Parshat Behar 5782
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the very beginning of this week’s parsha that the mitzvah of Shemittah was given at Har Sinai. Rashi famously asks, מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני; why is there a need to specifically mention this mitzvah as being given at Sinai? After all, the mitzvos of the Torah were all given at Har Sinai. Why is Shemittah being singled out?
The Sfas Emes teaches that there is an intimate connection between Shemittah and Har Sinai. And in order to appreciate this, we need to look back at the history of the world and the Jewish people. When Hashem created the world, the pasuk says (Bereishis, Chapter 1, Pasuk 2), והארץ היתה תהו ובהו. And in the very next pasuk we read, ויאמר אלוקים יהי אור, ויהי אור. These acts of creation, chaos followed by light, are paralleled in history. Chazal, in the Gemara in Avodah Zarah 9A teach that there were first two thousand years of תהו followed by two thousand years of Torah. The years of Torah began with Avraham Avinu bringing people close to Hashem. The pasuk describes the Kiruv efforts of Avraham and Sarah as (Bereishis, Chapter 12, Pasuk 5), ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, and the Targum Onkelos explains this process as, וית נפשתא דשעבידו לאורייתא בחרן; the people in Charan who made a commitment to the Torah. Historically as well, the chaos and confusion of the world was followed by light, specifically, the light of the Torah.
The pasuk in sefer Yeshayahu says (Chapter 45, Pasuk 18), לא תהו בראה, לשבת יצרה; the world was not created for chaos and creation, but rather in order to be settled. With the advent of the Avos, the period of chaos ended and the process of settling began, based on the Torah. And the place in the world which is the basis of all creation, is Eretz Yisrael. The Gemara in Yoma 54B teaches that there was a stone in the Kodesh Hakadashim called אבן שתיה, וממנה הושתת כל העולם; the foundation of the world extended from that point. Consequently, the Avos longed to settle and inherit Eretz Yisrael as part of their mission of settling the world.
We have mentioned in the past numerous times, that the holy Sefarim teach us that there is a unique Kedushah in עולם, שנה ונפש; place, time, and individual, in the physical world. For example, within all the physical places in the world, there is one which contains an unseen holiness whose source is beyond this world. That place is Eretz Yisrael, more precisely, the place of the Beis Hamikdash. When Avraham is told to go to Eretz Yisrael, the Torah refers to it as (Chapter 12, Pasuk 1), אל הארץ אשר אראך; to the land I will show you. The Zohar Hakadosh learns that these words indicate that there is something unique about Eretz Yisrael which is not clearly seen, but which Hashem had to show him. Eretz Yisrael is therefore the most suitable place to develop the world and connect it to its source, to Hashem, through the Torah. It is the place to fulfill the command of (Bereishis, Chapter 1, Pasuk 28), פרו ורבו ומלאו את הארץ וכבשוה.
The time during the year containing the most hidden Kedushah is Shabbos. And on Shabbos, we receive the additional dose of holiness called the נשמה יתירה. And just as we receive an additional soul every seventh day on Shabbos, in the holiness of place, Eretz Yisrael, there is a נשמה יתירה every seventh year. And that נשמה יתירה is called Shemittah. The physical land, typically used for growing and producing, takes a break and experiences its additional dose of holiness. We return the land to its source and allow it to lie fallow and as a result, we enable it to be settled the way is meant; according to the Torah.
The Torah also has its revealed meaning and its hidden meaning as well. And it is through the Torah that the holiness of time and place is achieved; keeping Shabbos and keeping Shemittah. And this is the ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני; through the laws of the Torah the holiness of the land is accomplished and fulfilled.
The holiness of נפש is that of the Jew. And this is expressed when he keeps the Torah and is best illustrated in Eretz Yisrael. Only in Eretz Yisrael is there a wholeness and a unity to Clal Yisrael, as we say in the Tefillah on Shabbos at Mincha, מי כעמך ישראל, גוי אחד בארץ. When we are all together in Eretz Yisrael, unified in keeping the mitzvos of the Torah, it is the ultimate fulfillment of our appointed task of לא תהו בראה לשבת יצרה.
Good Shabbos
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