Through the practice of Shemita more than through any other mitzvah, we define who we are and what the values are that truly drive our choices.
Shemita - core to our world-view
The structure of Parshas Behar is symphonic. It is the Parsha's very structure however that raises a crucial question about its opening movement. The answer to this question immutably changes our view of the Shemita Laws, the parsha and the way we, as Jews, see the world.
Rashi (Vayikra 25:1) explains why the Parsha opens by referencing Mt. Sinai as the place (and the time) that the laws of the Shemita (the Sabbatical year during which all agricultural land in Israel is left to liefallow and all agricultural activity is forbidden)
were given to Moshe. Although the principle of Shemita was outlined in brief earlier in the Torah (Shemos 23:11), Moshe delays teaching it in detail until this parsha, shortly before he expects the nation to gain admittance to Israel. The reason that these laws were stated in shortened form earlier and repeated in detail here, says Rashi, is to teach that just as the main principles of Shemita were given to Moshe on Sinai, so also was every detail of these laws given to him at Sinai. Moreover, the purpose of this passage is to teach us that not only in the case of Shemita but all the laws of the Torah, irrespective of where about in the Torah they are articulated, were given to Moshe at Sinai in all their detail.
Shemita then is much more than an agricultural law; the Torah usesShemita as the principle by which to teach us something very central to all of our belief system and to our understanding of the Torah's authenticity. Of all the laws it is Shemita that is chosen to showcase the Sinaic origin of halachik detail. This is because through the practice of Shemita more than through any other mitzvah, we define our who we are and the values that truly drive our choices as ovdei Hashem (servants of Hashem).
We are taught the value of Shmita by the oft-repeated words "Shabbat Le'Hashem" (it shall be a rest period for G-d). Associating the Sabbatical year to Hashem takes on three shades of meaning, each defined by a different mefareish (exponent).
- Rashi (25:2) takes this to mean that we should keep the Shemita lesheim Hashem (to honor G-d's name).
- The Seforno says that the time we take off from tilling the land, the Sabbatical year, should be set aside for the service of Hashem.
- The Ibn Ezra says that it means during this year of Shemitathe land does not even belong to us to till, the land is Hashem's.
If during the Shemita year the land is not ours, and the time is to be dedicated to spiritual growth, why has it been historically so difficult for the Jewish people to observe this mitzvah? Taking a year off from the production of revenue is not something that comes naturally to a person. Quite a part from the fear and insecurity of not having sufficient to live on during and after the year, most people find it challenging to take time and resources that could have been used "productively" and use them to invest in themselves and in the service of Hashem. It is reasonable to take one day out of a week as we do every Shabbas especially in a five-day-week economy. Taking off an entire year and leaving ones fields, ones source of income, unattended for so long a time is a very different ask. The idea of Shemita is particularly challenging in a society in which we are brought up on the belief that "time is money."
Time is not money
But time is not money. One can generate large amounts of money but one cannot generate more time. One can bank money but one cannot bank time. One can invest money for the future but you cannot invest time expecting a return of more time in the future. Time is absolutely limited. Time is scarce. Furthermore, time for ourselves is in greater demand than money is. Hardly anyone would exchange years of his or her life for money. On the contrary we spend large amounts of money to save time; think of time saving software and all of the investments individuals and companies make to become more time-efficient. If time is in shorter supply and in greater demand than money, time is more valuable than money.
Why then do we find it so hard to limit the time we spend producing money so as to have more time for ourselves? Why do we not take sabbaticals? Why don't we make more time every day to learn, to spend with friends and family and to invest in our own growth and wellbeing?
I can't answer this question for others. However, as much as I wish it were not so, if I am honest with myself, at times I suffer from the insecurity engendered by the fear of poverty and financial dependency. This fear can drive me to divert time from my own growth, my avodas Hashem (sevice of G-d) and my family and friends into longer hours of work. This is clearly a flaw in my bitachon(trust in Hashem), but nevertheless a sore truth that I, and anyone else in my position, must change and repair.
Soul Erosion
An insatiable need for an ever-stronger base of financial security manifests in a person's reluctance to observe the Shemita year. This need can initiate a sequential implosion of spiritual wellbeing. Consider the sequence of laws in the Parsha as explained by Rashi (26:1):
The laws that follow the Shemita deal with circumstances in which a man finds it necessary to sell his property - first his fields and then his home. Later it deals with a person who sells his movable assets, then one who needs to go into debt. Lastly it deals with one who is so poor that he sells himself into slavery not only to a fellow Jew but possibly even to an idol worshipper whose religious and moral permissiveness he might eventually emulate. Poor bitachon and the primacy of money over time, can lead to soul erosion.
So how can one strengthen bitachon and let go of financial fear? How can one buy free time back for oneself and invest it in spiritual growth rather than in economic security? Again, it is the remarkable sequence of themes in the parsha that lays out the counter-instinctual exercise to strengthen bitachon.
The sequence starts with observing the Shemita year, taking a Sabbatical out of your work-life every seven years to invest in avodas Hashem. If that is difficult then use some of your wealth to help others avoid having to sell their fields, businesses and homes. If they lose their property to creditors, help them repurchase them. Use some of the money that you have set aside to secure your future for the wellbeing of others whose needs are more urgent than yours. This action is counter-instinctual to your own survival instinct. It entails making a sacrifice of your own financial security for the security of another. It is an heroic act of chessed (kindness) and a real investment in your own spiritual growth. If it doesn't make you richer, it does make you greater and secures your soul from erosion.
The same applies when lending your friend money without charging him interest even though doing so costs you a loss of earnings. Being cautious to give your friend advice that is in his or her best interests even if not in yours is another exercise. In this case you are again exchanging actual or potential wealth to be righteous and grow spiritually. Buying a slave back his freedom and helping to reinstate him independently is yet another example in the parsha of a selfless application of your own wealth to the wellbeing of others. This also results in your spiritual evolution even if it diminishes the size of your estate.
Freedom and slavery
So my challenge in the reinforcement of my bitachon to the point that I exchange more money for the free time I need to take care of my soul rather than my business, is to adopt one cardinal principle. This principle is stated in the crescendoing finale of the parsha: You are not free to use your time and resources as you choose, says the Torah, and neither do you need to feel insecure. You are owned. Your time and resources belong to your Master who will also take care of your needs. You cannot sell yourselves to any other master. You cannot sell yourselves to a slave-owner, nor to your work, your society or your profession. You are slaves to Me, says G-d, and in your slavery you will find your freedom: "For it is to me that the Benei Yisrael belong, they are my servants." - Ki Li Benei Yisroel, avodai heim.
