A Thought on Parshas Behar

"...shesh shanim tizra sad'echa..." "...you shall plant your fields for six years..." (28:3) The Torah gives us the commandment to observe the shmitta, which is the seventh year in the sabbatical cycle of tending our fields. We leave the vineyards, orchards and farmlands untilled and unsown. Our trust is placed in the Above that He will sustain us during that shmitta year, as we cease all agricultural involvements. We might ponder the meaning of our verse here. We certainly understand that we are commanded to stop working the fields every seventh year. That is the mitzvah. However, are we to understand that there is a corresponding mitzvah to actively engage in farm labor for the other six years? Is the verse meant as an instruction, or merely speaking in terms of the contrast between those six and the seventh? Would one, for example, be free to neglect the land entirely and simply live off of imported goods always, every year? Would one who follows the common practice of alternating planting years with fallow years be going against the intent of our verse i.e. must we work the land for six consecutive years? Could "shmitta" become a constant way of life, or does it take on its significance only when preceded by six years of laboring? The Panae'ach Raza examines the intended scope of our verse. He does not view it as a proactive commandment to work the fields for six years. Rather, he suggests that the Torah is hinting at something deeper. He writes that the verse intends to celebrate the unique and praiseworthy quality of the Holy Land. The Torah is enunciating here that the Land of Israel can be worked for six consecutive years and in fact, when we adhere to the structure of Torah and HaShem's mitzvos, the fields will produce consistent bounty. We shall plant and we shall reap. We shall sow and we shall harvest. When the Jewish people follow the rules given by the Torah, HaShem will sustain us. The fields will produce for us during all six years. Not only does the Torah pledge to us that we shall survive during the fallow year of shmitta, but we shall also survive during the prior six years of working the fields. Our verse highlights the worthiness of the People of Israel as manifest through the yield of the Land of Israel. Good Shabbos. D Fox