Blessings of Anticipation In this week’s parsha the Torah describes the mitzvah of shemita. We are told that the farmer is not permitted to plant, to prune, or to harvest the produce of his field. This is a tremendous demand to make of the farmer and of a society that depended on local agriculture.

 

The Torah acknowledges the enormity of the test and states: “If you will ask, ‘What will we eat during this seventh year…’ I shall command My blessing in the sixth year,” so that you will be provided for during shemita.

 

Likewise the Medrash declares that those “of great strength”, the people of fortitude described in Tehillim 103, are those who observe shemitah.

Such is the magnitude of the test that they have passed by allowing the land to lie fallow during shemita.

 

One simple question: If HaShem promises that there will be a bumper crop in the sixth year [and there certainly will be, because it is a Torah guarantee] then what is so hard about observing the mitzvah of shemita? Once that guarantee was in place, why is this mitzvah viewed as such a great challenge. If in the sixth year your harvest was double or triple its norm, wouldn’t you also observe shemita happily. Why are those who observe shemita considered to be people of great strength, faith, and fortitude?

 

There are different times in the shemita cycle that the question “What will we eat during the seventh year?” might have been asked. The question might have been asked before the bumper crop of the sixth year, in which case the abundance of blessing in the sixth year would indeed remove the challenge to observance. But it is possible that the question might have been asked after the bumper crop, but before observing the shemita year.

 

I would like to suggest that the question “What will we eat during the seventh year?” was asked after experiencing the blessing of the sixth year but before the shemita year began. The challenge to observe shemita is a challenge which is basic to the human condition. The human being thinks, “The blessing provided until now is mine. I pocketed it; I spent it.” Now there is a challenge to do a mitzvah. A human being may sincerely ask: Where will I get the wherewithal to do the mitzvah?

 

The Torah’s statement “I will provide blessing in the sixth year” is not just a promise. The statement “I will provide in the sixth year,” is intended to be educational. The Torah recognizes that a Jew may say, “The blessing of the sixth year was nice. But how will I observe this mitzvah?” So the Torah proceeds to introduce a new way of thinking. The blessing preceding a challenge isn’t yours to do with it as you choose. The blessing of the sixth year was given to you in anticipation of the challenge, so that you would have the wherewithal to meet the challenge of shemita properly.

 

I recall a story of a young man who lost his job, and approached his father for financial assistance. His father asked, “You’ve been working for awhile son. Don’t you have any money saved away?” The son responded that he did, “But I’m saving it for a rainy day.” “Well son,” the father said with a gentle smile, “I think it’s raining.”

 

Even after the blessing of the sixth year, shemita observance is a challenge. The challenge is to realize that the blessing which was provided was to be allocated to this year’s mitzvah. So often we take the blessing and pocket it. We use it on the proverbial “trip to Europe”. Then we turn to HaShem and sincerely ask, “How will I be able to observe the mitzvah of today?”

 

I recall a family that moved into town when I was in high school. They purchased an expensive home, did renovations, and even upgraded both of their cars. Before their neighbors even got to know them they were already going on a vacation. We didn’t see much of them during July or August, but when September rolled around the town was in an uproar. It seems that when they were asked to pay tuition for their children they responded that they couldn’t afford it. It was a very difficult situation. It is quite probable that they really couldn’t afford the tuition. But they couldn’t afford it because they had spent it.

 

 When HaShem says “I will command My blessing in the sixth year,” it is educational. HaShem is saying, “Hello! The reason I am giving you such blessing is so that you can observe properly the mitzvah which will follow.

 

There are times that HaShem provides the “refuah before the makkah, the solution before the challenge”. He recognizes the challenges ahead as formidable, so he grants us the talents, the contacts, or the resources so that we will be equipped and ready. A person who pays attention will recognize a blessing as foreshadowing a mitzvah opportunity.

 

Those who observe shemitah are called strong in observance because the normal human response is to spend or stash the blessing away. We might take the blessing and use it on a home improvement, or lock it away for retirement. Then we might ask, “How can I observe mitzvos?” Indeed, even after the blessing of the sixth year, shemitah observance is still a big challenge.

 

Our generation is historically the wealthiest of all the exiles. HaShem has declared upon us, “I have commanded my blessing.” May we merit to be people of strength, and use our resources for mitzvah opportunities.

 

(additional Divrei Torah by this author can be accessed at www.teach613.org.)

 

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