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If Shmittah prevents agricultural depletion, why does the sixth year produce the most crops after five consecutive years of farming? The shiur develops Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg's yesod that Eretz Yisrael operates by spiritual rather than natural laws. The 'depletion' Shmittah prevents is spiritual - when Jews view themselves as owners rather than divine caretakers, severing the land's connection to Hashem (ה׳).
The shiur begins with the opening verse of Parshas Bechukosai, which describes Shmittah as 'veshavtah ha'aretz Shabbos (שבת) laShem' - the land should rest as a Shabbos to Hashem (ה׳). Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L examines the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s explanation that Shmittah serves to prevent agricultural depletion of the soil, similar to the common farming practice of letting land lie fallow. However, the Kli Yakar raises several difficulties with this approach: if Shmittah is merely for agricultural purposes, why does the Torah (תורה) call it 'laShem'? Furthermore, when the land expels the Jewish people for not keeping Shmittah, gentiles come in and farm continuously without any rest - so how does the land actually get its needed rest? The shiur presents an additional challenge: according to natural agricultural principles, the sixth year should produce the least crops since it follows five consecutive years of planting. Yet the Torah promises that the sixth year will miraculously produce enough for multiple years. This seems counterintuitive - if the purpose is to prevent depletion, why make the most depleted year produce the most, rather than simply preventing depletion altogether?
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Parshas Bechukosai
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