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Rashi questions the connection between the Sedra's title and this opening Mitzva, and makes the famous comment, "Mah inyan Shmita ayzel Har Sinai - what special connection does Shemita have to Mount Sinai?"
Rashi gives a puzzling answer: "Just as the laws of Shmita were given at Har Sinai, so ALL the Mitzvot and their particulars were delineated at Sinai." Uh, excuse me - ask all the commentators - why should Shmita be singled out as representative of all the Mitzvot? What is so unique and special about the Sabbatical Year?
I suggest to you that there IS something quite unique about Shmita. Of all the Mitzvot, none requires more Emuna than Shmita. For an agricultural society to stop all field work for one or two years is mind-boggling! How will we survive? Who will pay the bills? Amazingly, Hashem guarantees that He will provide enough food to carry us through the fallow years, if only we have faith.
It is this quality of Emuna which is a necessary component of all Mitzvot. To stop work on Shabbat, to strictly keep kosher, to purchase expensive Tefilin, Etrogim or Mezuzot, one must have faith that this is how Hashem wants us to conduct our lives.
Certainly, this faith-factor applies in the fullest sense to the Mitzva of living in Israel. You cannot live here without deep Emuna, without a rock-solid belief that our G-d gave His people a Land for all eternity where we can most fully express our Judaism. Security, stress, economic hardship: all the excuses are valid, yet they melt when met head-on by genuine Emuna.
Some people making Aliya fill their suitcases with white tuna, some with electronics, others with cash. I suggest we are better served by packing our bags with large does of Emuna.
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Rabbis in Midrash
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Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
