פרשת בהר
There is a Mitzvah mentioned in this week’s Parsha which is quite applicable to us this year. The Torah commands us to work the land for six full years, and then to rest every seventh year without performing any of the normal agricultural tasks that are done to maintain the land. We are instructed to leave the land completely fallow and to make its fruits available to anyone that is needy. The Sefer Hachinuch explains that the primary reason for this Mitzvah is to instill in us a fundamental belief in God and His ability to sustain us, even though we are doing nothing at all to tend to our own needs. We are to feel confident during this entire year that although there is no logical explanation for it, God is not going to let us go hungry.
The verse in this week’s Parsha calls the Shmitah year a year of Shabbos. In many ways the Shmitah year and the day of Shabbos are very similar. Just as during the Shmitah year we do no work in the field, during the day of Shabbos, we do no work to sustain ourselves, but rather take a day of complete cessation from any income generating labor and rely solely on God for our sustenance. In today’s modern world, in which most people have enough money to live for a day or even a month without doing any work, we are perhaps less sensitive to this aspect of Shabbos, but many years ago, where people lived on their daily income, taking a day of vacation from work could have been a fatal move. Yet nevertheless, by taking this weekly day off, we are portraying undeniably who we truly believe is responsible for our sustenance.
The Talmud teaches us that a non-Jew who attempts to observe the Shabbos is liable the death penalty for doing the same thing that a Jew is in fact commanded to do. This is perhaps because Shabbos is a statement of one’s complete detachment from the laws of nature and one’s firm belief that those laws are only a direct result of the Creator’s involvement. A non-Jew, who is perhaps incapable of grasping this principle, has no business taking a day off from work. But a Jew who lives with this reality at all times, is required to take one day a week to demonstrate his belief in God and if he is lax in this belief, he too is liable to be killed.
The challenge of Shmitah is quite similar to that of Shabbos, only 365 times harder. The Torah refers to somebody who can stand up to this challenge as one who is “Filled with powerful strength to fulfill the word of God”. However, if the Jewish nation is unable to muster up the strength to stand up to this powerful challenge, the punishment is quite severe. The Gemorah says that if the Jews do not keep the Shmitah, and instill in themselves this crucial attribute of complete faith in God, they will be banished from their land and will be forced into exile until such time that they can rectify their outlook.
There is perhaps another Mitzvah in the Torah which although at first glance seems like one whose primary purpose is to teach us kindness and compassion, but in reality serves, for a large part, to allow us to increase our trust in God. The Mitzvah that we are referring to is the Mitzvah of charity. The Gemorah in Kesuvos (68) says, “Anybody who ignores a poor person who is begging for alms, is considered to have worshiped idols”! Similarly, the Mishnah in Avos (3:7) says, “Give (to the poor) from your money, because yours and his, are really God’s”. From these two pieces in Chazal, it is clear that charity is directly connected to one’s belief in God. The reason for this is simple. By commanding us in the Mitzvah of charity, God was hoping to instill in us the belief that all of our financial possessions and commodities are not really ours, and by sharing them with the less fortunate then ourselves, we are supposed to inculcate this idea into our hearts. What wealthy person would be audacious enough to believe that he could have acquired even one penny without the direct aid from his creator? All of one’s assets and commodities are a gift from Hashem, and by listening to God’s commandment, and sharing that gift with the needy, a person will demonstrate clearly to himself, and to the rest of the world, his belief in the truth of this reality and ultimately strengthen his relationship and his trust in God.
Truthfully the Mitzvah of Shmitah and the Mitzvah of charity are closely related. The Rambam says that one of the highest forms of charity is the one in which the recipient is not aware of the giver’s identity. During the Shmitah year, we are commanded to declare our agricultural real estate completely ownerless, and allow all the needy to enter into our fields to take whatever they desire. According to the Rambam, this is perhaps the greatest form of charity, because the recipient feels confident that his identity will remain anonymous, and the Mitzvah of Shmitah will simultaneously build up a person’s trust in God on two accounts! Another aspect of Shmitah which helps the needy is that we are commanded on the Shmitah year to relinquish all debts that are owed us. This is perhaps a very difficult thing to do, but we must have complete faith that since the money was God’s anyway, we will not lose out from this Mitzvah.
From all that we have said, it is clear how important it is for a person to constantly be building up his belief in God during every moment of the day. The verse in Chabakuk says, “The righteous live on Emunah alone”. The Verse in Mishlei (14) says, “Charity uplifts the nation”. By continuously giving charity on a daily basis, and by keeping the Shabbos and the Shmitah, and by putting our trust in the Master of the Universe at every turn in our lives, we will transcend our physical existence and be living with our Creator for all eternity!
May God bless us all to foster a true belief in Him for all time!