויוסף ה' כח בארץ עד שאותה התבואה תספיק לשלש שנים וזה ודאי נס נגלה וגדול מכולם, ועל ידי כל המופתים הללו אשר שמתי בידך תדע כי לי כל הארץ. ועל ידי זה יהיו עיניך נשואות אל ה', כמו שמצינו בירידת המן ליומו כדי שיהיו עיניהם נשואות אל ה' תמיד ויבטחו בו תמיד, כך ענין השמיטה שלא יעבדו האדמה כל שנה שביעית אין זרע ואין קציר ויסמכו על הנס. וזה טעם נכון וברור יותר מכל מה שדברו בו המפרשים.



In order to resolve a number of fine details in the language of this parshah I would say that the reason for this mitzvah is to implant the character traits of faith and trust in Hashem in the people of Israel. Hashem was concerned that perhaps when they would come to the land they would work the soil in the natural way, and when they would be successful they would forget Hashem and remove their trust from Him. They would think that ‘their might and the power of their hand have made them this wealth,’ and the world goes along in its natural way. They would think that the land belongs to them; they are the masters and no one else. Therefore, Hashem took them out of the natural way altogether, for within six years the nations of the world plant their fields for two years and let one year lie fallow, so the land will not be weakened. However, Hashem said, “For six years you shall plant your field,” year after year, and I promise you that it will be more and more fertile and will not weaken. Also, there will be a miracle within a miracle. After having sown the fields for six years, if the sixth year would not be weaker, at least it would not be more fertile. But Hashem declares: On the contrary, in the sixth year it will be much more fertile, to the point where it says (v. 21): “I shall command My blessing to you in the sixth year and it will produce [enough] for three years”.



He quotes the Rambam who explains Shemitta as being ‘good’ for the soil, but Kli Yakar wonders how this fits into the context of the punishment for not keeping Shemitta as seen in the next parsha(26:31). Also the land will be worked incessantly by the non-Jews, so how does this help the land, according to Rambam’s approach? He also does not agree with the Akeda and Abarbanel, as they both say the Shemitta is to annouce to the world our belief in God being the creator of the world. Kli Yakar argues that this is what our regular Shabbat is for, and we don’t need Shemitta to do what a regular Shabbat is supposed to do, in declaring God as the creator of the world.


The Kli Yakar himself has a much more spiritual approach to the laws of Shemitta. They are there to teach us ‘faith/trust in God on a national level. It   reminds us that God controls the land and even if we feel accomplished in our agricultural activity, it is really all dependent on God to help us with our production from the land. We sow for 6 years without a break, which is not a normal farming style, and the land does not lose its strength. Also, after 6 years the land becomes more potent, which is even more remarkable.  We achieve a greater closeness to God by observing   Shemitta laws with all the above signs and miracles, and this makes the law of Shemitta very powerful indeed.This also explains why exile is the punishment for not keeping Shemitta , as we did not imbibe the lessons of faith and trust which Shemitta is supposed to create and we lost our right to the land.(see Jeremiah 5:1).


גם הארץ עצמה תקפיד על זה מאד כי רצונה שיתגלגל זכות זה על ידה לחזק האמונה בה' על ידה, ועוד שעל ידי זה יאמינו כי כולם אינן רק אריסים בקרקע והקב"ה בעל השדה ובדבר זה הארץ חפיצה שיהיה הקב"ה בעצמו בעלה ואדונה כי לו ית' הארץ. ובביטול השמיטות שיחזיקו המה כבעלים בארץ ראוי הוא שתקפיד הארץ על זה לכך נאמר אז תרצה הארץ את שבתותיה.


The Kli Yakar even argues that the land wants this closeness to God to be established by the observance of Shemitta. Even if non-Jews come in and overwork the land, this is not the concern of the land, which wants Klal Yisrael to create a relationship to God through the land of Israel.


His thesis is a major one. It defines the true aspect of Eretz Yisrael and our relationship to it.


To continue the theme of Kli Yakar further, we must look at v.38 in the same chapter.



לח  אֲנִי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם--לָתֵת לָכֶם אֶת-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים.  {ס}


38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God. {S}



Rashi explains the last phrase of the pasuk:


להיות לכם לאלהים. שֶׁכָּל הַדָּר בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי לוֹ לֵאלֹהִים וְכָל הַיּוֹצֵא מִמֶּנָּה כְּעוֹבֵד עַ"זָ (ספרא; כתובות ק"י):


להיות לכם לאלהים TO BE YOUR GOD —Because to him who dwells in the land of Israel I am God; while he who leaves it may be regarded as though he were an idolator (Sifra, Behar, Section 5 4; Ketubot 110b).


Rashi says that if ones leaves Israel, it is as if he worships idolatry.


The Pnei Yehoshua(16th century-Poland) on T.B. Ketubot 110 b, comments as follows:


When a Jew lives in Israel, he has to understand that everything depends on God for his success there. If he lives outside Israel he can fool himself that nature/mazalot control the world, and thereby lose his connection to God. However in Israel this hashkafa is not acceptable. In Israel there are no mazalot controlling the world, and our lives are directly based on our Torah observance and relationship to God through that observance.


The Responsa of the Avnei Nezer (early 20th century-Poland) takes this further.


‘if a person lives in Israel and has no parnasah  there but is being supported from outside Israel, then his money comes from this indirect influence which exists there, and what does he benefit by being in Israel? This seems to me the reason why so many great men did not move to Israel, as their sustenance would come from outside Israel and it is called ‘influence’ from outside Israel’.



This responsa has made the comment of the Pnei Yehoshua even more incredible, as being in Israel but receiving money from abroad, has no purpose. It lessens the observance of living in Israel, and he thinks it may not even qualify as fulfilling this mitzva at all (‘ This  is really something to be reckoned with’).


See also the sefer ‘Vayoel Moshe’ by the rebbe of Satmar zal, who asks many questions on the statement of the Avnei Nezer.



b)    The Yovel-a number of observations



ח  וְסָפַרְתָּ לְךָ, שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים--שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים; וְהָיוּ לְךָ, יְמֵי שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת הַשָּׁנִים, תֵּשַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִים, שָׁנָה.


8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years.


ט  וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ שׁוֹפַר תְּרוּעָה, בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִי, בֶּעָשׂוֹר, לַחֹדֶשׁ; בְּיוֹם, הַכִּפֻּרִים, תַּעֲבִירוּ שׁוֹפָר, בְּכָל-אַרְצְכֶם.


9 Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land.


י  וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּם, אֵת שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה, וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ, לְכָל-יֹשְׁבֶיהָ; יוֹבֵל הִוא, תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם, וְשַׁבְתֶּם אִישׁ אֶל-אֲחֻזָּתוֹ, וְאִישׁ אֶל-מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ תָּשֻׁבוּ.


10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.




 


 


1) The Abarbanel  (15th century Spain) introduces a note of realism in his explanation of the Yovel. He explains that a person may be lucky to experience 2 ‘yovels’ in his lifetime and usually only one. This reminds a person that however long he believes he will live, his time on this earth is limited and therefore maximize the time accordingly.


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2)The name ‘yovel’ is connected to the Hebrew word ‘lehovil’ which means ‘to convey/to transport’ .This is another message of the Jubilee that by returning the land and releasing the servants , the freedom of movement is enshrined in our tradition and no restrictions are allowed. This is one definition of ‘freedom’ and is also reflected in the word used here,’dror’ which come from the word ’ladur’ meaning ‘to dwell’. When land ownership is restored and servants return to their homes, a movement takes place and the rights of movement are part of the lesson of yovel. See Rashi here:


וקראתם דרור. לָעֲבָדִים, בֵּין נִרְצַע בֵּין שֶׁלֹּא כָלוּ לוֹ שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים מִשֶּׁנִּמְכַּר: אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה מַהוּ לְשׁוֹן דְּרוֹר? כִּמְדַיַּר בֵּי דַיְרָא וְכוּ' — שֶׁדָּר בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶה וְאֵינוֹ בִרְשׁוּת אֲחֵרִים (ספרא; ראש השנה ט'):



וקראתם דרור AND YE SHALL PROCLAIM LIBERTY unto slaves, both to him whose ear has been pierced (and whose period of servitude has thus been prolonged until the Jubilee; cf. Exodus 21:6) and to him whose six years of servitude (the period prescribed for an ordinary Hebrew servant; Exodus 21:6Exodus 21:2), reckoning from the time when he was sold, have not yet ended. R. Jehuda said, “What is the etymology of the term דרור, freedom? A free man is like a person who may dwell (דור) at an inn — meaning that he may reside in any place he pleases, and is not under the control of others. (דרור therefore implies liberty of residence) (Rosh Hashanah 9b).



A final thought. The law of Yovel was ended when the 10 tribes were taken away from Israel.The rule is that when the majority of Jews live in Israel, the law of Yovel comes back into play(TB Gittin 36a).In the latest census from Israel it was announced that over 7 million Jews are living in Israel today. With assimilation rates as they are in US and beyond, it will not be very long before the ‘tipping point’ for reinstating Yovel will be reached with the majority of Jews living in Israel and this will be a very interesting moment in Jewish and world history. This would be another aspect of the Messianic period which we are all waiting for. May it come speedily in our days.


Rabbi Ian Shaffer             Cherry Hill NJ/SCW         May 2019


Venue: Stern College Stern College

Parsha:
Behar 

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In honor of the wonderful barmitzva recently of our grandson,Gavriel Sokolic of Cherry Hill NJ.

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