. . . when we come into the Land . . .
The Most Difficult Mitzva of All
Shmitta is the most difficult mitzva.What special relevance does the Mitzvah of Shemitah have to Har Sinai?.
Parashat Behar, the first of this week’s two parshiot, opens with the Mitzvah of Shemitah:(25:1-5) ‘Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai, saying:Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall observe a Sabbath rest for Hashem. For six yesrs you may sow your field and..you may prune your vineyard; and you may gather its crop. But the seventh year shall be a complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for Hashem; your field you shall not sow and your vineyard you shall not prune.’
The S’fat Emet offers a wondrous insight into this Mitzvah:’All the commentators note that the Torah states that this Mitzvah was given at Har Sinai, and ask: What special relevance does the Mitzvah of Shemitah have to Har Sinai?.
‘The Midrash states that the Pasuk in Psalm 93:20:’Bless Hashem, O His angels, the strong warriors who do his bidding’, alludes to those who observe this Mitzvah of Shemitah; the concluding words of the Passuk:’To obey the voice of His word’, allude to Bnei Israel, who accepted, at Matan Torah on Har Sinai, ‘to do’, before ‘to hear’.
‘We can say, that Hashem acted with them measure-for-measure; just as they accepted ‘to do’ before ‘to hear’, Hashem gave them the Torah because He had נחת רוח: pleasure from the deeds that they would perform afterwards, in observing the Mitzvah of Shemitah and of Yovel (resting the land on the fiftieth year).
‘This is why ‘Har Sinai’ is mentioned here, with regards to the Mitzvah of Shemita, to teach that Hashem preceded, measure-for-measure, to give Bnei Israel the Torah, because He foresaw that they would ‘observe a Sabbath rest for Hashem’.
‘ This, too, was the matter of their acceptance to first ‘do’ before ‘to hear’.
‘This is the way of Hashem, towards Bnei Israel, encompassing past and future, as all is revealed before Him.
‘On seeing the great desire of Bnei Israel at Matan Torah, for Mitzvot, Hashem ‘saw’ that they would observe the difficult Mitzvah of Shemitah.
‘Hashem gave us the land, to enable Bnei Israel to fulfill, that ‘the land shall observe a Sabbath for Hashem’ - meaning: that our coming into the land was for this purpose, and Hashem gave us the land SO THAT we would, in turn, ‘give it to Him’.
‘As we read in the Holy Tomes, just as Hashem created this world יש מאין: as ‘something from nothing’, so too, we, by observing the Mitzvah of Shemitah, are returning to Him, ‘our something as nothing’’.
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin comments:’Observing the Mitzvah of Shemitah, letting the land lie fallow, and rendering the people to being without means of livelihood, for a whole year, is the most difficult Mitzvah in the Torah, to observe; so much so, that our Sages refer to those who do so, as ‘angels’ and as ‘strong warriors’.
‘Therefore, when Moshe came to adjure Bnei Israel to observe this Mitzvah, and to teach them all that it entailed, that they had to ‘leave’ their fields and their vineyards, the source of their livelihood, untended for a whole year, he reminded them that this Mitzvah was given ‘at Har Sinai’, on which special occasion they all accepted ‘to do’ before ‘to hear’, like the angels.
‘They were therefore bound, like angels, to also observe this difficult Mitzvah.’
Rav Gedalia Sharr first brings the Midrash:’’Strong warriors who do His bidding’: who is this alluding to? Answers Rav Yitzchak: To those who observe the Mitzvah of Shemitah. In the way of the world, a man observes a Mitzvah for a day, for a week, even for a month; but for a whole year?! He sees his field lie fallow, yet remains silent- is there a greater גיבור: brave warrior, than this! Our Sages, also saw this as an allusion to Matan Torah, to Bnei Israel, who at Har Sinai, accepted ‘to do’ before ‘to hear’
Rav Yosef Salant enriches our understanding of this wondrous and difficult Mitzvah, by asking:’Our Sages call those who observe this Mitzvah, ‘angels, the strong warriors’, because it is beyond the boundaries of human beings.
‘How, then, did Hashem command every single person - not just the singularly righteous - to observe this Mitzvah? Didn’t our Sages assure us that אין הקב׳ה בא בטרוניא עם בריותיו: Hashem does not ‘come with grievances, to His creations’?’.
Answers the Rav:’At the stand of Matan Torah, in the sixth days culminating with Matan Torah, Bnei Israel were elevated and sanctified, from the presence of the Shechina, to truly become ‘as angels’. In their pristine level, they had no difficulty to accept, and to observe, the Mitzvah of Shemitah, its difficulty ‘in human terms’ notwithstanding.
‘This level remained instilled in all their generations, so that, despite the passage of time, every Jew is capable of observing the Mitzvah of Shemitah.
‘This is why the Torah, in our Parasha, mentions that this Mitzvah was given ‘at har Sinai.’
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz adds:’From this Mitzvah, we can learn of the lofty nature of every one of our people; for it wasn’t given only to singular people, but to the whole nation in every generation, every one is commanded to observe the Mitzvah which is ‘worthy’ of ‘angels and strong warriors.’’
A parting thought from the Ktav Sofer, in the name of his revered father, the Chatam Sofer:’From the Mitzvah of Shemita, it is apparent to all that Torah is משמים: ‘from Above’ and not the word of Moshe Rabbeinu - how could a mortal promise that the land, if left fallow for one year, would produce a bounty for three years, something that is impossible in the way of nature.
‘On seeing this come to be, all will know that the Torah is truly מן השמים: from Above.’
by Danny Ginsbourg at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/371344
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