Jewish Heritage Connection

D'var Torah: Torah portions: Behar / Bechukosai
Rabbi Dovid Saks

The first of the two portions we read this week is called Behar. Behar means, “at the mountain.” This mountain refers to Mount Sinai, where we received the Torah from G-d.
The portion opens with G-d instructing Moshe, while he was at the Mountain, to speak to the Jewish nation and tell them that when they reach and then settle in the land of Israel they are to engage in agriculture activities for six years, and then throughout the seventh year they are to give the land a rest, a year of Shabbos for the land. During this year all constructive and profitable agricultural activities are forbidden. The fields are to be considered ownerless for the entire seventh year.

This is a pretty challenging law to abide by, and interestingly, the majority of the Jews who were there at Sinai were not even going to make it into the land of Israel after their forty-year journey in the desert.
The obvious question is, what would the Jews do for food during the Sabbatical and Jubilee years when no work may be done? The Torah addresses this, telling us that G-d gave a guarantee that there will be blessing in the crops of the sixth year that would provide enough food to carry them through.

The Jews would have been unable to accept this law, especially since they would not even make it to Israel to see this guarantee fulfilled, had the Torah not introduced this law saying, “It was given at the Mount together with all the other laws of the Torah which were given directly by G-d.” Only G-d Who is in control of every aspect of life and the world could command such a demanding law and could guarantee such an abundant blessing for those who fulfil it!
The Torah mentions the Mitzvah of the observance of Shemitta – the Sabbatical year –and juxtaposes it next to the Mitzvah of observing the weekly Shabbos. The Medrash points out that the Torah specifically mentions the laws of Shabbos in conjunction with the laws of the Sabbatical year, because one might think, since I am observing a ‘Shabbos’ in my fields for an entire year, perhaps, the observance of the weekly Shabbos is suspended and its observance is not necessary during the Sabbatical year. To counter this notion, the Torah specifically places the Mitzvah of Shabbos right by the Mitzvah of Shemitta to tell us that the weekly Shabbos must be observed at all times even in the Shemitta year.
The Shem Mishmuel asks why would we ever think that the weekly Shabbos be suspended during the Sabbatical year? After all, there are 39 categories of laws regarding all facets of activities which constitute forbidden activities on the weekly Shabbos, while the Shemitta law primarily impacts on agricultural activities. So why would we even think that the weekly Shabbos observances would be suspended during Shemitta?
Additionally, while productive actions in the field are forbidden during the Sabbatical year, picking fruit off the tree is permitted during the year, yet, picking attached fruit from a tree is forbidden on the Shabbos. Thus, not all the forbidden agricultural laws on the Shabbos align themselves to what is forbidden during the Sabbatical year, so why would one even entertain the thought that the Laws of Shabbos be suspended during the year of Shemitta?
Perhaps the Torah specifically set up the law of weekly Shabbos next to the Sabbatical year because as groundless as it may sound to absolve the weekly Shabbos during the Shemitta year, still, had the Torah not juxtaposed the two laws, sometime in the future one may make a serious claim that the weekly Shabbos is suspended due to the Sabbatical year. Their reasoning may be luring and enticing for others to actually follow and suspend the restrictions of the weekly Shabbos.
The Torah therefore makes it clear to us by placing the law of the weekly Shabbos next to the law of the Sabbatical year to emphasize that G-d’s treasured gift to us, the Holy Day of Shabbos, is always applicable, essential and binding ever since it was exclusively and eternally given to us!