וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר:
Behar-Bechukotai starts out with describing Shmita. Right before, we hear about Har Sinai. What relevance does Shmita have with Har Sinai? Weren't all the mitzvoth given at Har Sinai? Why specifically Shmita? (AKA, what is the Smichut Parshiot?)
Rashi says that it teaches us that, just like all the other mitzvot, the whole mitzvah (with its details and all) was given at Har Sinai. However, Rashi asks, why is Shmita used to prove this rule?
Before entering Eretz Yisrael, Moshe reiterated all the Mitzvoth and Halachot to Bnei Israel) which makes up the book of D'varim. But since we don't see the halachot of Shmita of the land mentioned in D'varim, we learn that all of the mitzvah (general principles, details, etc..) were given at Har Sinai.
What are some other reasons for the Smichut Parshiot?
Rashi gives a puzzling answer: "Just as the laws of Shmita were given at Har Sinai, so ALL the Mitzvot and their particulars were delineated at Sinai." Uh, excuse me - ask all the commentators - why should Shmita be singled out as representative of all the Mitzvot? What is so unique and special about the Sabbatical Year?
ReplyDeleteI suggest to you that there IS something quite unique about Shmita. Of all the Mitzvot, none requires more Emuna than Shmita. For an agricultural society to stop all field work for one or two years is mind-boggling! How will we survive? Who will pay the bills? Amazingly, Hashem guarantees that He will provide enough food to carry us through the fallow years, if only we have faith.
It is this quality of Emuna which is a necessary component of all Mitzvot.
Gemara Shabbat gives two opinions:
ReplyDeleteRabbi Ishmael says: The general rules were given at Har Sinai, and the details were given in the mishkan.
Rabbi Akiva says: The general rules and details were given at Har Sinai. Then, they were repeated in the mishkan.
The Chatam Sofer says that Shmita proves that Hashem wrote the Torah. Only G-d can promise that the year beforehand will produce crops for two years.
ReplyDeleteAriella Rand
ReplyDeleteAccording to Zalman Posner (Chabbad.org) shmita is a symbolic devotion to Judaism and Har Sinai is the symbol of Judaism so they are kind of Related.
Rabbi Yisroel Ciner says, they are connected in the manner that shmita is one of the mitzvot given at Sinai that was not repeated at Arvos Moav. The reason shmita is the one to make the connection, is because something like shmita is so clearly "divine". If a man had commanded someone to do that, it would seem insane and the religion would fail. The fact that the mitzvah of shmita is accepted shows how divine it really is, and connects it with all the mitzvot given at the same time, showing how divine they all are as well, even if they don't seem it.
ReplyDelete