Topic: Shmita

“So whether you wear a coat of many colors or a simple shift when you glean, shmita is a reminder that we are all the same: temporary tenants wholly dependent on the gifts of this God-given world.” “Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him an ornamented tunic.  And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him.” There is something terribly irksome about inequity. At least for the ones on the outs.  We all know that life is unfair, that some people are more gifted, more adored, more successful, than others.  But when that inevitable inequity is flaunted before our eyes, when there isn’t even an effort to pretend that everyone is equal, then animosity starts to churn and lashing out may not be far behind.  This is what happened to Joseph, and thus Jacob too.  The Bible is well-aware of life’s constant assaults. And though they may be able to be borne for a while, they add up over time, often releasing their […]

“When you finally slow down for the shmita year, don’t be surprised if there is confrontation waiting for you to wrestle with. If you see it through, you might find new blessings in your life.” In Parashat Vayishlach, Jacob returns to his homeland of Canaan after living with his uncle for fourteen years. He now has a large family, two wives and eleven children, and amassed some wealth. After reconciling with his brother Esau, from whom he initially fled, his family arrived at Shechem. There Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, is raped and taken by Shechem (the local chieftain’s son). Her brothers Simeon and Levi slaughter Shechem and his house to retrieve Dinah. (I encourage you to learn more about this difficult passage – commentaries on My Jewish Learning and source on Sefaria are good starting points.) The parashah concludes with G!d renewing the covenant with Jacob, the death of Rachel in childbirth, and a record Esau descendants.  When he first arrives in Canaan, Jacob sends word of his arrival to Esau. Esau replies that he will meet Jacob with 400 men.  400 men? 400 men! Does he mean to honor Jacob or kill him and his family? Uncertain about Esau’s response, […]

“In order to effectively combat climate change and live more sustainably, our attitude must be mutzav artza, firmly grounded in the land.” This week’s Torah portion of Vayetze offers us a rare opportunity to glimpse into the mind of a tzaddik, Jacob our forefather, enabling us to draw vital lessons about the balanced relationships among ourselves, the land, and God. This is a lesson that we can distill from the shmita year as well. In the case of this week’s parsha, the clues are all there in the account of the dream: The ladder, firmly set in the land (mutzav artza), its top reaching skyward; Angels ascending and descending the ladder like messengers carrying righteous intents and actions between earth and heaven; Jacob waking from his sleep, saying, “God is in this place (makom), and I did not know it (v’anochi lo yadati)” (Genesis 28:12-16). One relevant facet of the dream can be found through an interpretation offered by Dr. Michael Fishbane. In his book, Sacred Attunement, Dr. Fishbane describes the ladder as not only based on land, but also in people: Jacob’s ladder “ascending from the inner heart (and common world)”. A symbolic merging between people and earth rings […]

The shmita year asks us to release our attachment to the dominance of land, to live in the utter immediacy of the season, to sustain ourselves with whatever the earth provides when we step away for a moment. In short, shmita is asking us to be a little more like Esau. Parashat Toldot tells a story of twins born fighting for status, and continuing to struggle throughout their lives. These twins, Jacob and Esau, are the children of Rebekah and Isaac, and their family’s story is one of deep love with an undercurrent of deceit. Isaac and Rebekah love each other, Isaac loves Esau, and Rebekah loves Jacob. Jacob, the younger of the two, buys Esau’s birthright and receives his blessing, effectively supplanting Esau as the older, more powerful sibling. In the middle of the parashah, we have the only narrative that focuses solely on Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau. There is a famine in the land and Isaac travels to Gerar to seek relief as his father Abraham had done under similar circumstances. While there, Isaac farms the land and becomes impressively wealthy, but he finds himself in the midst of disputes over water with the locals. […]

One test of kindness is doing positive things, even if not asked, or doing more than is asked, something that Rivkah did in abundance, showing how hesed was such a central part of her character. A main focus of parshat Chayei Sarah, which discusses the finding of a suitable wife for Abraham’s son Yitzchak (Isaac), is chesed, kindness . In his old age, Abraham sent his trusted servant Eliezer to find the proper woman from his extended family. While Abraham did not specify any character trait to stress, Eliezer, knowing that his master was a paragon of chesed, set up a test based on seeking kindness in a prospective bride. Rivka (Rebecca) passed that test admirably, not only drawing water for Eliezer but also for the ten thirsty camels with him that had just crossed a desert. One test of kindness is doing positive things, even if not asked, or doing more than is asked, something that Rivkah did in abundance, showing how hesed was such a central part of her character. Judaism teaches that every word in the Torah is valuable. Yet, the story of Eliezer and Rivkah at the well is told four times in the parshah. First […]

During the Covid epidemic, hospitality has increased. There are many tales of people contacting their neighbours – and even people they didn’t know – in order to help with shopping and other services. This emphasis on loving kindness throughout the world is based one of the seminal teachings of Judaism, epitomized by our present Parsha. The Parsha reading this week is Vayera (Genesis 18-22), which means And G-d appeared’.  G-d appears to 99-year-old Abraham in the heat of the day, three days after his circumcision. G-d tests Abraham by sending him three visitors. Abraham doesn’t think of himself, but together with wife Sarah, rushes to offer as much hospitality as possible to these three strangers. The strangers turn out to be angels, i.e. guiding lights, but Abraham didn’t know it at first. This story is a paradigm for our own age. As we come out of Covid, the UK will be hosting the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow from October 31st-November 12th. During the Covid epidemic, hospitality has increased. There are many tales of people contacting their neighbours – and even people they didn’t know – in order to help with shopping and other services. This emphasis on loving […]

Shmita is about freedom and justice for people, not just rest and regeneration for the land. One of the spookiest stories in the whole Torah is found in Lech Lecha. It’s called the brit bein habetarim, the covenant between the halves. The story is precipitated by Avram having a crisis of belief. God tells Avram that he will inherit all the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:7). Instead of trusting, Avram asks for proof. In response, God commands him to bring a bizarre sacrifice—the first time in Torah that God asks for a sacrifice—and it leads to a terrifying dream. God asks for “a three-year old calf and a three-year old goat and a three-year old ram, and a dove and a fledgling pigeon.” Avram takes the three mammals and splits them down the middle. Initially, nothing happens to the animals except that “the birds of prey came down on the corpses, and Avram drove them back. And the sun was coming down, and a numb stupor fell on Avram, and here, a great terrifying darkness fell on him.” After that, Avram hears: “Know, you must know, your seed will be a stranger in a land not theirs, and will serve […]

“Rest is not idle, rather active and creative.  I refuel myself through my meditation practice, The winter rest fuels the earth, plants and animals for spring rebirth.” “Shabbat Shabbaton” are the words Leviticus 25:4 uses to describe the shmita year – “A sabbath of complete rest for the land.” In today’s world, can we even imagine what that would look like, feel like, smell like?  The laws of the shmita year were established for “ha-aretz” – the Land of Israel. Yet many choose to observe this holy practice around the globe. Now that the High Holy Day season is complete and we are settling into our fall rhythm, we in the diaspora may be asking ourselves, How can I make the practice of shmita real for me in my life? It seems clear that to understand rest for the land, we must understand rest for ourselves. As Adam – the human, created from adamah – the soil, we are one and the same. In today’s busy culture, mid-pandemic, do we know how to rest ourselves? In this year of Shabbat Shabbaton, to heal the earth our rest must extend beyond the Sabbath day into every day. True, deep rest can […]

“Our job in this life is, and has always been, to recognize our kinship with the world, to connect with those sparks as partners, and together with them serve God.” Parshat Bresheit tells the creation story of the earth and the humans and animals living upon it – this year, it also marks the beginning of the Shmita year. The Shmita year is all about revisioning our relationship to creation. Instead of being owners of the land, Shmita reminds us to release that illusion of ownership and embrace our place as partners with creation.  In parshat Beraisheet we read our Jewish stories of creation. It can sometimes be a little difficult to find those messages of partnership in our creation stories.  But Judaism has always started from biblical stories and then retold them in ways that inspire and fit the spirit of the times.   The Piaseczner Rebbe, Rabbi Kolonymus Kalman Shapiro, in his book Derekh HaMelekh retells the creation story  (Here is my adapted version of his retelling):  God created the First Human by gathering soil from all four corners of the world. When the First Human(s) disobeyed God, sparks of their soul fell back down and were scattered all […]

In the same vein that Moshe blessed the tribes of Israel in their own ways at the end of his journey and the next step of theirs, I bless each of us that we lean into our natural strengths and come together to produce something that flourishes that could not have come into the world in any other time but this Shmita year. V’Zot HaBracha is the final parsha of the Torah, and it includes the last blessings that Moshe gave to each of the Israelite tribes in his final words before his death. This parsha is traditionally read on Simḥat Torah just before the beginning of Bereishit (the first Torah portion) is read, we’re at this odd ending-and-beginning moment in time. As the ending of the year 5781 and the beginning of 5782 seem to get kind of blurred during the month of Tishrei, we are reminded that the Jewish calendar truly is cyclical. The month of Tishrei has the official new year of Rosh Hashanah and the repentance time of Yom Kippur, but actual transformation during that time is facilitated by having the month of Elul before it dedicated to reflecting and transforming. Elul, however, succeeds the month […]

If we have the courage to open our hearts to the Mussar of Shmita we see that all lives emanate equally from the One. They have the same claim to nurturance and protection and well-being as do we, to resources and opportunities. Shmita, if we open our hearts, broadcasts a call for redistribution of resources to humankind loudly. Parshat Ha’azinu opens with metaphors of the land of Israel, the Divine, and the people of Israel. Nature and weather describe how our hearts are to welcome the words of Torah, to be in constant relationship with them, to absorb them. God calls on the earth to hear God’s words.  Our parshah says: “May my discourse come down as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, Like showers on young growth, Like droplets on the grass.”  The song of Ha’azinu, one of the most captivating in the Torah, relies profoundly on nature to communicate its Mussar. The desert and our national journeying in it, the eagles and rocks, the honey and the lamb, the grapes and the goats. This poem is abundant, even overflowing, with the poetry of nature.   Ha’azinu evokes, and invites us to encounter, a world that was not […]

“In choosing a way to mark Shmita, inspired by the Hakhel ceremony in this week’s parsha, we will be honoring our heritage and rededicating ourselves to the earth, the environment, and the Torah.” In our parsha, Vayelech, Moses instructs the priests to gather the nation every seven years for a public reading of the Torah. The text reads as follows: “Moses wrote down this Teaching and gave it to the priests…Moses commanded them saying: at the end of 7 years, at the time of Shmita on Sukkot – when all of Israel comes to appear before God… you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel.” This commandment is called Hakhel, which means a public gathering. In Jerusalem while the Temple stood, the king would address the public with verses from the Torah. This practice was revived in modern times, with the first official ceremony taking place in Jerusalem in 1945. The reason Sukkot was chosen, according to the Etz Hayyim Chumash, is that it was the best-attended of the pilgrimage holidays. People were able to focus on the teaching because they had already stored their harvest and felt secure about their food supplies for the coming […]

Shmita is not only about the seventh year, shmita is a cycle preceded by 6 other years. It invites us to inventory ourselves, our choices and our middos, character traits, in the previous cycle and envision how we want to relate to ourselves and others in the coming seven years to co-create a better world.   In Parshat Nitzavim, Moshe Rabbeinu is giving a speech to the people of Israel at the end of his life. He addresses every Israelite, young and old, poor and rich. Moses includes everybody, both past and future generations, who are not present. It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and oath, but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today.” (Deut. 29:13-14).  Moses lays out two choices: light or darkness, blessings or curses, life or death, and urges the Israelites to choose life. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil … I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you and […]

“This is a core principal of shmita to let the fields rest and allow the hungry to eat from them. In a country where there is gross food insecurity, in a world where people are suffering environmental calamities and dangerous oppressions, we need to determine how, going forward, we will each be responsive to this message.” Some context first.  We are in the month of Elul, getting ready for the high holidays, for those powerful days of accounting to ourselves for where we are and where we would like to be going forward—not so much physically or geographically but socially and emotionally—in our obligation to ourselves and in our relationship to our community.  This year we are also getting ready for the next shmita year and we are, in the Torah cycle, in the book of Deuteronomy, where the stories are repeated and many gems of wisdom are reiterated in the hope that we are “getting it” and learning how to live a holy life. In this parsha, Ki Tavo, we are reminded not to take our blessings for granted.  Yes, we are going to the promised land, a land of milk and honey, a land of figs and pomegranates, […]