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Why did Jews consistently fail to observe shemitah despite receiving three years of produce in advance? The issue isn't financial but psychological - humans define themselves through their work and choices. Even selling naturally growing fruits during shemitah maintains one's identity as a landowner, contradicting the year's purpose of recognizing God's ownership.
Rabbi Zweig addresses several perplexing questions about the mitzvah (מצוה) of shemitah (sabbatical year). First, why does the Torah (תורה) specifically mention 'behar Sinai' in connection with shemitah when all mitzvos were given at Sinai? Second, why did the Jewish people consistently fail to observe shemitah throughout history, leading to the 70-year Babylonian exile corresponding to the neglected sabbatical cycles? Most puzzling is that the Torah promises three years of produce in the sixth year to sustain people through shemitah - if they're paid in advance, what's the difficulty in observance? The Gemara (גמרא) in Kiddushin reveals that the punishment sequence for violating shemitah laws begins not with working the land, but with selling the fruits that grow naturally during the sabbatical year (peiros shemitah). This seems minor compared to actual agricultural work, yet it triggers a cascade of punishments: selling movable property, real estate, houses, borrowing with interest, and ultimately being sold into slavery.
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Kiddushin (litany of punishments), Sanhedrin (adam l'amal yulad), Parshas Behar
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