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Why does the Gemara (גמרא) single out Shemitah as the paradigm for Torah (תורה) given with complete detail at Sinai? Shemitah tests the deepest level of chesed (חסד) - ayin tov - allowing others to benefit from one's field when Hashem (ה׳) has already provided compensation, without any sense of being a benefactor. This represents the ultimate emulation of Hashem's joy in our existence despite it 'limiting' His absolute dominion.
This shiur delves into the profound connection between Shemitah and Har Sinai established by Chazal. The Gemara (גמרא) teaches that just as Shemitah was given with all its general principles and specific details at Mount Sinai, so too the entire Torah (תורה) was given with complete detail there. However, Rav Zweig questions why Shemitah specifically was chosen as this paradigm when other mitzvos like Terumah, Maaser, or laws of slavery could have served the same purpose. The analysis reveals a fundamental paradox in Shemitah observance: HaKadosh Baruch Hu provides triple produce in the sixth year, essentially paying the landowner upfront for not working in the seventh year. This creates a situation where keeping Shemitah is clearly beneficial - one receives the reward before performing the mitzvah (מצוה). Yet historically, non-observance of Shemitah led to the destruction and seventy-year exile, precisely corresponding to the seventy Shemitah years violated during the 420-year period in Eretz Yisrael.
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Parshas Behar, Gemara Shabbos
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