Parshat Behar: Israel’s Key To Avoiding Disasters, Famine – Keeping Shemitah

Parashat Behar “On the Mountain” is mainly devoted to laws pertaining to the management of land and avadim (bonded servants—often misleadingly translated as “slaves”) in Eretz Yisrael, or, more precisely, the laws pertaining to the cycles of Shemitah and Yovel, and the redemption of land and bonded servants during those years. These laws are based on the special sanctity of the Land of Israel. The Jews entered Eretz Yisrael 40 after the exodus from Egypt. For seven years they fought with the inhabitants of the land; for seven years they parceled it out among the Twelve Tribes; and for six years they worked the land. Thus, the first year of Shemitah was 2509 from the Creation of the Universe and the 21st year of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. Subsequent Shemitahs are counted from the following year, 2510.

The history of our People testifies that keeping this commandment has never caused any food problems. Neither Jewish nor non-Jewish sources mention or even hint of famine during the years of Shemitah.

When the Jews ceased to observe the commandment of the Shemitah year, disasters followed. In Israel and in Judea during the reigns of Achaz, Menasheh and other apostate kings who abolished Shemitah, years of crop failures, strife and war began.

And in our own time? The first agricultural settlements of repatriates appeared in Eretz Yisrael in the eighties of the last century. The year 1888-89 was a Shemitah year, and the question arose for the settlers: what to do? Many rabbis did not consider such a thing to be permissible, but some rabbinical authorities permitted some land to be temporarily sold to non-Jews so that they could cultivate it. The decision was dictated by the fear that otherwise the settlements would disintegrate. And this venture brought much-needed money to the settlers. Its supporters emphasized that it was valid only for one year, the first Shemitah year after the beginning of cultivation of the land.

Nevertheless, despite this leniency, the law was violated in the following years. And here is a list of the disasters that befell the country’s Jews during these years:

Around 1889, there was an invasion of field mice; around 1903, an epidemic of cholera among people and a devastating plague among sheep; in the vicinity of 1910, fires in granaries so terrible and destructive that a third of Jewish farmers left the country.

And here is some data regarding Shemitah year 1972-1973. At that time in Israel, the average wheat yield per year was 150,000 tons, yet in 1972 they harvested 300,000 tons—exactly twice as much. No scientific explanation was found, no agronomist could understand this miracle. They tried to explain the double yield by the fact that for several years the soil had been intensively fertilized. But why did the Land “give birth to twins” on the eve of the Year of Shemitah? One might propose that this was a kind of divine “advance,” to encourage us to observe the Commandment of Shemitah!

Today in Israel, dozens of agricultural settlements fully comply with the laws of the Sabbath year. Among them are Kibbutz Chafetz Chayim and Moshav Komemiyut, which grow fruit trees. In the autumn of 1952, immediately after Shemitah Year 1951-52, Moshav Komemiyut decided to diversify and sow wheat on its own land. The Moshav began to look for grain for sowing. It is forbidden to buy seed from Jews who profane Shemitah, and the non-Jews did not have wheat. The Moshav was forced to acquire (at no cost) wormy, rotting grain left over from previous non-Shemitah years in one non-religious Kibbutz. Experts warned the Moshavniks that they would be throwing money down the drain—especially since they would be two or three months late for planting the grain after the Festival of Sukkos! (In fact, the Kibbutzniks were happy to give the grain away for free, just to have the grain carted away!) But, amazingly, the Moshav produced a healthy and abundant harvest, notwithstanding the strong dry winds that destroyed the seedlings of neighboring fields whose owners, in order not to miss the planting season, had violated the Laws of Shemitah! At the time of the windstorm, the wheat had not yet sprouted in the fields of Moshav Komemiyut, so the Moshavniks reaped a good harvest that year, much greater than their neighbors!

There is an interesting sequel to this story: The Kibbutzniks who donated the rotting wheat grains to the Moshav, seeing what a “bumper crop” their grains had produced, now complained that they had not been paid! “We made a mistake! Our wheat was in much better condition than we thought,” they grumbled. They demanded to be paid the price for good grain. The two parties took their dispute to a Beis Din, which actually ordered the Moshav to pay one-third of what the Kibbutzniks demanded. This story is well known in Israel; there were many witnesses.

In 1958, just before the commencement of Shemitah, 12 citrus groves were established in Israel. The Ministry of Agriculture, which provided land and funds for this venture, demanded that the planter undertake to comply with all State agronomic rules. These rules unfortunately did not take into account the Laws of Shemitah. This condition did not please Moshav Komemiyut at all. The Ministry’s regulations required uninterrupted cultivation of the groves, and the advent of Shemitah made this impossible. The only rabbinic exception allowing for cultivation during Shemitah is in a situation where the trees would otherwise be in danger of perishing. With great difficulty, the Moshav managed to obtain permission to keep Shemitah. However, the Ministry demanded in return that the Moshav guarantee their full financial responsibility in the event of failure. The upshot was (as you might expect!) that the uncultivated grove just planted by the Moshav produced a finer crop than all the others! This is exactly how it is recorded in the archives of the Ministry: “Twelve citrus groves were planted throughout the country. Of these, 11 groves were tended in compliance with all the regulations of agricultural technology, but on Moshav Komemiyut, the rules were not followed for a whole year. In spite of this, the Moshav produced the best results.”

In the 72nd year after its founding, on the eve of the year of Shemitah, the Moshav had a fruit harvest of more than 2,100 standard boxes—more than three times the average yield of the six preceding years, which ranged from 695 to 701 boxes per year!

It is difficult to say whether the promise of the Almighty to bring a harvest for three years is valid in our time. Not all of the Tribes of Israel are still living on their land; the Tribes of Israel are still scattered, and not everyone living on the land observes the Laws of Shemitah. There are several different opinions on this. But the fact is that the Creator, who promised a triple harvest to enable fulfillment of this mitzvah offers special help to those who keep it even today. For keeping this mitzvah requires great mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), as evidenced by the above examples.

This means, in any case, that the obligation to observe the Shemitah laws in Israel is still in effect, as is our never-ending obligation to trust in the help of the Creator. 

Copyright© 2023 by The LaMaalot Foundation. Talks on the Torah, by Rabbi Yitzchak Zilber is catalogued at The Library of Congress. All rights reserved. Printed in China by Best Win Printing, Shenzhen, China.

 By Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber zkt"l
Founder, Toldot Yeshurun