פרשת בהר
The verse in this week’s Parsha which, discusses the Mitzvah of Shmitah – (the commandment that all real-estate sales return to their original owners), says “והארץ לא תמכר לצמיתות כי לי הארץ…” – “And the land shall not be sold permanently, for it belongs to God and you are foreigners in front of me.” The תורת כהנים explains this esoteric verse by saying that God is giving us the reason for the Mitzvah of Shmitah. When a person realizes that even the real-estate which he owns does not belong to him on a permanent basis, he will not be likely to foster any feelings of comfortability which could lead to haughtiness. Hence the commandment to return all land after 49 years.
Truthfully, this understanding should come naturally to a person. When one glances around at the world, one can’t help but notice how feeble the human condition really is. Even the wealthiest man in the world can be brought to financial ruin in a matter of minutes. Even the strongest human being on this earth could have one tiny air bubble in his veins and perish instantaneously. Any thinking individual should realize that, contrary to the popular saying, we are NOT the master of our own destiny. This point is accentuated even more, according to the תורת כהנים during the Sabbatical year when we are forced to return even the most stable of things – the very ground we have lived on – to the original owners.
When one delves even deeper into the understanding of this holy Mitzvah, one realizes that it yields a tremendous potential to allow us to reach the level of angels. The Midrash in this week’s Parsha brings the following verse: “Those people (the ones who rest on the seventh year) will bless Hashem like angels filled with great strength as they do His will…” The Midrash continues by bringing R’ Yitzchak. R’ Yitzchak says that to keep the Mitzvah of Shveiis is particularly difficult. Most Mitzvos require proactive effort for a very short amount of time. Or alternatively, the negative commandments require a person to control his desires only until they go away. But this unique commandment demands of a person to witness his field lying fallow day in and day out for an entire year and still remain silent! If a person can accomplish this amazing feat, he is no longer called a man, but rather elevated to the title of angel. The Midrash continues by saying that the Jews at Har Sinai reached a similar level when they uttered the words נעשה ונשמע .
R’ Gedaliah Shor, the renowned Rosh Yeshiva, attempts to explain this puzzling Midrash. Firstly, what is the connection between one who observes the laws of Shmitah and the Jews’ faith at Har Sinai? Secondly, why specifically does the Midrash refer to one who keeps this mitzvah as an angel? He dwells on the Midrash’s use of the term, “he will remain silent.” R’ Shor asserts that this silence actually speaks volumes. It represents a Jew’s complete and total acquiescence to God’s will. When one sees his field inactive for an entire year yet remains silent, he is demonstrating his complete acceptance of God’s dominion over the world and making himself completely subservient to God’s will. This, continues R’ Shor, will elevate a Jew to the status of an angel.
In order to further his point, R’ Shor brings the famous Sefas Emes on the Mishnah in Avos, “The best thing I found for a person is silence”. The Sefas Emes explains the silence which the Tana is referring to is the silence of acquiescence as we mentioned. When the Mishna asserts that this is the best thing for one’s body, the Mishna means to say that this compliance which we are referring to is the quintessential prerequisite for spiritual growth.
R’ Gedaliah Shor concludes by explaining the end of the Midrash which equated the Jews who stood at Mt. Sinai and the ones who observes the laws of Shmitah. Just as one who ignores the needs of his field for an entire year demonstrates his ironclad commitment to God through his “silence”, similarly the Jews at Har Sinai who said “נעשה ונשמע” must have had tremendous dedication to God in order to be willing to make such a commitment without knowing the terms of what they were getting into.
I would like to offer some words of encouragement that can be seen from this Mitzvah. The Midrash states that one who can muster up the strength to observe the laws of Shemitah has reached the level of an angel. By virtue of the fact that every Jew is commanded to observe these laws, we can deduce that we are all capable of attaining this lofty achievement of being referred to by the verse as angels, and I would like to demonstrate this potential from two sources in Judaism.
The Mesilas Yesharim says that there is a commandment for a Jew to refrain from taking revenge on another Jew when the opportunity arises. He points out that the pleasure that a person has from taking revenge against somebody who has wronged him is one of the sweetest pleasures imaginable to man, and to refrain from doing so would require superhuman strength. Yet we find that God expects each and every Jew to reach this superhuman level. From here we see that even the ‘smallest’ of Jews is capable of reaching boundless heights.
Additionally, we find in the Gemorah in בבא בתרא דף קס”ד that there are three sins which no person is successful in eluding daily. These are: 1) Lashon Hara 2) Illicit thoughts 3) Lack of concentration during prayer. The Maharsha asks on this Gemorah a piercing question. If no Jew is saved from these ‘sins’ how can God hold us culpable for them? His answer is shocking. He says that while it is true that no man can withstand these temptations, a Jew is not a man, rather he is capable of being an angel and in fact required to do so. I feel that these two portrayals of our potential as human beings and as Jews should give us tremendous motivation when we see what we are capable of becoming.
May we merit to realize our extraordinary potential!