When I was a young adult, I was so blessed to have the opportunity to study in Israel for two years. My gap year turned from year to years and had my mother not called me home I would be there till this day.
The fact that I was so enamored with Israel may not surprise many but there was an obstacle that I had to overcome.
My first year studying in the land of milk and honey was what is called a “Shmitta” year.
What, might you ask, is Shmitta?
It is the seventh year of a seven year cycle during which the Torah commands the Jews in the Land of Israel to allow the land to lay fallow.
Practically speaking, this means no agricultural work.
Just as there are six days of work and on the seventh day we rest, so too the land also experiences a sabbatical.
On December 10,1992, an article appeared in The New York Times. It interviewed the general secretary of a kibbutz, a farm collective, Kibbutz Chofetz Chaim was founded in 1944 with the intention to create a kibbutz based on Torah law. That meant that all precepts regarding agriculture would be adhered to carefully. They were put to the test immediately because the few months following their founding was a Shmitta year.
Times were very challenging, food was scarce, nonetheless the Kibbutz conquered the challenge.
I’m 1992 the author of the NYT article gave testimony that the kibbutz continued to fulfill the Torah commandments regarding agriculture saying it “takes the Word at its word”.
“The land belongs to the Almighty and not to you” said Moshe Brukenthal, the Kibbutz general secretary. “It’s good to be reminded there’s Someone higher than you”.
Leaving the farms untended can seem to portend ruin for the farmer. But there are multitudes of miraculous stories that abound regarding the Divine Providence which is extended to those who take this difficult challenge.
One famous story was reported about a Moshav which is located about 15 minutes away from Kibbutz Chofetz Chaim.
In the 1951-2 Shmitta year, Kommemiyut was a newly established Moshav which had also made the commitment to Shmitta observance. That year a massive swarm of locusts devastated the farms in the vicinity of Kommemiyut. It was reported at the time that when the locusts reached the boundaries of the Moshav they took a sharp turn leaving all their fields untouched.
This week’s Torah portion (a double one again) of Behar and Bechukotai, is the source for these laws.
In the Parsha the Torah mentions that when we learn about these laws we may become afraid that we won’t have enough food. The Torah preempts the question which is top of our minds and asks for us
“What will we eat”?

This is an unusual circumstance.
The Torah commands many things yet doesn’t usually insert the natural human response.
What is the lesson for us here?
Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky addresses this question.
He cites the Sefer HaChinuch which explains that the purpose of the Shmitta commandment is to help us find the proper mindset in life.
We may think that our success whether it be on the farm, the office or the boardroom is the sum total of our efforts and wisdom.
Of course we must invest all we have towards our success. But at the end of the day our ultimate success comes from the Divine source.
So Gd addresses our worries about not having enough to eat because that is a true and real worry. But despite the fact that Shmitta seems to make earning a livelihood on a farm even harder, we need not worry at all.
“A large component of the entire Mitzva is primarily to set our mentality straight regarding Shmitta itself, as well as regarding all material success in this world. Shmitta is an eternal lesson in faith in Gd”.
In the early years of the State of Israel there were not many farmers that were able to fulfill this commandment. In recent years there has been a tremendous resurgence as farmers of all levels of religious observance embrace Shmitta. One can drive around the country and see huge billboards in Hebrew which pronounce
“Here we keep Shmitta”.
They leave themselves entirely in Gd’s hands.
The next Shmitta year will begin on September 20,2028.
Mark your calendars.
When I found out that I was going to be in Israel during the Shmitta year I was overwhelmed. There are so many laws to contend with as the food holds a special level of holiness.
I literally asked the question,
What will I eat?
But on a visit to Kibbutz Chofetz Chaim, where my aunt and uncle were among the founders, and where my cousin Moshe Brukenthal is still a leader, I literally saw the Torah laws coming to life.
It was much food for thought and nourishment for the soul.
And trust me.
I did not go hungry.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!