Shmita in the Geulah - Rabbi Menachem Cohen shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 First of all, welcome to all our listeners. In this class we’ll talk about the Shemitah year. This year is a Shemitah year, but even in years that aren’t, we read about it, and every year it has a message for each and every one of us—especially when we’re in the Shemitah year itself. As we know, Shemitah is a year with many halachos, mainly concerning produce grown in Eretz Yisroel: fruit, vegetables, things one may not eat, and the prohibition of sefichin. There are particular laws concerning fruit. There are also laws concerning money—the cancellation of debts during Shemitah—and one needs to make a pruzbul. There are many, many laws, and this is something you really have to prepare for. It isn’t something that just comes along and you can say, “Well, whatever,” if you haven’t learned the laws. You need to know all the halachos. It’s not just a matter of whether you may sow or may not sow, whether you may harvest or may not harvest. In what manner? How may you place things? Many people ask: “May I sprout something in water or soil inside my house? Is that permitted or forbidden?” It’s complicated. It isn’t so simple. Planting things during the Shemitah year certainly requires a great deal of knowledge. What you buy—are you allowed to buy it? What about a detached growing medium—is that possible or not? And all these other questions. There’s heter mechirah, which we try not to rely on, and so on. So many things you need to know. But there’s something interesting about this mitzvah of Shemitah in the seventh year. The Torah says the following. It discusses this in several places, including Parshas Mishpatim,

02:16 Speaker 2 but it appears at length in Parshas Behar. “What does Shemitah have to do with Mount Sinai?” That’s where the discussion begins, at Mount Sinai: “Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” Then the Torah continues: “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its produce. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a year of complete rest.” The question is: What does that mean? The Torah begins right away with “the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” Is that the order—first a Shemitah year, and only afterward six years of sowing your field? No, that isn’t the order. Halacha says otherwise, and the Torah itself says, “Six years you shall sow your field,” and only afterward comes the seventh year, when the land has a year of rest. So why does the Torah say, “When you come to the land, the land shall rest”? First there had to be seven years of conquest and seven years of dividing up the land, and even then there were six years of work before the seventh year. The Rebbe shlita, Melech HaMoshiach, gives two explanations, both of which he connects to the Geulah. First, the Rebbe says that it’s true: at present, entering the land begins with six years of working the soil—sowing and doing the other kinds of agricultural work. But in the Geulah—and the Geulah is the main thing—as we know, everything we do today is, as one of the halachic authorities puts it, insignificant by comparison. This isn’t it. The entire world—as it says, “The Torah a person studies in this world is as nothing compared to the Torah of Moshiach”—and the same is true of everything else. The main thing is the true and complete Geulah. So what is the Torah talking about when it says, “The land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem”? The Rebbe says this refers to the true and complete Geulah,

04:00 Speaker 2 because in the true and complete Geulah, it will immediately be, “When you come to the land, the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” Why? In the future, Eretz Yisroel will produce ready-made loaves of bread and fine garments for us. All food will emerge ready from the ground in a miraculous way, so there will be no need for natural labor—plowing and sowing, “Six years you shall sow your field, six years you shall prune your vineyard.” No, there will be no need for that. We’ll reach the Geulah, and everything will be ready from the ground—loaves of bread and fine garments. So immediately, “the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” Then why does it go on to say, “Six years you shall sow your field”? That will be the work assigned to the non-Jews. As it says, “Foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers,” and “Strangers will stand and tend your flocks.” They will be the ones occupied with the six years and so on, to produce additional things. But essentially, right away, “the land shall rest.” That’s one explanation. The Rebbe’s second explanation is that although today, upon entering the land, you must work it for six years, you first need to remember the goal—the main purpose of entering the land. The point isn’t to work the physical land; it’s to bring about “the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem”: to make the world holier and more refined, a Shabbos for Hashem. True, in practice you begin with “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard.” But the goal, the main idea, is the Shabbos for Hashem. It’s not that the six years are the main thing, or that pruning and sowing are the main thing. No. The main thing is “the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” Everything you do in worldly matters is for the sake of “the land shall rest,” to reach “the land shall rest—a Shabbos for Hashem.” That’s why the verse begins immediately with the mitzvah of Shemitah: so that the moment we arrive in Eretz Yisroel, we remember clearly, with firm resolve,

06:00 Speaker 2 that all a Jew’s work in the field is meant to use the land for Hakadosh Boruch Hu and to fulfill His mitzvos through it. It’s similar to the week: we have Shabbos and six days of work. A person might think, “Listen, I work for six days, and then Shabbos comes. All right, now I have to stop working. When will Shabbos be over so I can get back to work? It seems boring.” But no—it’s the other way around. Shabbos is the main thing. It’s the purpose for which all the other days exist. That’s why it says, “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it”—even during the other days. And it says that Shammai would buy an animal and say, “This is in honor of Shabbos.” The next day he would see a better animal and say, “This is in honor of Shabbos,” and eat the one he had bought the day before. In other words, he had Shabbos in mind all the time. Hillel the Elder agreed with him, but said, “Day by day, He provides for us”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu will provide each day for what we need. But really, we need to remember Shabbos every day. Shabbos isn’t some interruption that makes you wonder, “What do we need it for?” Just the opposite: it’s the main thing, the reason for everything else. That’s why we always say “the first day of the week,” “the second day of the week,” counting toward Shabbos and recalling it every day. All our work is directed toward reaching Shabbos. That’s the main thing, and it influences all the other days. The Shemitah year is the same. It’s not just, “Well, Shemitah has arrived—how are we going to manage?” No, the Shemitah year is the main thing. That’s what all the other years are for:

07:37 Speaker 2 All the days and years of our work are meant to bring us to “the land shall rest, a Shabbos for Hashem.” It is known that the six years in which we sow the land, and likewise the six days in which we work, correspond to the six thousand years of work in the world. And the culmination, the seventh year, is the year of the Geulah. It is the day of the Geulah, a day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for everlasting life. It is already beginning; it is already Erev Shabbos. Today we are already at Erev Shabbos after midday. We are already getting a taste of the Geulah, already feeling the Geulah, already preparing, already ready and already, how do you say, tasting the Shabbos food before Shabbos. And in terms of where we are in the years, too, we are truly at Erev Shabbos after midday, at the time when Moshiach is about to come. So here, too, we need to remember: there are people who say, “Well, Geulah, Geulah—when it comes, it comes.” No. Throughout all the years that a Jew is working in the world, he must remember that it is all meant to reach its purpose. As soon as a Jew begins working in the world, he must remember that the purpose of the entire creation is “the land shall rest, a Shabbos for Hashem”: to bring the true and complete Geulah, to make a dwelling place for Hashem here in this world. Once a person is permeated with that thought and that resolve, the work in this world begins, and then he also does his work as he should—throughout the six years before Shemitah, throughout the six days before Shabbos, and throughout the years before the true and complete Geulah. When we do the work while permeated with the Geulah, with Shemitah, with Shabbos, that naturally affects all the days, making them better, more successful and, how do you say, as perfect as they can be. So that is one thing we need to know: that, essentially, the year of

09:28 Speaker 2 Shemitah is already, truly, how do you say, a preparation for and a foretaste of the true and complete Geulah. Until now we have spoken in general terms about preparation and awareness, right? About always being ready for the Geulah, ready for “the land shall rest, a Shabbos for Hashem.” That must always be in our minds, from the very first moment. Now we will look a little more closely at the connection between the Shemitah year and the Geulah, how they relate to each other. There is a Gemara in Sanhedrin that already connects the Geulah with the Shemitah year. The Gemara says, on page 97: “Just as the seventh year releases one year in every seven, so the world rests for one thousand years in every seven thousand years, as it says, ‘And Hashem alone shall be exalted on that day.’” In other words, just as the land rests from work for one year out of seven, so too, out of seven thousand years, there will be a thousand years in which the world rests. What is this rest? What is this Shemitah in the true and complete Geulah? Well, it is written that the mitzvos we perform today are called sowing. It says in the book of Hoshea, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap according to kindness.” In davening, too, we say, “He sows acts of righteousness and causes salvations to grow.” This does not apply only to tzedakah; that is just an example. All the mitzvos are, in fact, called acts of righteousness. Mitzvos are a kind of sowing. Why are they called sowing? Chassidus explains that sowing in the physical world produces something amazing. You take a seed that seems to have nothing to it—no vitality, no taste, no fragrance, nothing particularly beautiful about it. You put that seed in the ground, and a flourishing, beautiful tree grows, full of juicy, delicious fruit. How can that be? That is how sowing works. You take something dry and put

11:23 Speaker 2 it in the ground, and then something incredible grows. An amazing tree grows. The same is true of performing mitzvos. The mitzvos we perform are like a seed. They may seem like insignificant actions. Take tefillin or tzitzis, for example. What are you doing with them? Do they have a taste? A fragrance? Are they beautiful? Not necessarily. There are things that are more beautiful, more interesting. But the truth is that every such “simple” act contains a Divine power that will be revealed at the time of the Geulah. That is the tree full of fruit that comes from sowing the seed—from actually performing mitzvos. That is sowing, and that is the rest of the seventh millennium. In those days, the meaning of mitzvos will change. Performing them will no longer be considered sowing. Our Sages say, “Mitzvos will be nullified in the time to come.” That does not mean we will not perform mitzvos. We will perform them, but on a completely different level, not as a form of sowing. It will be an instinctive act, like breathing. Right? We will not need to be commanded to do it; we will be one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It will be revealed that Yisroel, the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are all one. We will indeed perform mitzvos, not to achieve some goal or gain something, but because that is the Divine will. That is what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants. So in that sense, it will be a rest from performing mitzvos. We will not perform mitzvos in the sense that we do now: sowing so that something will grow later, sowing so that something will grow later. Performing a mitzvah so that it will yield a return later—that will no longer be the case. In the true and complete Geulah, we will already be at the stage of receiving reward, the stage when we can see all the returns from the mitzvos we performed all

13:04 Speaker 2 along. That is why the Rebbe says that in the time to come, we will miss the days of exile. We will see how much we could accomplish, how many wonderful results we brought about by performing mitzvos, and we will miss those days. What a shame—we could have done more. So today, we still can do more. We need to do more and know that now is the time for sowing. In the Geulah, it will already be like the Shemitah year. We will no longer be allowed to sow. Performing mitzvos then will have a different purpose; it will no longer be for the sake of sowing. The Gemara also adds: In those years when Hakadosh Boruch Hu will renew the world, what will the righteous do? The Jewish people, of whom it is said, “And your people are all righteous.” It says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will give them wings like eagles, and they will soar over the waters. In other words, the Jewish people will be on such a high level that they will move with ease above all the secrets of the Torah. Just as the eagle rises and lifts its young above itself, so Hakadosh Boruch Hu will lift the Jewish people above the wisdom of the Torah, which is the wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. So that is the Shemitah year. That is what we will have in the true and complete Geulah, in the sense that it resembles the Shemitah year. Now is a foretaste of the time of the Geulah. That is why, even regarding the physical Shemitah year we observe today, which is a foretaste of the Geulah, the Rebbe urges us to increase our Torah study, increase our performance of mitzvos, increase our activity, and increase our good deeds. That is what the Shemitah year was created for: to tell us to have a little less involvement in material matters and more in spiritual matters, more Torah and mitzvos, which are the main thing. Now we will look at another point connected with the Shemitah year, one that gives each and every one of us guidance for our time today. We are on the eve of the Geulah—Moshiach is about to come, immediately.

14:57 Speaker 2 Truly, we will merit the true and complete Geulah. Now the Shemitah year has something to teach us as well. In connection with Shemitah, the Torah describes a discussion between the Jewish people and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Torah says: “And if you ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow or gather in our produce!’” If we are not planting, what will we eat? And then Hakadosh Boruch Hu says: “I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will produce a crop for three years.” It really is interesting. Even today, people who work with crops say that in the sixth year, the year before Shemitah, they suddenly see Hashem’s blessing in many places. Hakadosh Boruch Hu promises three times as much, enough for three years. You will have produce not only for the Shemitah year: in the sixth year you will have enough for that year, for Shemitah, and for the year after. Hakadosh Boruch Hu will triple the produce of the field to cover all three years. And this contains a lesson for each and every one of us, something relevant to everyone. As the Rebbe shlita, Melech HaMoshiach, explains, the six years represent the six thousand years of the world’s existence, and the seventh millennium is a later period, the time of the Geulah. As we mentioned, through our actions during these six thousand years, we are preparing ourselves and the entire world for the true and complete Geulah. Now, as we approach the end of the sixth millennium and the true and complete Geulah, we are approaching the Shemitah year in that sense. As we said, the seventh millennium is, in effect, the Shemitah year. So we ask, the Jewish people ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year?” We see our low spiritual state now and the great difference between our generation and earlier generations.

16:51 Speaker 2 As our Sages said in the Gemara: “If the earlier generations were like angels, we are like human beings; if the earlier generations were like human beings, we are like donkeys.” In other words, we are at a very low level. So how can we merit the Geulah? How can we bring it about? Yet it is precisely we who will merit the true and complete Geulah; precisely we have the power. How? “What will we eat in the seventh year?” What will we have? That is really the question: What will we eat? With what can we bring about the true and complete Geulah when our state is so low? What will provide us with sustenance? What gives us the strength? Where will we get that strength? To this Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year.” Compared with earlier generations, we may indeed be at a low level, but Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us His blessing: “I will command My blessing.” It is a blessing beyond nature. As we see, despite everything—despite all the difficulties and the decline from generation to generation—the Jewish people continue to uphold Yiddishkeit firmly, even when it does not seem entirely logical. Where does the strength for that mesirus nefesh come from? Where does the strength for that kabbolas ol come from? In the past, people understood, so it made sense that they observed everything. They understood. But today people do not always understand. You see ordinary people coming and doing what needs to be done. Where does that strength come from? “I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives a blessing to our weak generation, which seemingly has almost nothing to eat. He gives us strength. He gives our generation the strength—“I will command My blessing for you”—and through that we will merit to bring the Divine purpose to fruition: the true and complete Geulah and the seventh millennium. And this Divine blessing brings us the Geulah.

18:38 Speaker 2 This is alluded to in the verse we mentioned: “I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will produce a crop for three years.” Why three years? They represent three periods, three stages of the Geulah. The first is the days of Moshiach. The second is a later stage in the days of Moshiach, the stage of the Resurrection of the Dead. And the third is the seventh millennium itself. So, with Hashem’s help, we keep adding to our efforts. We are not discouraged by the decline; we are not daunted by the question of what we will eat in the seventh year. It may seem that we do not have much strength, but no: “I will command My blessing for you.” We remember that we have Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s blessing. So, in the year before Shemitah, we have the strength in this period, in the sixth millennium, to do what needs to be done and bring about the true and complete Geulah, to merit the Shemitah year immediately. Let us mention a few things, a few differences concerning the Shemitah year itself. There are several laws that will apply specifically at the time of the true and complete Geulah. First, things will be different then. There will be not only Shemitah but also the Yovel year. As the Rambam writes: “Melech HaMoshiach will arise and restore the kingdom of David to its former state, to its original sovereignty. He will build the Beis Hamikdash and gather the dispersed of Israel. All the laws will be restored in his days as they were before: sacrifices will be offered, and Shemitah years and Yovel years will be observed according to all their commandments as stated in the Torah.” Shemitah nowadays is rabbinic. There is a disagreement about this: some hold that its status is even less than rabbinic law, more in the category of a custom. Others say it is a Torah law. But the practical ruling is that Shemitah nowadays is rabbinic. With the true and complete Geulah, it will become a Torah obligation, and that will make a great many differences.

20:39 Speaker 2 There are many differences. When there is doubt about a rabbinic law, we rule leniently; when there is doubt about a Torah law, we rule stringently. We will have to be stringent in many matters. Take, for example, the cancellation of debts during Shemitah. Nowadays we can make a prozbul. The Rambam writes that a prozbul works only during the time of exile, when both the cancellation of debts and the Shemitah laws of the land are rabbinic. But with the true and complete Geulah, the cancellation of debts will be a Torah law, and then a prozbul will not help. We will have to find other ways. It may be that we will not need to find other ways, because everyone will have an abundance of money and gold. Then there will be no need to make a prozbul to protect one’s money. Perhaps we will be able to lend without limit, without worrying that the Shemitah year will come and cancel all the money owed to us. In any event, we need to know that because Shemitah will be a Torah law, a prozbul will not help. That is what the Rambam writes. Those are the general points to know. So the mitzvah of Shemitah will have much greater force than it does today. Most importantly, may we truly merit to celebrate and observe the Shemitah year as a Shemitah year. “Every creditor shall release his hand”—may there be a release from all undesirable things, leaving only good, the true and complete Geulah. As we said, that is also the seventh millennium, corresponding to the Shemitah year. The seventh year: all sevenths are cherished. As we said, Shabbos is the most cherished of the days, and the Shemitah year is the most cherished of the years. The seventh millennium, the true and complete Geulah, is the most cherished of all times. And we are in the seventh generation, the generation of Moshiach. Just as all sevenths are cherished, Moshe Rabbeinu was the seventh from Avraham Avinu, and it was he who brought the Shechinah down into this world at the Giving of the Torah and in the Beis Hamikdash.

22:37 Speaker 2 The same is true in our time. We are in the seventh generation, the generation of the Rebbe shlita, Melech HaMoshiach, who is the seventh from the Alter Rebbe. We, too, will merit—immediately, for all sevenths are cherished—the true and complete Geulah, immediately.