Parshas Behar-Bechukosai: Surprising Sabbatical Specifics

Ezra Davidovics (’24)

This week’s parsha is the double parsha Behar-Bechukosai. The parsha of Behar begins with a description of the laws of shemittah. The Torah describes the shemittah as a “Shabbos La’Hashem.” This description is extremely cryptic as of course Hashem doesn’t need rest so why would there need to be a year of rest for Him?

This question is one which is asked by many of the meforshim as it is a very strong question. Rashi’s answer to this question is a pretty simple one. He says that “ la’Hashem ” here means “L’shem Hashem” or for the sake of Hashem This means that the reason why we observe the shemittah is because Hashem told us to but Hashem himself is not the one who rests but rather the people and the land are. Rashi quotes this answer from the Medrash Toras Kohanim. Rashi then proves this from the fact that it says the same thing by the weekly shabbos and it means because Hashem said so.

Last Week’s Solution

The Ramban however argues on this answer saying that the Chazal who expounded on this pasuk in the medrash couldn't have meant like Rashi says, that it means for the sake of Hashem, as all Yamim Tovim are for the sake of Hashem and nowhere does it mention that they are “shabossim La’Hashem” but rather it states they are “for you”. Ramban instead answers with a mystical concept that actually what the pasuk means is that in some way Hashem Himself rested and thus we also don’t do any work. He also says that this is what it means in the medrash when they say it is just like the first Shabbos where Hashem himself also rested. The Ramban quotes the Ibn Ezra who also seems to be saying the same thing here.

In the next pasuk the Ramban asks another, different, question. The next pasukim state, “six years the seventh year... your land will rest.” The Ramban asks here why the Torah says to work for six years if the whole point of the section is to rest on the seventh. He answers that this is just the normal way which the Torah talks, such as in the section about the weekly shabbos where it says “six days you shall work.”

Ramban then quotes another, final, aggadic answer to this question. This answer comes from the Mechilta in Mishpatim which quotes Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Yishmael there states that when Bnei Yisrael are doing the will of Hashem they will only have to observe one shemittah year every seven year cycle, however if the Jews do not fulfill the will of Hashem the land will become so infertile that in order to grow any crops the farmers will need to rest the land every other year, thus resting for four sabbatical years. Therefore, this pasuk which says to sow the land for six years, is actually a blessing for when we follow Hashem’s will we will be able to sow for six years every seven and always only have to observe one shemittah year.

The Ramban then quotes a more complicated answer which he quotes from Chazal. This statement of Chazal says that the statement, “Six years shall you sow” actually constitutes a positive commandment to go along with the negative commandment. They are saying that when the Torah states something like this in the form of “do this but don’t do this,” that if one were to violate the negative commandment it would count as if they violate both the positive and negative commands.

This Medrash shares a beautiful message for our lives. The Shemittah year and all of its laws can seem like a death sentence and a huge restriction for all of the farmers who live in the land of Israel. After all, how can they survive not farming any food for a whole year!? However the Torah reveals to us through this pasuk of “Six years shall you sow” to show us how, in fact, without this year of shemittah our land would be even more infertile and more years of rest would be needed to replenish the land. This shows us how for all mitzvos which we may not understand and we may feel are huge restrictions on us are actually of course made by Hashem who has infinitely more knowledge than us and only has our best interests in mind and therefore, of course, the mitzvah will undoubtedly help us out in the long run.