As I write this column (a week before most of you will read it), the current Torah portion is Behar-Bechukosai. I have often noted that if we delve deeply into the weekly parshah we will be able to understand, with a great deal of clarity, events unfolding before our eyes.
Consider the opening verse of the parshah – “And Hashem spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai….” Following that, the parshah teaches us the commandments of the Shemittah laws which stipulate that every seventh year the land of Israel must be allowed to rest, meaning it must lay fallow and unattended.
This was not an easy challenge for our ancestors, who lived in an ancient agricultural society in which refrigeration and many other modern amenities were non-existent. Nevertheless, Hashem commanded us to observe these laws with meticulous precision.
In the sixth year before the Shemittah the crop had to be so bountiful that it would suffice for three years. Obviously the observance of this law demanded total faith in Hashem.
Miraculously, throughout the long centuries of our exile we never lost count of the Shemittah cycle and with the establishment of the modern state of Israel we once again began observing Shemittah in our Holy Land. As a matter of fact, this year is a Shemittah year. We need only go to Israel to behold its observance.
Thus we can readily understand why the Torah specifies that the laws of Shemittah emanated from Sinai. Its observance required total faith and reliance on the Almighty. Only people whose faith blazes in their hearts and souls can undertake such a commandment.
Just imagine if we were told in our day to cease farming, planting, and harvesting and to shut down our businesses – but don’t worry, everything will be fine because G-d will take care of you. There will be ample food on your table and all your needs will be met.
Would we trust such a promise or would we dismiss it with a cynical laugh? We’d probably shout at the person making that promise, “You’re crazy, you need help.”
And yet our people did accept such a promise. Because one little but great word was behind it: Sinai. It was at Sinai that Hashem gave us the commandment and made the promise to our forefathers – and so no further questions or answers were necessary.
The Shemittah connection actually encompasses many areas of life and harvests many more miracles.
An amazing story was reported from Israel that testifies to that. In anticipation of the Shemittah year a group of pious Jews from Bnei Brak went searching for land where pure wheat would be available for shmurah matzahs – hand-baked matzahs that are “guarded.”
There are many laws surrounding shmurah matzah and they must be adhered to with meticulous care. These men from Bnei Brak adhered to the most stringent interpretations of the requirements. They were searching for wheat that had not yet had been harvested and had kernels that would be appropriate for storage.
The men found a place near the border of Gaza that had the wheat they were looking for. The wheat was spectacular – five feet tall and adequate to supply shmurah matzah for the Shemittah year.
But the land, being so close to the Gaza border, was not in a safe area. Hamas had been launching thousands of rockets against Israel from Gaza and built terror tunnels leading directly into Israel. One of those tunnels opened into the wheat field the men of Bnei Brak wished to purchase. The terrorists had picked that spot thinking the five-feet high wheat would give them perfect cover.
