The Torah states that every 7th year is “Shemittah", during which the Jews who live in Eretz Yisrael (Israel) cannot work their land and must keep it fallow. The Midrash states that those who faithfully observe Shemittah are the mightiest of warriors for keeping such difficult laws (Yalkut Shmoni, Tehillim 860). At the same time, the Torah alleviates all fears of hunger by explicitly promising the Jewish nation that the 6th year will produce a miraculous super crop adequate for 3 entire years. R’ Aharon Kotler asks, if so, why is one who keeps Shemittah considered a mighty warrior? After the farmer receives a 3-year super crop prior to the Shemittah year and benefits first-hand from a miracle, is it so impressive that he kept the Shemittah laws?

Later on, the Torah details the laws of Yovel (the Jubilee year), in which all land that was purchased during a 50-year span is returned to its ancestral owners. To signal the onset of this process, a shofar is blown in the exact manner (exact blast patterns) that is blown on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 26b). Why? What connection can there possibly be between Yovel and the shofar blasts of Rosh Hashana?

There was once an island which had the peculiar practice of approaching a stranger from a neighboring island and crowning him as king for one year. Throughout that year, he would sit on a large throne in a magnificent palace and was given all of the resources he desired, all the while enjoying every delicacy and pleasure he could possibly want. The people would obey his every command and he would rule the people as he saw fit. When the year ended, the people would remove him from the throne despite his kicking and screaming, send him away from the island, and he would continue his life as if it all never happened.

Once, they appointed a particularly wise stranger to be their king. Intrigued by this peculiar practice, this man began asking questions. Why, he wondered, would the people on the island appoint a total stranger to be their king?

After some investigation, he found the answer. The people needed a ruler to guide them, but at the same time, they didn’t want their ruler to become arrogant. They felt that if he remained on the throne for more than a year, he would feel too comfortable and secure, and his power would get to his head. Therefore, they constantly appointed new kings and after a year they would force him to leave.

Realizing what was going on, the man came up with a plan. During his year as king, he had all the money and manpower he could want, so he decided that he would build himself a beautiful palace on the next island, where he would live after his year of rule ended. Throughout that year, he sent shiploads of diamonds and jewels to the neighboring island and had his servants build a magnificent palace. After his year finished, he excitedly moved into his new, glorious, permanent home. 

This, explains the Chovos Ha’levavos (Sha'ar Avodas Ha'Elokim), is the perfect parable of our time on this planet. While in this world, we are given an incredible amount of resources to grow and accomplish incredible spiritual feats. However, in order to give us free will, Hashem makes it extremely easy to become comfortable, complacent and to not question why we are here and what our true purpose is. We can easily become hypnotized by the momentum of routine and by the illusion that this world is permanent, and never ask the most important questions of all: why am I here, how long will this last, and what do I want to accomplish?

There is one thing that Shemittah, Yovel, and the shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah all have in common: they are intended to be a wake-up call that all of this world, including our money, possessions and homes, are purely temporary. On Shemittah, we must take off from work for an entire year to remind ourselves that our money and merchandise are temporary and that there is more to life than pure physicality. On Yovel, we return all land to remind ourselves that even our land and homes are only temporary dwellings (Behar 25:23). Similarly, one of the prime purposes of the shofar blasts of Rosh Hashana, explains the Rambam, is to serve as a wake up call and wake us up from the illusions of this world, and to remind us to stay focused on the reality of the World to Come (H. Teshuva 3:4). Indeed, Shemittah, Yovel and the shofar blasts are all supposed to remind us that: 1. Hashem is the One Who put us on this “island” and gave us our wealth, power, talents and resources. 2. All of it is only temporary and it’s purpose is solely to fortify our portion for the World to Come.

However, staying focused is not easy. After someone harvests a miraculous 3-year super crop, consider how easy it is for him to say “I  must be an agricultural genius! If my land produced a 3-year crop this year, think about what it will produce next year! With this kind of momentum, how can I afford to take off?”. Indeed, in order to maintain free will Hashem makes the illusions that this world is permanent and without a G-d incredibly powerful, which is why such extreme measures as Shemittah and Yovel are necessary in the first place. This is why someone who stays focused on the reality that all of his success is from Hashem, and everything that appears to the contrary is just an illusion, is truly considered a mighty warrior (this last point was quoted by R’ Eli Scheller in the name of R’ Yaakov Eliezer Schwartzman, who heard it from R’ Aharon Kotler).

Living Inspired

Clearly, keeping focused on the fact that this world is temporary is paramount to succeeding in living a meaningful life. It is equally clear that it is not a simple task, which is proven by the extreme measures needed to keep us focused, namely Shemittah and Yovel. Now that we are in exile and living outside of Eretz Yisroel, and without these measures, what can we utilize to be our wake-up call?

Shabbos; While the common phrase is to call Shabbos “our day off”, in reality, it is truly the one day that we are fully ON! Only on Shabbos are we granted a respite from the never ending phone calls, texts, emails, etc. and from the hypnotizing effects of routine, and get a moment to reflect on and devote ourselves to what’s really important in life: family, prayer, learning Torah, singing zemiros (Hashem’s praises), etc. It is no coincidence that Shemittah is often referred to in the Torah as “Shabbos”, and that directly after discussing the laws of Yovel, the Torah makes mention of Shabbos. It is because Shabbos, in a sense, can afford us the lessons of Shemittah and Yovel on a regular basis. It gives us a chance to reflect on and busy ourselves with what life is really about - building our palace and amassing our diamonds for the coming island of the World To Come!*

 ____________________

*-Another method that can be used as a wake-up call to the messages of Shemittah and Yovel on a regular basis is the giving of charity. Similar to Shemittah and Yovel, when one gives money to a person in need he is demonstrating the understanding that there is more to life than money, that everything is from Hashem, and that this world is simply a corridor to the World to Come. The Sages explain that this is why charity is mentioned in this week’s parshah, juxtaposed next to the laws of Shemittah and Yovel (ibid 25:35. See Beis Av 25:14).