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The Torah study is dedicatedto the full recovery of
Asher Ishaayahu Ben Rivka
But why was shemitah singled out for this purpose? Granted that the Torah wanted to make a point, we are still concerned with the particular selection, the specific mitzvah chosen to serve as the archetype. In the spirit of the Maharal’s dictum: "Devarim gedolim einam bemikreh," "great things do not happen by accident," we may reformulate Rashi’s famous question as simply "mah inyan shemitah," "what is special about shemitah"?
The experience of Sinai was first and foremost one of the commitment of na’aseh venishma, predicated on the people’s willingness to accept the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom. According to the Ramban, this is the very meaning of the first of the Ten Commandments – kablu malchuti, "accept My kingship."
In other words, the level of Torah commitment is measured not merely in its observance, as meticulous as that may be, but also in the motivation behind that observance. One may choose to observe for many reasons which satisfy one’s own needs, desires, and comforts in life. But this is not kabalat ol malchut shamayim, accepting the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom. Though it may be glatt kosher, it may also be nothing more than Reconstructionist Orthodoxy.
In an agricultural society subsisting from year to year on its annual produce, the laws of shemitah are certainly problematic. Far from a vacation from work, they are a test of allegiance to royal decree, to an imperial order of the greatest difficulty. It is this characteristic of shemitah that makes it the paradigmatic representation of all the manifold commandments promulgated at Sinai. It is the question of what the mitzvot really mean to a person.
In this spirit, one might formulate a question: Immigrants to Western countries often saw the abandonment of Shabbat as a condition for basic survival. Yet, there were those who stood firm and fully observed the Shabbat. It is to those few that we owe the renaissance of Orthodoxy in the Diaspora.
Is not the mitzvah of living in Israel and all its concomitant mitzvot, the contemporary equivalent of our forebears’ Shabbat? Is it perhaps our modern inyan shemitah as we stand before the eternity of Sinai?
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This is a weekly column contributed by Aloh Naaleh an organization devoted to motivating Jews to make Aliya.
Aloh Na'aleh
POB 4337, Jerusalem 91042
Tel: 972-2-566-1181 ext. 320 ~ Fax: 972-2-566-1186
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Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 2
The King of the Kazars, in his search for truth, starts by inviting the philosopher. This is a "crash-course" on Aristotelian philosophy and the reasons why the king is not convinced. Through this dialogue, R. Yehuda HaLevi already foreshadows some of his central ideas that will appear later.
Shavuot "Love of Torah = Love of Israel"- for Shavuot
People often identify Judaism as just a religion, but upon examination, we see, even halachically and explicitly in the siddur, that the Torah is dependent upon Am Yisrael, Jewish nationalism.
Ein Aya The Middle-Child & Anti-Tzni'ut Syndrome- Negative Attention
Although tzni'ut is for men just like women, Rav Kook deals here with the sources in Yishayahu and the Talmud which deals with the special problem of lack of tzni'ut in women's dress and actions, where it's not just a problem of midot and character traits, but also can include practical, social and national ramifications, as well, which caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and exile from Israel. The class continues the previous one (Ayn Aya Shabbat vi, 29), and is a must for all educators and parents of high-school aged and young adults.
P'ninat Mishpat P'NINAT MISHPAT: A Mess of Loans, Repayments and Grievances – part II
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts