MEVASER TOV

Essays on the weekly parsha by the Biala Rebbe shlita

Rav and Av Beis Din of Lugano, Switzerland

Available at: mevasertovweekly@gmail.com

Behar-Bechukosai, Year 1 (5770) Issue # 29

This week’s issue is dedicated as a merit for the speedy and complete recovery of
Avraham ben Tzivya Perel, among all the sick people of Israel.
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- PARSHAS BEHAR-BECHUKOSAI -

 THE BLESSINGS OF THE TORAH 

“Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai and said: Speak to Bnei Yisrael and say to them,
when you come into the land that I give you, the land shall observe a rest for Hashem. For six
years you may plant your field, and for six years you may prune your vineyard and gather its
produce. And on the seventh year the land shall observe a rest for Hashem. You shall not plant
your field nor prune your vineyard.”1
Rashi asks why the Torah mentions that this mitzva was given on Har Sinai. Were
not all the mitzvos given on Sinai? Surely this must come to teach us that there is some
integral connection between shemittah and Kabbalas HaTorah.
In Parshas Bechukosai we find the verse: “If you will walk in My statutes and observe
My mitzvos to perform them, I shall give you rain in its appropriate time, and the land will give
forth its produce.”2 This implies that material bounty is given in reward for mitzva
observance, which seemingly contradicts our Sages assertion that there is no material
reward for mitzvos, since their reward is reserved entirely for the World to Come.3

1.
Shabbos for Hashem

The Midrash states regarding the mitzva of shemittah:

“Let Hashem’s angels bless Him, they who are mighty in strength, who
fulfill His bidding and heed His voice.”4 Most mitzvos are observed over the

1
Vayikra 25:1-4
2
Vayikra 26:1-2
3
Kiddushin 39b
4
Tehillim 103:20

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course of a day, a week or a month, but rarely for an entire year. Yet the
farmer is expected to leave his field and vineyard barren [for an entire
year] and remain silent. Is there anyone mightier of spirit than he?5

Shemittah involves a year-long avowal of faith, in which a farmer must cast away the
staff of his livelihood and trust that Hashem will provide for him in a manner that
transcends nature. For six years he earns his bread by the sweat of his brow, but on the
seventh year he acknowledges that it is not his own effort that produces his livelihood,
but Hashem’s blessing. If Hashem commands us to abandon the apparent source of our
livelihood, then surely He has prepared other avenues by which to support us, just as
He supports all His creations, from the mammoth beasts to the miniscule insects. The
farmer thus demonstrates that Hashem is All-Powerful and can provide our needs in
way He sees fit.
Rashi comments on the verse, “The land shall observe a rest for Hashem”:

“Rest for Hashem”: for the sake of Hashem, similar to the weekly
Shabbos observed in commemoration of the world’s creation.6

This means that shemittah must be observed with the express intention of fulfilling
Hashem’s decree and not simply as a vacation, like the growing trend of academics and
professionals to take a sabbatical leave, in which they rest from their labors or improve
their training.
Shabbos is not a day off, but a day devoted to spiritual growth, through which one’s
material efforts throughout the week are blessed with success, as the Gemara states:
“How do the wealthy merit their riches? By honoring Shabbos.”7
The same is true of the shemittah year. By observing the agricultural mitzvos, the
farmer honors the holiness of the Land. Just as Shabbos imbues the entire week with
material and spiritual blessing, shemittah imbues the very Land of Israel with similar
blessing.
Furthermore, Shabbos is the key to our survival as a nation. Without Shabbos, we
lose our identity as Jews. This was sadly demonstrated in the United States, where the
yetzer hara robbed Jewish immigrants of the opportunity to observe Shabbos. Those
who fell prey to temptation and worked on Shabbos saw their children and
grandchildren assimilate and intermarry until no memory at all was left of their family.
Just as Shabbos assures our national identity, shemittah assures our existence on our
Land. When our forefathers failed this test of faith and worked on shemittah, they were
exiled from the Land, as the verse states in Parshas Bechukosai: “The land shall be
appeased for its Shabbosos for all the days of the year, while you languish in the lands of your
enemies… It shall lie fallow and rest, since you did not allow it to rest while you dwelt upon it.”8

5
Vayikra Rabbah 1:1
6
Rashi, Vayikra 25:2
7
Shabbos 119a
8
Vayikra 26:34-35

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Rashi notes that the seventy years of Babylonian Exile corresponded to the seventy
shemittos that were violated over the course of four-hundred and ninety years.9
We can now understand the integral connection between shemittah and Har Sinai,
mentioned by Rashi in the beginning of the Parsha. When Bnei Yisrael received the
Torah on Har Sinai, their lives were inextricably bound to the Torah. From that point
onward, their physical survival would no longer depend on any natural pattern of cause
and effect, but on the Torah itself. Thus, a Jew should never think that the observance of
mitzvos such as Shabbos or shemittah will hinder his material success. To the contrary,
Torah and mitzvos are the very source of our success, as the Gemara states: “It is written
in the Torah, repeated by the Prophets, and thrice-stated in the Kesuvim: If a person toils
in Torah, his possessions flourish.”10
In the time of Shlomo HaMelech, Bnei Yisrael were loyal to the Torah and they
enjoyed such unparalleled affluence that “silver was valued as nothing” in his times.11
Perhaps we may add that Bnei Yisrael were so inspired by Shlomo’s wisdom, that they
realized the triviality of gold and silver as compared to Torah and mitzvos, which are
the true measure of our success, both spiritual and material, while money is valuable
only as a means to fulfill the Torah.

3
What Will We Eat?

“If you ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year?’, I will send My blessing in the sixth year,
to provide for three years.”12 Why does the Torah pose the question, “If you ask, ‘What
will we eat?’” Let it simply assure us that Hashem will send His blessing to provide for
three years, and thus avoid the need for any question.
Rebbe Zusha of Annipole explained that when Hashem created the world, He
prepared channels by which to provide for all its needs. Blessing naturally flows
uninterrupted through these channels. When man reveals his lack of faith in the
Provider by asking questions such as, “What will we eat?”, he obstructs these channels
of blessing, forcing Hashem to create a new path by which to provide for him.
Therefore, the verse warns us not to doubt Hashem’s provisions for us, but simply to
trust in Him with perfect faith, thus allowing the flow of Heavenly blessing to pour
steadily and easily into our hands.13
To further explain this important point, it seems that just as Hashem constantly
breathes new life into creation, He constantly provides the means for each creature’s
livelihood. Clearly, since He created the world for us to fulfill His Torah, it is
unthinkable that our obedience to His Torah could hinder the livelihood He provides for

9
ibid
10
Avodah Zarah 19b
11
Melachim I 10:21
12
Vayikra 25:20-21
13
Noam Elimelech, Behar

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  Mevaser Tov – Behar-Bechukosai 

this very purpose. As long as we obey the Torah, we open our hands to receive the
wherewithal to do so. Blessing then descends freely, easily, and in great abundance.
By worrying that mitzvos such as shemittah might rob of us of our livelihood, we
show that we do not recognize Hashem as our Provider. Rather than accepting the
blessing He has prepared for us as the means to fulfill His Torah, we search for other
sources of livelihood which contradict His designs, trusting our own initiative to
provide for us better than the Provider Himself does. This very notion blocks the flow
of holy blessing and creates the need for a new channel to be opened on our behalf, for
which we may or may not be worthy.
The word “emunah” has two meanings. In the classic sense, it means faith.
However, it can also mean nurture, as we find in the verse ‫ויהי אומן את הדסה‬
“[Mordechai] raised Hadassah (Esther).”14 Accordingly, Rebbe Yechiel Michel of
Zolotchov taught that a person’s faith in Hashem’s blessing draws that blessing into
existence and nurtures it to fruition.15 However, when a person fails to believe in
Hashem, he prevents Hashem’s blessing from descending.
This is the essence of the mitzva, “Be wholehearted (tamim) with Hashem your G-d,”16
which requires us to follow Hashem faithfully, and not ask skeptical questions. Before
the Baal Shem Tov died, he relinquished all his wisdom and monumental heights of
spirituality, and declared, “I am a simpleton, and have faith in Hashem Yisborach!”
Simple faith in Hashem is a very high level indeed.

4
Everything is Prepared for the Feast

When Hashem gave us the Torah, He also gave us a blessing for the material
wherewithal to perform each mitzva. For example, He blessed us with homes on which
to affix mezuzos, sons on whom to perform Bris Milah, and bountiful produce from
which to separate tithes.17
The Rambam writes:

When the Torah assures us of the material reward for fulfilling the
mitzvos, and warns of the punishment for transgressing them, it is as if
Hashem has said, “If you try to do these mitzvos, I will help by removing
the obstacles from your path.”
A person who is sick, hungry, thirsty, or plagued by the ravages of
war or siege cannot fulfill the mitzvos. Therefore, the Torah assures us
that these problems will not disturb us, and we will enjoy the health and
peace necessary to pursue the Torah’s wisdom, thereby meriting the life

14
Esther 2:7
15
Oheiv Yisrael, Parshas Noach
16
Devarim 18:13
17
Vayikra Rabbah 27:2

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  Mevaser Tov – Behar-Bechukosai 

of the World to Come. These assurances are not the actual reward itself,
but the means by which the true reward can be achieved. 18

My great-grandfather, the Toldos Adam, once discussed with Rebbe Yisrael of

Ruzhin the role of the Tzaddik in ensuring the good health of his followers. The Toldos
Adam at first claimed that spiritual health is more important than physical health, but R’
Yisrael corrected him, explaining that the physical body is like a vessel that contains
spirituality. A broken cup cannot hold water and a broken body cannot fulfill the
mitzvos. Therefore, a Tzaddik’s first responsibility is to ensure the physical health of his
followers.19 The same is true of the material prosperity necessary to fulfill the Torah.
Thus, blessings for health and prosperity were undoubtedly provided at Har Sinai in
sufficient measure for Bnei Yisrael throughout the generations to fulfill the Torah
without distraction. Accordingly, the Midrash states that when the Torah was given, the
blind and lame among Bnei Yisrael were healed.20
In contrast, if a Jew does not observe the Torah properly, he has no need for worldly
blessing, since this world was created only as a foyer in which to prepare for the World
to Come. As such, the worldly blessings that were given together with the Torah depart
him, leaving in their place all the misfortune and suffering described in the admonitions
of Parshas Bechukosai.
The manner by which Hashem provides for Bnei Yisrael is entirely different from
that by which He provides for the rest of His creations. For the rest of the world,
blessing descends purely as a result of Hashem’s unearned kindness. For Jews, all
worldly blessing comes hand-in-hand with the Torah, as Shlomo HaMelech said,
“Length of days is in its right hand, and wealth and honor in its left.”21
The Divrei Binah would often bless people that they may merit to receive the Torah
with both hands, “length of days in its right, and wealth and honor in its left.” He
would pray on their behalf that they may have all their worldly needs supplied in ample
measure, so that they may joyously and wholeheartedly devote themselves to Torah and
mitzvos without distraction. May we all so merit.

18
Rambam, Commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1
19
Toldos Adam, Parshas Metzora
20
Bamidbar Rabbah 7:1
21
Mishlei 3:16

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