Shmittah...A Shabbat for the entire Nation

Have you ever thought that ecological concerns were first fostered by individuals living in the 20^th century?  Surely you must have realized that before the inception of Earth Day, it was not possible for  individuals to exhibit any  caring  for the natural world!  If you’ve ever found yourself thinking that way, then you need to look at parashat Behar.  It deals with the laws of Shmittah, the 7^th year of produce in the Land of Israel.  Let’s look at Leviticus 25:2-7: “When you come to the Land that I am giving you, the land will rest- a Shabbat to G-d.  Six years you should plant and gather your produce.  But the seventh year will be a Shabbat for the land, Shabbat to G-d.  Do not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.  It will be a year of Shabbat for the land.  That which grows during the Shabbat of the land is yours and your servants’ and employees’.  The produce will be for your beasts and for the wild animals that are in the land.”

The idea of having one’s farm land lie fallow for a period of time is known in modern day agricultural circles, as good practice.  When farmers let fields lie fallow, it is because the practice “is one of the best ways to allow the land to replenish its nutrients and regain its fertility without resorting to the application of fertilizers. It also helps prevent erosion as the roots of the plants left to grow on the land help to hold the soil in place against the ravages of wind and rain.”(Ken Chittwood, www.The Lattice Group.org)  I always used to think, as the daughter of an agriculturalist, that the Torah was amazing because it suggested a farming technique with which even my father would have supported, although he was also highly engaged in the art of adding nutrients to the soil!

But there is so much more to the idea of shmittah than just farming techniques.  In Pirkei Avot, the Rabbis actually compare the neglect of shmittah to the commission of the three cardinal sins of incest, bloodshed, and idolatry.  (“Exile came into the world on account of idolaters, incest, bloodshed, and neglecting the laws of shmittah.” )  To make such a statement must mean that shmittah embodies theological and social concepts which should not be ignored.

The most salient theological statement is that human kind does not own the earth.  It belongs to G-d.  Shmittah makes us be conscious of our responsibilities to the Earth.  We might be sojourners here, but we need to be aware that even if we have acquired land, it is only on loan to us and we must take care of it.

In the text, Shabbat and shmittah are linked.  Obviously, both deal with the cessation of being involved in financial and business matters.  Rav Kook wrote, “ Shabbat is an ‘individual experience’….Shabbat is the ultimate time for the family and one’s immediate environment.  In the same way that Shabbat provides the individual with an opportunity to return to his intrinsic nature, so the Shmittah returns us to our original nature.  This time, however, not as individuals, but as a nation.  Shmittah has the same affect on the Am as Shabbat has on the individual.”

Shmittah is supposed to give the entire nation a chance to refocus its efforts, not toward financial and business matters, but toward matters of kedusha, holiness.  The refocusing that is to be occur is by recognizing Shmittah’s insistence on social justice for all residing in the Land of Israel and acting to ensure that the poor have their needs met.

Of course, one might ask how the Torah expected all individuals not to fall into the category of the “poor” if the land were to lie fallow for an entire year.  Let’s look at Lev. 25:20 to answer that question.  The 6^th year of growth was to produce enough food to provide food for three years.  Rabbi Hertz commented that this was comparable to the double portion of manna which was to be gathered on the 6^th day in the wilderness.  It makes sense to be concerned about the produce of the 6^th year because that is what would be eaten during the 7^th year.  What about ensuring food   for the 8^th year?  What guarantees were provided?  The guarantees made in Torah were the statements requiring faith in G-d  and the fulfillment of mitzvoth.  If the people observe G-d’s laws, there will be rain in due seasons and the land will yield its produce.  Living in the land, required faith that the rains would fall, be collected, and the people would be able to survive the hot, dry summers. It required that one had to have trust that harm would not result as a result of observing the mitzvah of shmittah.

If one were not working the land, what would occupy one’s time? As Rav Kook wrote, “matters of the spirit.”  Debts were to be canceled, matters of society requiring attention to righted were to be focused upon, and the year would be used for spiritual re-creation. At the end of the Shmittah year, as the Torah stated  ( Deut. 31: 10-12),  all the people, men, women, children, and strangers within the gates, would be assembled to hear the Law that they would learn.  According to Ibn Ezra (1089-1167/Spain), the public reading was to be a culmination of a year-long process of study.  

It appears that although Shmittah seems to be about economics, it is really about deepening our ties to the Land of Israel and about spiritual enrichment.  None of which come easily!

Shabbat Shalom.