Parshat Behar

12 Iyar 5768

May 17, 2008
Daf Yomi: Nazir 58

Guest Author:
Rabbi Feivel Wagner Zt"l

Young Israel of Forest Hills, NY

Walking into a Beit HaMidrash for the first time can be a strange experience. When one thinks of a study hall or a library in the secular world, the picture of a quiet, stately and dignified atmosphere comes to mind. The slightest whisper would bring a harsh stare, and continuing it would produce many "sh"s, and finally a demand that the perpetrator leave. A Beit HaMidrash where Torah is studied is very different. Reading the text and interpreting it aloud is encouraged, and an almost deafening "Kol Torah" is understood to be indicative of an enthusiastic and interested student body.
Chazal interpret the verse (Bamidbar 21; 14),

על כן יאמר בספר מלחמות ה את והב בסופה
"Al kein yaiomar besefer milchamot HaShem et vahaiv b'sufa."

A simple translation of this verse - "Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of G-d: the miracle of the Red Sea." This verse refers to the "wars" fought by students of Torah, wrestling to find the truth and "fighting" each other to come to a true and correct interpretation. After all the yelling is done, and each partner in the "chavrusa" has digested the other's opinion and a consensus has been reached, then there is love ("vavainu") and friendship between them. The two (or more) have together seen the beauty of the truth of Torah, and their joint quest has fostered a feel of camaraderie and even love between them.

One of the common expressions used in this argumentation has its source in this week's parsha. When one would offer an argument based on a comparison to another subject in Torah, the rejoinder would be:

מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני
"Ma inyan shmita aitzel Har Sinai?" (Translation: what does the subject of the seventh year have to do with Mt. Sinai?)

This statement is quoted by Rashi in his commentary on the first verse, where the Torah speaks of G-d addressing Moshe on Har Sinai, and immediately the topic of shmita, the seventh year where the land of Israel must lie fallow, is introduced. It is used in discussion to humorously say that the two subjects have nothing to do with each other.

In fact, shmita is geographically disconnected from Sinai. Shmita of the land only applies in Eretz Yisrael. Actually, almost all agricultural mitzvot follow the rule laid down in the Mishna (Kiddushin 36b): "commandments dependent on the land (of an agricultural nature) apply only in the Land of Israel." The question is "Why?" If these mitzvot have an important lesson to teach, why don't they apply all over the world? Shmita teaches us (according to the Sefer HaChinuch and others) that the land is not ours; it belongs to HaShem, and at His command we till the soil or allow it to lie
fallow. Isn't this a fundamental lesson wherever we live?

One answer is that agricultural obligations are tied to "kedushat ha’aretz," the sanctity of the land, which is only Eretz Yisrael. There is an inherent sanctity and then the sanctity imposed by Yehoshua and then Ezra that endows this land with the special quality of these mitzvot. This answer would satisfy the technical aspect of the mitzvot's dependency on sanctity of the land.

I feel that there is another reason why shmita and other agricultural mitzvot apply only in Eretz Yisrael. If the purpose of these mitzvot is to remind us of the ownership of the land, if it is to combat the feeling of כחי ועצם ידי, kochi v'otzem yadi, that I am the master of my destiny, and it is my strength, my wisdom, my ability that will bring me power and success, then it's precisely when we are in our own land that the impact of this message is most needed.

In galut, we are obviously not masters of our own destinies. We are under the control of others and see ourselves as guests or aliens in a land that is not ours. This is true not only in Czarist or Communist Russia, Nazi Germany, or Islamic Iran. It is true in the most benevolent countries we have lived in. But in our own land with our own government, army, flag, etc., we begin to think that we are in control. There we need the message of shmita, to be reminded that the earth belongs to HaShem. It is only through loyalty to Him and His Torah that we can continue to enjoy the land and its many blessings. May we be zocheh to see the completed fulfillment of all those blessings.

Shabbat Shalom.

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