Shemitta - More Than You Think - Behar 5785

The Torah seems to be giving good advice to farmers:  Sow your field for six years and let it lie fallow on the seventh.  On a superficial level, it seems like a good idea, to let the field rest and regain its nutrients.  And over the years I have had this discussion with many people, intimating that the Torah was written by scholars in an agricultural society and that it makes a lot of sense for the physical needs of the land.

There are a few problems with this approach however.  First of all, the verse states: The earth shall rest “a Shabbat for Hashem.”  This is not about the benefit of the earth, this is about doing something for Hashem.  There are several other issues that come up.  In addition to not sowing the field, the Torah says not to prune the vineyard during the Sabbatical year.  Is there some physical benefit to the field from that?  

I am not a farmer, a biologist or a botanist, so I did a little research.  It seems that the best way to allow the field to lie fallow is to rotate crops in the field so that one portion of the field rests every 3 years or so.  Allowing the entire field to completely lie fallow for a year can actually create problems, especially since we are not allowed to control the weeds during that year.

Perhaps the biggest objection to the natural explanation of this Mitzvah is the fact that one would think that by the sixth year the field would be producing less as the nutrients are used up, and the most produce would be in the eighth year.  Yet the Torah promises that if we observe the “Shemitta” year, Hashem will provide triple the amount of produce in the sixth!  Clearly this is a Divine commandment with a spiritual purpose.  

Perhaps this is another answer to the question about the wording of the first verse in the Parsha that introduces the laws of Shemitta (the Sabbatical year); “Hashem said to Moshe on Mount Sinai.”  Rashi asks why Mount Sinai is mentioned here, were not all the Mitzvot given at Sinai?  Perhaps the Torah is emphasizing that this is a Mitzvah from Sinai as opposed to best practices for farming.

The secret lies in the next verses: “When you come to the land... the earth shall rest a Shabbat  to Hashem.  Six years you shall sow your field... And on the seventh year it shall be a year of rest.”  Note the order:  First the Torah says that when you come to the land the earth shall rest, then it continues that we should work the land for six years and then rest.  The opening line “the earth shall rest” seems to be out of place, stating the law for the seventh year before the first six.

The Torah is telling us that the idea of a Sabbatical year is not just about not working the land in the seventh year.  It is a general attitude about the land and our purpose in working it.  Yes, we need to make a living and yes, to do that we need to sow the field and harvest it.  But in order for our work to succeed we need Hashem’s blessings. 

In addition, the reason Hashem set things up this way, that we need to work to earn a living, is in order for us to engage the world and transform it.  

When we keep in mind that our physical work has a higher purpose, then our work is different.  We are making a channel for Hashem’s blessings, so we will be sure that it will be an honest channel, and we will be cognizant of Hashem’s part in everything we do.  So as we approach the six years of work, we immediately bring holiness to our work and the world, and the world becomes a place of “Shabbat to Hashem” at all times.