Parshas Behar begins as SO MANY parshios in the Torah do, except
that it’s NOT EXACTLY the same. The introduction to so many halachos in the
Torah begins: Vayidaber Hashem El Moshe Leimor.
Hashem spoke to Moshe as follows.
And yet, the introduction here to the laws of Shemitta is:
(א)
וַיְדַבֵּר יְקֹוָק אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר:
And Hashem spoke to Moshe, AT MT SINAI, as follows
And this change, of course, causes quite an uproar in Chazal, who
respond, as quoted by Rashi:
מה ענין שמיטה אצל הר סיני, והלא כל המצות נאמרו מסיני
Why does the Torah decide to tell me that the laws of Shemitta were
taught at Sinai! I thought ALL the
mitzvos were taught at Sinai! What makes
the mitzvah of Shemita so special that it is THE mitzvah about which the Torah
says “it was taught at HAR SINAI”!
Rashi quotes an answer to this question from the Toras Kohanim:
אלא מה שמיטה נאמרו כללותיה ופרטותיה ודקדוקיה מסיני, אף כולן נאמרו כללותיהן
ודקדוקיהן מסיני,
The laws of Shemita were taught in their ENTIRETY at Sinai, EVERY
DETAIL. And so, too, says Rashi, in the
same way that every detail of Shemita as taught at Sinai, every single mitzvah
in the Torah had ALL of it’s details taught to Moshe at Sinai.
And, of course, this answer just leads to the NEXT QUESTION: But
WHY WAS SHEMITA CHOSEN as the SYMBOL, THE MITZVAH that would be an example for
all other mitzvos!?
I would like to share with you the very beautiful approach of Rabbi
Dr. Norman Lamm zt”l. In 1972, when Rabbi Lamm addressed this question, he
noted a trend which was true in his day, but I would argue is probably as true
– or even more true – today. One of the
concerns many people have about Judaism in 2025, and it is a real and
appropriate concern, one which I share, is how we can show our children and
ourselves that Judaism is relevant and PRACTICAL. A theoretical Judaism. A Judaism that is only about ideas, rituals,
and theology is too dry and too archaic to be passed down to the next generation,
or even to be grabbed onto by THIS generation.
And because of this trend, many teachers of Torah, myself included,
try very hard to make the teaching of Torah feel PRACTICAL, feel RELEVANT to
our daily lives. We give shiurim on
topics which people can take home and USE right away, and we try not to get too
bogged down on that which is theoretical. That being said, argues Rabbi Lamm, that
when we become TOO focused ONLY on the elements of Judaism that are PRACTICAL,
we will end up missing out.
And, therefore, when Hashem chose a law that would be EMBLEMATIC of
Torah, that would REPRESENT ALL mitzvos that were taught at Sinai, He chose a
mitzvah that for the majority of our peoplehood would remain abstract and
theoretical.
Shemita, of course, is one of the mitzvos hateluyos ba’aretz, a
mitzvah that is dependent on being present in the Land of Israel. When it was given to Am Yisrael, they were a
people living in a barren desert who had never owned their own property and
certainly had never been farmers. And
after a little more than a thousand years of living in Israel, we would then
spend the next almost 2,000 years once again where Shemita would remain a
totally IMPRACTICAL halacha, until only recently, the past 100 or so years,
where the halachos of have been revived once again.
And what is true about Shemita, is true of all kinds of mitzvos at
different times in our history. And so, if one will ask the question: Ma inyan
Shemita eitzel Har Sinai? Why CHOOSE
Shemita as the symbol of all mitzvos that were taught at Sinai, Rabbi Lamm
argues it is to remind us that Torah & Mitzvos do not only have value
when they are relevant and PRACTICAL.
They have inherent value, no matter the place, no matter the time.
And I would like to share three reasons why focusing on the
IMPRACTICAL at times can have extraordinary value:
First, when I decide what is practical or relevant, I am
determining on my own, based on my intellect, which mitzvos have more value
than others, when ultimately it’s important to find a sense of humility when
engaging with the Divine. Yes, certain
mitzvos may seem more important, seem to have more of an impact on society,
etc. Maintaining a connection and commitment to ALL mitzvos, no matter their
perceived relevance, humbles us.
It is often noted that there are two mitzvos about which the Torah
itself tells us one is blessed with arichus yamim, long life: shiluach hakein,
sending away the mother bird, which is super easy, and kibud av v’eim, honoring
one’s parents, which might be the most difficult mitzvah in the torah. Why? So that we recognize that we actually have NO
IDEA which mitzvos Hashem thinks are of “higher quality”. Remaining
open to all facets of Torah allows us to remain committed to ALL OF TORAH simply
because it is commanded by Hashem, a value in an of itself.
Second, often times we may think we know how meaningful or
practical a certain mitzvah is, – let’s assume we think it’s NOT so relevant or
exciting – only to find that when we really engage in it, it is so much more
meaningful than we ever could have imagined.
Ask the average teenager how meaningful Shabbos is. Some may love it even at their age, while
many find it frustrating, with all of its restrictions. Yet, as we grow older and more sophisticated,
many of us learn to appreciate the way Shabbos pauses the outside world and
allows us the space to reflect on what really matters in life. In short,
staying connected to that which may feel IMPRACTICAL, may allow us to find out
later just how meaningful and VERY RELEVANT it can be.
Third, remaining connected to ALL of Torah, even to those elements
that seem irrelevant today, allows us to continue to remain
future-oriented. It allows us to DREAM.
Chazal tell us:
דברי תורה עניים במקום אחד ועשירים במקום אחר
“Words of Torah can
sometimes be poor in one place and wealthy in another.”
What Chazal mean when they say this is sometimes a pasuk can seem
relatively empty of meaning in one place, but when it is compared to a
different text, in another context, its meaning becomes incredibly rich.
Rabbi Lamm liked to paraphrase this idea by saying the following:
דברי תורה עניים בזמן אחד ועשירים בזמן אחר
“Words of Torah can
sometimes be poor in one time and wealthy in another.”
There are ideas in Torah which at certain times of history seem
archaic and insignificant, at other times can be revealed as possessing
unimaginable depth and richness.Think, for example, about a Jew living in the middle
ages, considering how much of our text and ritual surrounds hoping for a return
to Yerushalayim.
He goes to a wedding and sees the chosson break the glass under the
chuppah. Every time he benches he thanks
Hashem for the bread he gave him, and for the land He promised our people. He
davens three times a day, facing Yerushalayim and spends no fewer than 20% of
the brachos in Shmone Esrei yearning for a return to our land and to our
ancient city. And he spends one ENTIRE
DAY each year fasting and praying for a return to that land. All of this at a time when any reasonably
thoughtful person would say that the idea of the Jewish people ever returning
to establish a Jewish state with its capital in Yerushalayim is the thing of
impractical idealists, living in a dream world.
If we have the privilege to celebrate Yom Yerushalyim this Sunday
Night and Monday, it is because of generations of Jews who cast aside the
concern for what is practical and relevant and chose instead to dream and sing
L’Shana HaBaa B’Yerushalayim, no matter how silly and unsophisticated it may
have seemed at the time.
As we face another unspeakable tragedy this week, the brutal murder
of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim HY”D, killed for the crime of
being Jewish, we once again find ourselves searching for answers. And while we never have the answer for any
particular tragedy, our response must continue to be found in our willingness
to dream, to invest in a future that to others may seem impossible. And we have the ability to do so because we
have a mesorah of generations of Jews who REFUSED to give in to the reality in
front of their eyes and instead continued to dream.
In the Shir HaMaalos we say every Shabbos and Yom Tov we say:
B’Shuv Hashem Es Shiviseinu Hayinu K’Cholmim, that when we will return to a
fully rebuilt Yerushalayim it will be like we are dreaming.
Why is that the language?
K’cholmim? Like Dreamers? The answer is that it is only BECAUSE OF THE
DREAMS, of the willingness to stand strong in belief of something that to
others may seem irrelevant or illogical, that we will eventually arrive at our
destination. And then, when we finally
do arrive, we will KNOW THE SCENE! It
won’t be strange. It will be JUST LIKE
THE DREAMS WE HAVE ALL DREAMT TOGETHER FOR MILLENIA! Real life will be K’CHOLMIM, LIKE the Dreams
we have been dreaming all along.
This is the power of Yom Yerushalayim. A day that is a tribute to this special
ability of the Jewish People to stay committed to who we are, even when it
feels a irrelevant, impractical, or even impossible. To be dreamers.
Ma Inyan Shemita Etzel Har Sinai? What is the
message of the connection between the laws of Shemita to Har Sinai?
It teaches us that every mitzvah has value.
It teaches us that even mitzvos which may feel irrelevant may
actually become quite meaningful if we get to know them better.
And it teaches us that a commitment to ALL of Torah, even the parts
that feel irrelevant, impractical, and even impossible, is in fact the key to our
ability to fulfill of our dreams.