(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָֽה׃ (ג) שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃ (ד) וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָ֑ה שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר׃ (ה) אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ו) וְ֠הָיְתָה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ לָכֶם֙ לְאָכְלָ֔ה לְךָ֖ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וְלַאֲמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלִשְׂכִֽירְךָ֙ וּלְתוֹשָׁ֣בְךָ֔ הַגָּרִ֖ים עִמָּֽךְ׃ (ז) וְלִ֨בְהֶמְתְּךָ֔ וְלַֽחַיָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאַרְצֶ֑ךָ תִּהְיֶ֥ה כָל־תְּבוּאָתָ֖הּ לֶאֱכֹֽל׃ (ס)
(1) The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the LORD. (3) Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. (4) 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. (5) You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. (6) 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, (7) and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield.
שבת ליי. לְשֵׁם יי, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּשַׁבַּת בְּרֵאשִׁית (עי' ספרא):
שבת ליי [THEN SHALL THE LAND KEEP) A REST 'לה — This means a rest in honor of the Lord (not a rest for the Lord, as in v. 4: שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ, “there shall be a strict Sabbath for the land”, i. e. for the land to rest) in the same sense as these words are used in the case of the weekly Sabbath (lit., the Sabbath of Creation) (Exodus 20:10) where 'שבת לה cannot mean “a day for God to rest” (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 2).
לא תקצור. לִהְיוֹת מַחֲזִיק בּוֹ כִּשְׁאָר קָצִיר, אֶלָּא הֶפְקֵר יִהְיֶה לַכֹּל:
לא תקצור THOU SHALT NOT REAP [IT] — to take it as your exclusive property as you do with other harvests (with the harvest in another year) but it shall be free (הפקר) to all and then thou also may reap of it.
והיתה שבת הארץ וגו'. אַעַ"פִּ שֶׁאֲסַרְתִּים עָלֶיךָ, לֹא בַאֲכִילָה וְלֹא בַּהֲנָאָה אֲסַרְתִּים, אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא תִנְהֹג בָהֶם כְּבַעַל הַבַּיִת, אֶלָּא הַכֹּל יִהְיוּ שָׁוִים בָּהּ, אַתָּה וּשְׂכִירְךָ וְתוֹשָׁבְךָ:
'והיתה שבת הארץ וגו AND THE SABBATH OF THE LAND SHALL BE [FOOD FOR YOU] — Although I have forbidden them (the fruits of the sabbatical year) to you by stating “thou shalt not harvest etc.”, I do not mean to forbid them to you as food or to be used for any other beneficial purpose but what I meant was that you should not comport yourself in respect of them as the exclusive owner but all must be equal as regards it (the Sabbatical year’s produce) — you and your hired servant and your sojourner.
Question: According to Rashi, what is the pshat; simple explanation of this text?
Rambam, Guide for the Perplexed 3:13, 452
It should not be believed that all the beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes.
Kli Yakar on Devarim 31:12
The year of Shmita...promotes a sense of fellowship and peace through the suspension of cultivation, even for the needy of your people, for one is not allowed to exercise private ownership over any of the seventh year produce. And this is undoubtedly a primary factor in promoting peace since most dissension originates from the attitudes of 'mine is mine,' one person claiming 'it is all mine' and the other also claiming 'it is all mine.' But in the seventh year all are equal, and this is the real essence of peace.
Rabbi Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550-1619) was a rabbi, poet and Torah commentator. He is best known for his Torah commentary, Kli Yakar.
Question: According to the Kli Yakar, what is the purpose or consequence of Shmita? Can you imagine it playing out in this way?
Rabbi Zvi Hirscher, Sefer Habrit, Parshat Behar
[The Shmita year] teaches us further that the rich should not lord it over the poor. Accordingly, the Torah ordained that all should be equal during the seventh year, both the rich and the needy having access to the gardens and fields to eat their fill...Yet another reason: in order that they should not always be preoccupied with working the soil to provide for their material needs. for in this one year, they would be completely free. The liberation from the yoke of work would give them the opportunity for studying Torah and wisdom. The unlettered (illiterate) will be occupied with crafts and building and supplying these needs in Eretz Yisrael. Those endowed with special skills will invent new methods in this free time for the benefit of the world.
Rabbi Kalischer (1795-1874) was an Orthodox German rabbi and one of Zionism's early pioneers in Germany.
Question: What additional reasons are given here for Shmita observance? Which of the reasons given so far are most compelling to you personally?
שש שנים ולשבת בשביעית, ובכן לא תפרד לעולם הענין מבין עינינו תמיד, והוא כענין שאנו מונין ימי השבוע בששת ימי עבודה והשביעי יום מנוחה. ולכן צוה ברוך הוא להפקיר כל מה שתוציא הארץ בשנה זו מלבד השביתה בה כדי שיזכר האדם כי הארץ שמוציאה אליו הפרות בכל שנה ושנה לא בכחה וסגלתה תוציא אותם, כי יש אדון עליה ועל אדוניה, וכשהוא חפץ מצוה עליו להפקירם. ועוד יש תועלת, נמצא בדבר לקנות בזה מדת הותרנות, כי אין נדיב כנותן מבלי תקוה אל הגמול. ועוד יש תועלת אחר [ת], נמצא בזה שיוסיף האדם בטחון בשם יתברך, כי כל המוצא עם לבבו לתת ולהפקיר לעולם כל גדולי קרקעותיו ונחלת אבותיו הגדלים בכל שנה אחת ומלמד בכך הוא וכל המשפחה כל ימיו, לא תחזק בו לעולם מדת הכילות הרבה ולא מעוט הבטחון.
by counting six years and resting on the seventh so that this matter will never depart from between our eyes for all time. And this is similar to the manner in which we count the days of the week [by dividing them] into six days of work and the seventh is a day of rest. Therefore, He, blessed be He, did command to render ownerless all that the land produces in this year - in addition to resting during it (i.e. during the year) - so that a person will remember that the land which produces fruits for him every year does not produce them by its [own] might and virtue. For there is a Master over it and over its master - and when He wishes, He commands him (i.e. the master of the land) to render them (i.e. the fruit) ownerless. And there is another benefit in this matter - to acquire the trait of letting go (i.e. of one's possessions), for there is no one more generous than he who gives without hope for recompense. And there is another benefit - the outcome of this is that a person will add to his trust in God, may He be blessed, since anyone who finds it in his heart to give and abandon to the world all of the produce of his lands and his ancestral inheritance for an entire year - and educates himself and his family through this for all of his days - will never have the trait of stinginess overcome him too much, nor will he have a deficient amount of trust.
Rav Kook, Introduction to "Sabbath of the Land"
The treasure of the nation, the Divine blessing that is implanted in it, the order of the world, the righteous and good life, lived in harmony with justice and honesty, peace and tranquility, grace and courage, permeated by the all-embracing contemplation of the Divine purpose, as it exists in the national soul -- none call be activated in the day-to-day life. The very nature of this life obfuscates the spiritual majesty of the Divine soul (which dwells in the nation) and prevents its bright and shining light from penetrating the profane reality.
Life can only be perfected through the affording of a breathing space from the bustle of everyday life. The individual shakes himself free from ordinary weekday life at short and regular intervals -- every Sabbath... What the Sabbath achieves regarding the individual, the Shmita achieves with regard to the nation as a whole.
A year of solemn rest is essential for both the nation and the land, a year of peace and quiet without oppressor and tyrant...It is a year of equality and rest, in which the soul reaches out towards Divine justice, towards God who sustains the living creatures with loving kindness. There is no private property and no punctilious privilege but the peace of God reigns over all in which there is the breath of life.
Sanctity is not profaned by the exercise of private acquisitiveness over all this year's produce and the covetousness of wealth stirred up by commerse is forgotten. for food -- but not for commerce.
Avraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenzi Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine. He was a kabbalist, poet, legalist, and hugely influential religious leader.
We Need to Lie Fallow too!
“Bring Back The Sabbath” by Judith Shulevitz (NYT Magazine, Jan 2, 2003
What was Creation's climactic culmination? The act of stopping. Why should God have considered it so important to stop? Rabbi Elijah of Vilna put it this way: God stopped to show us that what we create becomes meaningful to us only once we stop creating it and start to think about why we did so. The implication is clear. We could let the world wind us up and set us to marching, like mechanical dolls that go and go until they fall over, because they don't have a mechanism that allows them to pause. But that would make us less than human. We have to remember to stop because we have to stop to remember.
Rabbi David Ingber, Shabbat Behar sermon, Romemu
Something miraculous happens when we stop. We get to experience the power that nature knows called dormancy. Dormancy, that which is holding; the heartbeat that rests; the hibernating animals, all of winter; waiting and waiting…There are seeds inside each and every one of us, inside this culture, that cannot emerge because we do not know that dormancy does not mean death, resting does not mean disappearing. What keeps us from stopping is that we are terrified of resting. We are afraid of the imaginative terrible things we will feel in the quiet. We fear that when we stop, even for a moment, the sheer enormity of our lives will overwhelm us. Our outspoken nd unspoken fears, they speed up our lives. Like a stone being thrown over a lake, we've learned to skip so we don’t get too wet, and we are terrified that if we let the stone fall, we will disappear. And so we think that our speed will save us from the void. We dance around the security that is offered from touching what is underneath the speed. Can we let go of the obsession of finishing what can’t be finished? –
Avi Sagi and Yedidya Stern, Rest, Share, Release, Ha’Aretz, Sept 24, 2007
It is difficult not to be impressed by the profundity of the idea that moves cautiously between the desire to preserve private property and the wish not to see property as the be-all and end-all. Shmita is a call to set apart a bubble in time, which slows economic activity down, and which fosters care, compassion and even partnership between all those who share the earth, including animals. The race will resume in the eighth year, because humanity needs it, but the idea and its memory will linger on beyond the confines of the sabbatical year, to the other six years of feverish productivity.
Yigal Deutscher, Envisioning Sabbatical Culture
Taken on its own, Shmita is a riddle with no answer. In order to begin to understand the intricate puzzle that is Shmita, we must first connect the 6 years to the 7th, the individual parts of the cycle to its flowering conclusion. The 6 years of the Shmita Cycle are those of cultural design, and the 7th year is the indicator year; the ultimate ‘check-in’ to see how we are collectively doing as a culture. Shmita itself is not an isolated moment in time, but rather a cyclical expression of a vibrant culture rooted in local food systems, economic resiliency, and community empowerment. For us today, the Shmita Cycle can take shape as a story of transition, from the isolated self towards holistic community; from perceived scarcity towards revealed abundance. It is a story so old and ancient that we have forgotten just how much we need it today, now, for our own survival, for our own evolution and growth.
R. Jeremy Benstein, Stop the Machine! https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/stop-the-machine-the-sabbatical-year-principle/
What if we looked at shemitah not as a problem, but as a solution, and then considered what problems it’s meant to solve? In that light, shemitah becomes a political statement of social and environmental import, raising deep questions about the nature of a healthy and sustainable life, for individuals, society and the land.
For instance, currently only academics have a sabbatical year. Why? Our “affluent” society actually decreases leisure and family time, as more people not only choose to work to fulfill what they want to be, but feel compelled to work, in order to afford what society says they should have. Consumerism necessitates “producerism” to keep both supply and demand high. Yet as shemitah hints, people are indeed like the land, in ways that are more obvious in the modern world: For both, when overwork leads to exhaustion, we engineer continued “vitality” not with true renewal, but with chemicals. But just as silence is an integral part of speech, punctuated periods of fallowness are crucial for guaranteeing continued fertility. There’s no reason why only an intellectual elite should benefit from a year of learning, reflection and regeneration: The original sabbatical was for farmers, not physicists.
(ה) והנה אמרו רז"ל סוף מעשה במחשבה תחילה, שכולם לא נבראו אלא בשביל האדם. וכן אמרו רז"ל כל העולם כולו לא נברא אלא בשביל זה. לכן כל העולם כולו מתנהג על ידי האדם כמאמר "ורדו בדגת הים וכו", וכמאמר דוד המלך ע"ה "תמשילהו במעשי ידך כל שתה תחת רגליו וכו". וכענין התחתונים כן הוא בעולמות העליונים שנבראו ואדם על כולם, שהרי אמרו רז"ל אין לך עשב מלמטה שאין לו מלאך מלמעלה וכו' שאומר לו גדל, ואחרי היות האדם מושל בכל מלמטה -- כן הוא מושל על המלאכים והממונים עליהם והעולמות העליונים שנבראו בשבילו, שהרי הוא מלך על כולם. ובהא סלקי ובהא נחתי העולמות. וכל הנבראים על ידי רוח האדם העולה מעלה מעלה לדבקה בו ית' או רוח האדם ובהמה היורד מטה מטה ח"ו, כן ממשיך העולמות וכל הנבראים אתו אחרי שכולם כלולים בו, כידוע מנפש הבהמית שבאדם שהיא נפש המתאוה, וכן כל הנבראים כולם. ואם נמשך האדם אחרי נפש הבהמית שלו, הרי הוא בהמה בצורת אדם, ובדבר שקלקל צריד שיתקן בו, כמבואר בקרבן סוטה היא עשתה מעשה בהמה קרבנה מאכל בהמה. וכן ענין כל הקרבנות "מן הבהמה...מן הבקר..מן הצאן". מלבד הנסתרות ליי אלקינו הוא ענינו שיתקן מעשה בהמית שלו וישוב אל יי כאשר יורו אותו הכהנים מקריבי הקרבן, ועל ידו מתעלים כל הנבראים שלמטה מטה ומעלה מעלה הנוגעים במקום קלקלתו שהורידם מתחילה אל עומק הקליפות על ידי מעשיו הרעים, ועל דרך זה כל מעשי האדם דרכיו ומחשבותיו בעולם הזה, אשר בכל עת ובכל שעה ובכל רגע כחץ יעוף, יומם יצוה חסדו או כל מדה ומדה שמתעורר עליו, וכהתעוררו מדותיו כן הוא התעוררות העליונים, כמאמר אברהם אתער חסד בעלמא, שקראו הכתוב אברהם אוהבי, וכן כל הצדיקים במדותיהם, ולכל אשר יעבור עליו מדה רעה או מחשבה זרה, מסתכל הוא מה זה ועל מה זה, וירא בושת מלפניו ית' עד שמתבטל ומתעלה ע"י חיות הקודש השוכן אתם בתוך טומאותם ומאמרו ית', אשר במאמרו ברא אותו הדבר והוא חיותו, טוב הגנוז בתוכו, ועל ידי הסתכלותו בזה מתדבק אליו ית' על ידי אותו החיות, ועל ידי עלייתו מתעלה גם כן אותה הבריאה שבאה לו במחשבתו ומדותיו וכן העולמות העליונים, וזהו וליתן שכר טוב לצדיקים שהוא הטוב הגנוז בגוה שמחיה אותה הבריאה, שהוא הויאמר שנברא על ידו, כי לשון אמירה הוא הנהגת וחיות פנימי, כארז"ל אמירה בלב, וכמאמר ואל משה אמר עלה אל יי, שהרי האומר הוא גם כן יי, אבל הוא מדריגה נסתרת כמבואר בזהר, ולהיות האדם כלול מכל הנבראים והרי הוא עולם קטן, ובודאי היה יכול להבראות במאמר אחד, אבל ברא הקב"ה עשרה מאמרות, כל מאמר בריאה פרטית והאדם אחרון מכולם, הכולל כולם כדי לקבל שכר כולם בעלותו כנזכר לעיל, וכן הרשעים כמאמר רז"ל עם הארץ אסור לאכול בשר, כי מה מועיל שנעשה מבשר הבהמה גופו ובשרו, הורי הוא גם כן מעשי בהמה אחרת ואדרבא מחליף מבהמה טהורה לטמאה, שכל הטמאים גם כן נכללים באדם אחרי היותו בעל בחירה, ועתה באכילתו הנה הוא מחליף פרה בחמור, אבל זה כל האדם, שצריך לשקול בפלס מאזני מדותיו, שבודאי הם מסתעפים מן הבריאות שקדמוהו, ובהתדבקו אליו ית' על ידי החיות והאמירה של אותה הבריאה הוא מתבטל ומזדכך וזוכה לראות אותו האור של ששת ימי בראשית שנגנז לצדיקים, שהוא האור של ויאמר שהוא חיות של אותה הבריאה, וזהו כל השם אורחותיו בעולם הזה זוכה ורואה וכו', וכן בכל מדה ומדה שמתעורר עליו עד שמקבל שכר כולם, וכן נח ואברהם קבלו שכר כולם, כללא דמילתא שבכל סוף דבר נכללים כל הסדר שקדמוהו והוא תכלית הכל, והכל כאין ובטל ומבוטל נגדו ונגרר אחריו.
“Whoever sets his paths in order in this world, merits and sees the salvation of the Holy One, as it is said, ‘And to him who sets a way, I will show the salvation of God’” (Psalms 50:23).
We begin with the words of Rashi, of blessed memory: “What does Shemitah (the Sabbatical year) have to do with Mount Sinai? Just as all its general principles and details were given at Sinai, so too with all the commandments…”
This connects to the teaching of our Sages: “With ten utterances the world was created.” But was it not possible to be created with just one utterance? Why then ten? In order to reward the righteous and punish the wicked…
This raises a well-known question: since God could have created the world with one utterance, why did He choose to do so with ten? Is God seeking grounds to punish His creations? Surely not!
In truth, the ten utterances refer to the ten times the phrase “And God said…” appears in the creation narrative—each one a specific, individual act of creation. These are not hidden mysteries but revealed in the Torah itself: “And God said, ‘Let there be light’… ‘Let there be a firmament’… and so on, culminating in ‘Let us make man’—who contains within him both the upper and lower worlds, as Rashi explains.
Our Sages say: “The final act was the first in thought.” Everything was created for the sake of humanity. As it is taught: “The entire world was not created but for this person.” Therefore, the entire world is governed through the human being, as it says: “And have dominion over the fish of the sea…” And as King David said: “You made him rule over the works of Your hands; You placed everything beneath his feet.”
This principle applies not only below, but also in the higher worlds. As the Sages say: “There is no blade of grass below that does not have an angel above telling it to grow.” Since the human rules below, they also have dominion over the angels and the upper worlds created for their sake. The human being is a king over all of them.
Through the spirit of the human—whether it rises upward in cleaving to God, or descends downward into animalistic desires—the worlds and all their creations follow suit. For everything is contained within the human being. The animal soul within a person, the soul of craving, corresponds to all creatures. If one is drawn after their animal soul, they are an animal in the form of a human.
Therefore, one must rectify the very aspect through which they sinned. As seen in the sin offering of the Sotah (suspected adulteress): she acted like an animal, and her offering is animal food. Similarly, all offerings come “from animals… cattle… sheep…”—not just for hidden mystical reasons, but to correct the animalistic actions of the person. Through this, all lower beings and worlds connected to their wrongdoing are elevated and restored.
Every human act—each path and thought—affects the world. At all times, with each stirring of an attribute, a divine measure is awakened. As it is said: “By day God commands His kindness…” And when Abraham aroused loving-kindness, he was called “Abraham My beloved.” Each righteous person activates higher realities through their attributes.
When a person experiences a negative trait or foreign thought, and reflects upon its origin and shame before God, that thought becomes nullified and uplifted by the divine life-force embedded in it—the “utterance” by which it was created. That spark of divine good—the hidden light within—connects the person back to God.
Through this connection, the creation associated with that thought is also uplifted, as are the upper worlds. This is the “reward for the righteous”—the hidden good within each thing, sustaining it via the divine “And God said…” For the word “saying” implies internal vitality, as in “speech of the heart.” As in the verse, “And to Moses He said: Ascend to God”—the one who speaks is God, though on a hidden level, as explained in the Zohar.
Because the human being includes all creatures and is a microcosm of the universe, God could have created the world with one utterance. But instead, He created it with ten, each one corresponding to a particular creation, with humanity as the culmination, encompassing all. This was done so that a person could receive the reward for all of them, by elevating all the previous layers.
Even the wicked are included in this principle. As the Sages say: “An ignoramus should not eat meat.” Why? Because if a person has not spiritually refined themselves, what benefit is there in turning animal flesh into their own body and blood? They merely exchange one animal for another—perhaps replacing a pure animal with an impure one.
All impure beings are also included in the human, due to our free will. So by eating, a person can degrade what was a kosher animal into something spiritually unfit—a cow turned into a donkey.
This, then, is the essence of the human being: to weigh and refine their attributes, which correspond to all earlier creations. By cleaving to the divine life-force and “utterance” behind each creation, the person purifies themselves and merits to see the hidden light of the six days of Creation, concealed for the righteous. This is the “light” of “And God said…”—the vital force behind each creation.
This is the meaning of the verse: “Whoever sets his paths in order in this world shall merit and see…” Likewise, for every attribute stirred within a person, they receive the reward of all the ten utterances, just as Noah and Abraham did.
The general principle: in every final stage, all prior stages are included and reach their purpose. Everything becomes nullified and drawn after the end.
This is the concept of Shemitah. All six years are included and nullified in the seventh. All acquisitions return to freedom. This too comes from Sinai, representing nullification and nothingness.
Mount Sinai symbolizes humility and the state of “ayin” (nothingness), which is the culmination of wisdom and inner contemplation. From Shemitah, we learn the secret of all commandments: they are elevated through the final act of humility and self-nullification received at Sinai.
And this is the meaning of “Moses received the Torah from Sinai”—he received it through the quality of humility and the nullification of ego.
כי ימוך אחיך ומכר מאחוזתו כו'. פי' "ומכר" לשון נתמכר "מאחוזתו" הוא העולם העליון שממנו נחצב, והוא אחוזתו באמת. למשל כאשר אנחנו רואין בחוש שהאדם מתחילת גידולו הוא מקושר מאד באביו בעבותות האהבה, וכל אשר יגדל ויתחזק שכלו בגשמיות העולם, אז נפרד מעט מעט מאביו, עד אשר ייפרד כולו ויצא מאביו וידמה כאחר, וגם הנשמה היא כך, שמתחילת בואה לזה העולם עדיין יש לה התקשרות בעולם העליון כי ממנה נחצבה, ותרצה בעבודת הבורא, ואח"כ כשהאדם נתהוה בגשמיות העוה"ז, וישים עינא ולבא שהם תרי סרסורי דחטאה בתאוותיו, אז נפרדה מחשבתו מעבודת הבורא, וסובר בעצמו שלא נברא כ"א להבלי הזמן ותאוותיו הגשמיים, ונתמכר ונתרושש מהש"י ב"ה וימוכו בעוונם. וזהו "ומכר מאחוזתו". ומה תקנתיה? "ובא גואלו הקרוב אליו וגאל את ממכר אחיו" והוא הצדיק הקרוב אליו בג"ע בהתקשרות נשמתו משורש אחד, "וגאל את ממכר אחיו" שיסייעהו ויעזרהו לפרוש עצמו מהעולם השפל הזה, ולדבק עצמו בעולמות עליונים, וזהו פי' הפסוק "טוב שכן קרוב מאח רחוק", "שכן קרוב" הוא קירבת הנפשות, אעפ"י שהם בזה העולם כרחוקים זה מזה, אבל הם קרובים בעולם העליון, זה הוא יותר טוב "מאח רחוק" ממי שהוא אח בעוה"ז והוא רחוק ממנו בעולם העליון, שזה אינו יכול להועילו כלום, כ"א הצדיק אשר הוא אתו עמו בשורש אחד זה הוא גואלו באמת. וזהו "וגאל את ממכר אחיו" וכדלעיל.
"If your brother becomes impoverished and sells part of his ancestral holding..."
(Leviticus 25:25)
The word "sells" ("umachar") can also be understood in the sense of being sold or given over. The phrase "from his ancestral holding" ("me’achuzato") refers to the upper world—the spiritual realm from which the soul is hewn. That world is truly its inheritance.
This can be compared to something we see in everyday life:
At the beginning of a child’s growth, they are deeply attached to their parent with strong cords of love. But as they mature and their understanding of the material world grows stronger, they begin to separate from their parent—little by little—until they become fully distanced, appearing as a stranger.
So too with the soul.
When it first descends into this world, it still retains its attachment to the upper world from which it was carved. It desires to serve the Creator. But as the person becomes immersed in the materialism of this world and turns their eyes and heart—the two agents of sin—toward worldly desires, their thoughts become separated from serving God.
Eventually, the person convinces themselves that they were created solely for fleeting pleasures and physical cravings. In this way, they become spiritually impoverished and sold off—cut off from the Holy One, blessed be He—due to their sins.
This is the meaning of the verse:
“And sells part of his ancestral holding”—he has alienated himself from his spiritual source.
What is the remedy for this condition?
“Then his closest redeemer shall come to redeem what his brother sold.”
This refers to a righteous person, a tzaddik, who is close to the soul of the fallen individual in the Garden of Eden—meaning their souls are connected and originate from the same spiritual root. That tzaddik redeems what was sold by his “brother”—he helps and strengthens the soul to separate itself from this lowly world and reconnect with the upper realms.
This is the meaning of the verse:
“Better a close neighbor than a distant brother” (Proverbs 27:10).
The “close neighbor” refers to the spiritual closeness of souls. Even if in this world they appear distant from one another, they are close in the upper world—and that closeness is more meaningful and helpful than a “distant brother”—someone who may be a sibling in this physical world but spiritually disconnected in the upper realms. Such a brother cannot offer real help.
Only the tzaddik who shares the same root soul—he is the true redeemer. This is the meaning of “and he shall redeem what his brother sold,” as explained above.
וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה כו' וצויתי את ברכתי לכם כו'. בשם אחי החסיד המפורסם, ויש לדקדק היות שהתורה יצאתה בכאן מדרכה, שדרך הקרא לכתוב איזה ייתור לשון בפסוק אפילו אות אחת, ועי"ז מתורץ כמה קושיות, אבל הקושיא לא נכתב בעצמה בתורה, וכאן נכתב הקושיא בתורה, וטוב היה שלא לומר כ"א וצויתי את ברכתי וממילא לא יקשה שום אדם לומר מה נאכל. ונראה שהשי"ת ב"ה כשברא את העולם השפיע מטובו צינורות מושכים שפע לצרכי ב"א, ודרך השפע שלא להפסיק כלל אלא כשהאדם נופל ממדרגתו ואין לו בטחון בבורא ב"ה המשגיח אמיתי הזן ומפרנס בריות בלי הפסק כלל, אז עושה האדם ההוא במחשבתו ההיא אשר לא מטוהר פגם חלילה בעולמות עליונים, ומתישין כח פמליא של מעלה ר"ל, ואז נפסק השפע חלילה, וצריך השי"ת ב"ה לצוות מחדש השפע שתלך כמו מתחילת הבריאה, וזה הוא "וכי תאמרו" כו', שהתורה מלמדת לאדם דרכי השם שיהיה שלם בבטחונו על אלקיו, ולא יאמר כלל מה יאכל, כי כאשר חלילה יפול מן הבטחון לחשוב מה יאכל, הוא עושה פגם חלילה בהשפע, ואטרחו כלפי שמיא לצוות מחדש, "וכי תאמרו" פי' כאשר תאמרו כך ואז תטריחו אותי "וצויתי" כו', אלא לא תתנהגו כך, ותבטחו ביי בכל לבבכם, ואז תלך השפע בלי הפסק כלל, תמיד לא יחסר כל בה.
“And if you will say, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?’... then I will command My blessing for you…”
(Leviticus 25:20–21)
This teaching is shared in the name of my brother, the renowned pious one.
One must examine a curious detail here: the Torah, which is always careful and precise with its wording—even an extra letter often serves to answer many interpretive questions—here departs from its usual style. Instead of simply addressing the matter, the Torah explicitly states the question—"What will we eat?"—even though it could have left it unsaid.
Why not simply write, “I will command My blessing,” and thereby preempt the question entirely? Then no one would need to ask, and no doubts would arise!
The answer appears to be as follows:
When God created the world, He channeled His goodness into spiritual pipelines—channels of divine flow that bring down all sustenance and blessings for human needs. These channels of abundance are designed to flow without interruption.
But the flow can only continue uninterrupted as long as a person maintains their spiritual level and trust in the Holy One, who is the true Provider and Sustainer of all beings, without pause.
When a person falls from their spiritual stature and loses trust in God's providence—thinking instead “What will we eat?”—this flawed thought itself creates a blemish (God forbid) in the upper worlds. It weakens the divine energies above—the celestial entourage, so to speak—and the flow of blessing is disrupted.
At that point, God must issue a new command to renew the flow, as if reinitiating the creation itself.
This is what the verse is saying:
“And if you will say…”—meaning, when you express such a doubt, you burden Me, as it were, to command again: “I will command My blessing.”
But ideally, a person should not behave this way at all. Instead, one should place their complete trust in God with a full heart. If so, the divine flow will never cease. There will be no interruption, and all needs will be met without lack.