What is Ours is His — Rav Yonatan Horovitz More often than not there are mitzvot in the Torah which are discussed more than once. An example of such is found in this week’s parsha. Shemitta, the sabbatical year, is discussed in detail in Parshat Behar. It is also mentioned briefly in Parshat Mishpatim (Shemot 23) and in Parshat Reay (Devarim 15). On closer examination of the three instances in which Shemitta is found in the Torah, we discover that each has its unique slant. “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield. But in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow (tishmetena), let the needy among your people eat of it and what they leave let the wild beasts eat.” (Shemot 23:10-11) These verses relate to Shemitta as a form of social enactment. During the Shemitta year, even poor people are entitled to eat from the land’s produce, something which they generally are unable to do. This concern for the lower echelons of society is echoed in the ensuing verses which relate to Shabbat: “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh you shall cease from labor, in order that your ox and your mule may rest, and that your servant and stranger may be refreshed.” (Shemot 23:12) In Parshat Reay, a different aspect of the Shemitta year is mentioned: “Every seventh year you shall practice remission of debts (a shemitta). This shall be the nature of the remission; every creditor shall remit the due that he claims from his neighbor, he shall not dun his neighbor or kinsman, for the remission proclaimed is that of the Lord.” (Devarim 15:1-2) The Torah here refers to the monetary aspect of the Shemitta year, the remission of loans. There is no mention made in these verses of the commandment to leave the land fallow. The only connection to the Shemitta year discussed in Shemot is the common phraseology “shemitta” and “tishmetena” and the fact that these laws apply every seven years. We do notice however, that the remission of debts is also part of the Torah’s social economic policy. Once in a while, the debtors have a chance to begin afresh; their loans are remitted and they are able to rehabilitate their finances. Turning now to this week’s parsha, Behar, we find that the Shemitta year is described in yet different terms: “When you enter the land that I give you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the Lord (Shabbat LaShem). Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath of the Lord, you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” (Vayikra 25:2-4) The emphasis in these pesukim would appear to be on the point that this year is “Shabbat LaShem”. What does this mean? Sefer Hachinuch in Mitzva #84 states: It is our duty to fix firmly in our minds that the universe was created by God, as it is stated (Ex 19:11): ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth’, and on the seventh on which he created nothing, He declared rest for Himself. Now, in order to eliminate the philosophy of the eternity of the world… a view, which destroys the foundations of Torah, we are instructed to measure time – day, by day, year by year – counting six and resting on the seventh. In this way, the principle of creation will never leave our consciousness…. That is why God commanded us not just to refrain from all agricultural labor but also to renounce our ownership of the produce of the land during this year. It reminds man that it is not by virtue of its own independent power the earth which yields its fruits year by year, but because there is a God who is master over it and over its owner… A further objective of these laws is to foster man’s trait of generosity … and another objective – to cultivate and strengthen man’s faith and reliance on God, for he who can relinquish ownership over his land and the land of his fathers, every seven years, and accustom his entire family to it, will never become obsessed by desire for possession, nor suffer from lack of reliance on God. The main thrust of the Chinuch’s idea is that the point of the Shemitta year is the effect it has on the land owner. The farmer, used to working hard and sustaining himself from the produce of his land, is required to give up this privilege once every seven years, thus acknowledging that the land and indeed the entire world was created and is owned by The Almighty. This, then, is a different aspect of Shemitta, a religious ritual as opposed to the social policy described in the other sources. We are therefore surprised to find the following verse in this week’s parsha: “But you may eat whatever the land during its sabbath will produce – you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you. Your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat its entire yield.” (Vayikra 25:6-7) This reminds us of the verses found in Shemot and returns us to the social aspect of Shemitta. We could simply explain that the various notions of Shemitta are interwoven. However, we claim that the division suggested above rings true and there is a different reason why this verse occurs here. We will base our suggestion on a mishna in Pirkei Avot: “Rabbi Elazar of Bartota said: Give Him what is His, for you and yours are His” (Avot 3:8). What is the meaning of Rabbi Elazar’s enigmatic comment? Surely this does not mean that we should give of our belongings to God? What need would God have for worldly possessions? We find various stories in the Talmud about Rabbi Elazar of Bartuta, most of which testify to his concern for the mitzvah of tzedaka. The Gemara in Ta’anit states that when the tzedaka collectors would see Rabbi Elazar they would run off in the other direction as he would generally give them all the money that he had on him at the time. They did this because Rabbi Elazar’s extreme generosity often embarrassed them and they may have felt that it was misguided on his part. Without entering into a lengthy discussion, it is clear that when Rabbi Elazar said that we should “give Him what is His”, he was referring to giving of our possessions to those who are in need. Yet, Rabbi Elazar describes this requirement as giving that which belongs to God back to God! In essence this means that our giving tzedaka is likened to giving to Hashem Himself. Why should this be the case? Hashem wants us to understand both that all our material wealth stems from Him AND to share that wealth with our fellow human beings. Seeing as those poor people who may require our support are all created in the image of God, providing for their needs is equated with giving to God. Returning to our parsha, we now comprehend why the Torah discusses the fact that by leaving the land fallow in its Shabbat LaShem, we allow the less fortunate to partake of the produce. Aside from the equalizing effect this has upon society, the notion of giving what is ours to others is, in effect, giving to God. In the same way as refraining from working the land reminds us of God’s ultimate ownership of the world, so providing the poor and the servants with produce is equated with giving to God. We may conclude that the fulfillment of a mitzvah in the interpersonal realm, Ben Adam LeChavero, is also a mitzvah Ben Adam leMakom and therefore worth dual concern and effort. I leave this for your thought and further discussion. Shabbat Shalom, Rav Yonatan