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If Shemitah serves agricultural purposes as the Rambam (רמב"ם) suggests, why does the Torah (תורה) call it 'Shabbos (שבת) laHashem,' and how can depleted sixth-year land miraculously yield triple crops? The shiur resolves this by distinguishing Eretz Yisrael's spiritual agriculture from natural farming - the land's productivity depends on Jews recognizing divine ownership, not soil nutrients.
This shiur examines Parshas Behar's commandment of Shemitah through the lens of a fundamental dispute between the Rambam (רמב"ם) and Ramban (רמב"ן). The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim explains that Shemitah serves an agricultural purpose - land becomes depleted of nutrients after continuous farming and needs to lie fallow to replenish itself. The Ramban raises a critical question: if this is merely agricultural wisdom, why does the Torah (תורה) call it 'Shabbos (שבת) laHashem'? What makes this a divine commandment rather than just good farming practice? The Kli Yakar presents another challenge: if the purpose is to give the land rest, why does the punishment for violating Shemitah involve exile, allowing gentiles to continue farming the land? This defeats the supposed agricultural purpose. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L raises an additional difficulty with the Rambam's approach: the Torah promises that those who observe Shemitah will receive triple crops in the sixth year to sustain them through the sabbatical. If the land is weakest in the sixth year due to depletion, how can it miraculously produce three times its normal yield? This seems to contradict the agricultural rationale. The resolution lies in understanding that Eretz Yisrael operates fundamentally differently from other lands. While the rest of the world runs through natural law (teva) via angels, Eretz Yisrael receives direct divine providence - 'einei Hashem (ה׳) Elokecha bah mei'reishis hashanah v'ad acharis shanah.' The land's productivity depends not on natural agricultural principles but on maintaining its spiritual connection to Hashem. When Jews treat the land as their own possession rather than Hashem's, they sever this spiritual connection. This disconnection causes the land to become depleted - not through natural agricultural depletion, but through loss of divine blessing. Conversely, when Jews approach Shemitah with proper recognition of divine ownership, each year brings them closer to declaring 'this belongs to Hashem,' actually increasing the land's productivity. The sixth year produces abundantly precisely because it represents the culmination of six years of proper relationship with the divine Owner. Regarding the Kli Yakar's question about gentile farming during exile: gentiles cannot affect the spiritual status of Eretz Yisrael because they have no covenant with Hashem regarding the land. Their agricultural activity is irrelevant to the land's spiritual rest. Only the Jewish people, to whom Hashem gave the land, can either maintain or sever its divine connection through their actions and attitudes. This explains why the Torah calls it 'Shabbos laHashem' - it's not conventional agriculture but the unique spiritual agriculture of Eretz Yisrael, where recognition of divine ownership directly translates into physical abundance. The Rambam is correct about depletion occurring, but it's spiritual depletion causing physical consequences, not mere agricultural exhaustion.
Parshas Behar
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