Lara Rutstein – Year 11

Do you know that stopping, slowing down, turning off your phone, turning off lights in your house, just for 1 day, makes an impact? The little things in life do make a difference. In modern society, we are running, speaking, and thinking at an exceptionally fast rate, and oftentimes we continue all week- long without slowing down – constantly doing, always mobile accessible, habitually multi-tasking.

This week the joint parashiyot, Behar Sinai and BeChukotai, are about the idea of Shemitah. Shemitah is the sabbatical year (that is every 7 years) when we are commanded to not work on the land, to let it recuperate and revitalise. Shemitah, like Shabbat, is envisaged as a time for us all to step out of the non-stop scramble of getting and spending and to renew ourselves, restoring our connection with the unique life particular to each one of us.

During the Shemitah year, we are commanded to let the wild animals eat freely from our fields. “The shabbat of the land (what the land grows while it is resting) will be for you for eating: for you and for your servants and hired-workers and for your settler living as a stranger with you, and for your beast, and for the wild animal which is in your land, all of her produce will be for eating.” (Leviticus 25:6-7).

The rabbis further expanded the meaning of this law. Everyone is required to leave any gates to their fields open so that human beings and wild (and domestic) animals were eating of the same produce. 

It is the Sinai covenant which is meant to bring back into harmony a world twisted by human greed and violence. It is the Sinai covenant that is meant to restore the fellowship of human and animal, and to reorder our values, so that the well-being of the land and the community of life takes precedence over our own perceived needs. 

The Torah says that all land belongs to God. If everyone who ‘owns’ land is actually borrowing it from God, landowners cannot do whatever they please. Every year they have to follow the divine rule about leaving some of the harvest in the field for poor people and newcomers to glean. Today we might say that developers should set aside some land for public parks and buildings, and farm owners should participate in food bank programs.

And, every 7 years, the people who ‘own’ land must leave farmland fallow for everyone to eat from, instead of selling the produce. Today, we might say that homeowners should plant native plants to support wild fauna, instead of lawns whose maintenance poisons the environment; and that agribusiness owners should switch to sustainable practices that will help keep the whole earth healthy.

And, every fifty years (yovel, the Jubilee), all landowners must restore God’s original arrangements for the land. In Canaan, this meant reverting to the allocations made by Moshe and Yehoshu’a to tribes and families. Today, we might restore more of nature’s rhythms for the land. We might remember that all human beings are to temporary dwellers upon God’s land. We live here in sufferance. Even if we plant seeds, we can’t make them grow. Even if we genetically modify the seeds, we can’t bring them to life. We depend on nature, which we call God’s creation—because it certainly isn’t ours.

If only we could remember that we are all gleaners, harvesting our food from land that does not really belong to us! Then, we might treat the earth and its vegetation with more respect.

Hundreds of thousands of acres of tropical forests in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, to name just a few countries, have been levelled to create grassland for cattle. Since most of the forest is cleared by burning, the extension of cattle pasture also creates carbon dioxide, and, according to some environmentalists, contributes significantly to global warming. 

Such operations lead to erosion and remove all nutrients from the soil, leaving it desolate. The result is severe damage to the biodiversity of the rainforest, an increase in the release of carbon dioxide, and general biosphere instability. 

Instead of being elevated and sanctified, the Earth has become trampled and disgraced. The frightening ecological reality we are facing morally obligates us to rethink our relationship with the land and the consequences of our actions. Many of our actions may be deriving pleasure from God’s Earth without paying attention to the drastic consequences they have.

Yet even with the damage humanity has caused, Shemitah teaches us that we must have faith that God is in control, waiting for us to return from our careless and selfish ways.

Shemitah establishes equality, much broader than social equality, it may be said that it reaches a level of ecological equality: “And the Sabbath-produce of the land will be food for you, for you and your slave, and maid, and your hired workers, and the settlers livings amongst you. And for your cattle and the beasts of the land, shall have the produce for food” (25, 6-7). Imagine a partnership between a farmer and his ox – both have equal rights over the produce of the land. Shemitah‘s radicalism is almost inconceivable. 

As Jews, we celebrate Shabbat. Shabbat allows us to slow down and refresh ourselves. We rest and physically refresh, as well this we help the environment, we stop, we turn lights off, use natural light and candles. We don’t buy objects that could be harmful to the environment like plastic bags or pre-packaged food. Shabbat us offers the opportunity to reduce consumption and thus benefit the natural world. The act of shutting off a computer or a car for a day contains environmental meaning far beyond the energy saved from not using these devices for one day. From reading from computers and  phones to reading from scrolls and books, from communicating via technology to communicating face to face.

Did you ever think that by just stopping and reflecting once a week, just like we do on Shabbat could make a difference in our world?

————————————–

Izacc Khedoori – Year 9

In parashat Behar Sinai, God gives Moses some advice on a rather unexpected subject: sustainable farming practices. At first, this doesn’t seem like a very logical thing for the Torah to talk about. Specifically, Behar Sinai comes in the wake of some very un-flower-bed-like ideas. Last week, in Parashot Emor, we learnt about rules for priests, how to celebrate the holidays, and dealing with blasphemers.

It comes as quite a curveball when God tells Moses that the children of Israel will farm the land for 6 years straight and then take the 7^thyear off as a year of rest. Moses and the people are in the desert. There is no water – let alone mineral-rich soil, seeds, and all other good stuff you need to start a farm. But the Torah is always looking ahead with long-term plans.

Once the people have land, God tells them to grow fruits, vegetables, and till the ground for 6 years. They are told to enjoy the all of the wonderful bounty that comes out of the land and savour the taste of this freshly grown food. Then, in the 7^th year, stop, for the 7^th year shall be a year of complete rest for the land. There will be no growing of wheat, no harvesting grapes for wine, and all of the cultivation of the land will come to a complete halt. You can’t own or sell anything. It will fall off the trees and the vines and it must lie there for anyone’s taking – you, your workers, your friends, your neighbours, and all the animals around. This 7^th year will give the soil and the farmers a much-needed rest.

Just like Shabbat, the 7th day, when humans are commanded to stop working and take a break, the land should do the same thing. The year of rest is called Shemitah which literally means ‘release, and refers to the full year of rest that occurs every 7^th year. Also, after 7 cycles of 7 years – in the 50^thyear – there’s a huge Yovel/Jubilee. In that year, which is like a Shabbat of Shabbats, not only can you not plant, sow, or reap from the soil, but all the plots of land go back to their original owner.

People are in the desert now, but in the future, God tells Moses, every family will receive a piece of land. Sure, you can rent or sell your plot. But when the Jubilee year rolls around, the land reverts back to those original owners. That way, no one ends up landless, and there will be no real landlord or tenants, only people with a 49-year rent agreement. Because really, God says: “The land is mine”.

Behar’s strict rules about shemitah can be really confusing – but incorporating the ideas of rest and release into our lives is important. Farmers need to take the time to rest and sustain themselves, their bodies, and the soil they cultivate year after year. Physically taking a break from farming and tilling the land gives our body a chance to relax and recuperate. Letting the land rest gives the Earth a chance to breathe deep and let the rays of sunshine and heavy raindrops penetrate the soil. If you live near farmland or a farmer’s market, which probably not all of you do, you notice the seasonality of the crops and what’s available at certain times of year. Once the night time gets cooler and the first frost comes, there are no more tomatoes on the vines and the strawberries are long gone. We’ll have to wait patiently for those red fruits to magically reappear in the spring. Giving the land and the farmers a much-needed rest every 7^th year helps us stop and greatly appreciate the Earth which holds the rich soil that provides us precious foods that comes out of the ground year after year.

And, every 50 years all landowners must restore God’s original arrangements for the land. In Canaan, this meant reverting to the allocations made by Moshe and Yehoshu’a to tribes and families. Today, we might restore more of nature’s rhythms for the land. We might remember that all human beings are to temporary dwellers upon God’s land. We live here in sufferance. Even if we plant seeds, we can’t make them grow. Even if we genetically modify the seeds, we can’t bring them to life. We depend on nature, which we call God’s creation—because it certainly isn’t ours.

If only we could remember that we are all gleaners, harvesting our food from land that does not really belong to us! Then, we might treat the earth and its vegetation with more respect.

Hundreds of thousands of acres of tropical forests in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, to name just a few countries, have been levelled to create grassland for cattle. Since most of the forest is cleared by burning, the extension of cattle pasture also creates carbon dioxide, and, according to some environmentalists, contributes significantly to global warming. 

Such operations lead to erosion and the removal of all nutrients from the soil, leaving it desolate. The result is severe damage to the biodiversity of the rainforest, an increase in the release of carbon dioxide, and general biosphere instability. 

Instead of being elevated and sanctified, the Earth has become trampled and disgraced. The frightening ecological reality we are facing morally obligates us to rethink our relationship with the land and the consequences of our actions. Many of our actions may be deriving pleasure from God’s earth without paying attention to the drastic consequences they have.

Yet even with the damage humanity has caused, Shemitah teaches us that we must have faith that God is in control, waiting for us to return from our careless and selfish ways.

Shemitah establishes equality, much broader than social equality, it may be said that it reaches a level of ecological equality: “And the Sabbath-produce of the land will be food for you, for you and your slave, and maid, and your hired workers, and the settlers livings amongst you. And for your cattle and the beasts of the land, shall have the produce for food.” (25, 6-7). Imagine a partnership between a farmer and his ox – both have equal rights over the produce of the land. Shemitah‘s radicalism is almost inconceivable. 

As Jews, we celebrate Shabbat. Shabbat allows us to slow down and refresh ourselves. We rest and physically refresh, as well as this we help the environment, we stop, we turn lights off, use natural light and candles. We don’t buy objects that could be harmful to the environment like plastic bags or pre-packaged food. Shabbat offers us the opportunity to reduce consumption and thus benefit the natural world. The act of shutting off a computer or a car for a day contains environmental meaning far beyond the energy saved from not using these devices for 1 day. 

Have you ever thought that by just stopping and reflecting once a week, just like we do on Shabbat, we could make a difference in our world?