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Friday, May 11, 2018

Above Nature



"When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord.

You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce,

But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard." [Behar 25: 2-4]


One of the reasons for the Sabbatical year is to allow the land to rest for a year, to enhance its fertility. From this it follows that after six consecutive years of intensive agriculture, the land is at its least fertile point in the seven year cycle. So the Torah's promise that the land "will yield produce [sufficient] for three years" in the naturally infertile sixth year, is totally irrational and requires a person to accept an authority which is higher than his mortal understanding.

The Talmud [Sanhedrin 97a] compares the six agricultural years to the six millenia of this world, and the Sabbatical year to the seventh millennium [when the Redemption will have arrived].

Since the Jewish people suffer from a gradual regression in spiritual stature as the generations pass, a person might ask: "How could the efforts of the spiritually weak and "infertile" sixth millennium bring the true and complete redemption?

The Torah answers: It is the super-rational self-sacrifice and commitment to Judaism of the final generations of exile, that will bring the blessings of the Redemption.

Based on Likutei Sichos vol 27, Lubavitcher Rebbe

5 comments:

  1. The Biblical Book of Jeremiah, chapter 17, verse 4, teaches the importance of the year-of-release, which is called the Sabbatical Year in English, and the shmittah year in Hebrew.

    This means that Jewish farmers who live in the land of Israel allow their farm-lands to rest every 7th year.

    NOTE: Rashi’s commentary on this verse makes this clearer.

    The famous Bible verse:
    Baruch HaGever Asher Yibtach BaHaShem...
    actually refers to the shmittah year,
    in its original Biblical context.

    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-jeremiah-were-alive-today.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful vort - post and comment by Mr. Cohen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As the Rebbe often explained - Persia (Iran) is from the word Pras (reward). The way to conquer the evil of Iran - and being the final Geula - is to do Torah and Mitzvos for His sake, and not for some reward.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Anonymous,

    Thank you for praising my comment.

    I am not trying to criticize you,
    G_d forbid, but your praise would be
    more meaningful if you were not Anonymous.

    If you really like my comments,
    then try these:

    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-daniel-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-isaiah-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezekiel-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-jeremiah-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/03/if-ezra-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2018/04/if-nehemiah-were-alive-today.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/08/defeat-terror-with-torah.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/11/rambam-vs-reform-judaism.html
    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/03/guest-post-why-1967-borders-are-suicide.html
    http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/08/rambam-rejected-childless-messiah-by-mr.html

    Sincerely,
    Mr. Cohen

    ReplyDelete
  5. We should all serve Hashem for it’s own sake with no agenda for Hashem sake just you would listen and respect a parent because you love them

    ReplyDelete

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