If a man uncovers a pit (bor) or if a man digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay. He must compensate its owner with money, and the dead animal remains in the possession of its owner.

The pit mentioned here is a cistern, the farmer’s water source.

The cistern, the well and the spring were the sources of water in the Land of Israel.

We read in Mishlei 5:15-18:

Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Your wellsprings will burst outward, streams of water flowing in the squares. They will be yours, yours alone; no strangers will share them with you. Your source will be blessed and you will rejoice with the wife of your youth.

The pit is mentioned 93 times in the Tanach and the Mishna, usually referring to a place that collects rain water in the city or in the field, in grazing land or as a public reservoir.

In Dvarim 6:10-12, Moshe describes what will be waiting for B’nai Yisrael in the Land of Israel:

When the Lord your God brings you into the Land that He swore to your ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov to give to you, a land with great and good towns that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not provide, hewn cisterns that you did not hew and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant- and you shall eat and be satisfied, take care that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

The cistern was where the water for each home was stored.

In several places in the Mishna we learn that the wine press as well contained a cistern where the grape juice was stored.

Pits also have a dangerous side:

In Parshat Vayeshev (Breisheet 37:20-29) the pit is central to the story of the sale of Yosef:

…”Now let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits…”

When Reuven heard this, he tried to save him (Yosef) from them. “Let us not kill him,” he said. “Do not shed blood,” said Reuven. “Throw him into this pit in the desert, but do not lay hands on him.”

When Yosef came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe… and they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it…

Yehuda said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering his blood? Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not harm him with our own hands…”

His brothers agreed. Some Midianite traders passed by and they pulled Yosef up out of the pit, and the sold him to the Ishmaelites…

Reuven returned to the pit- and Yosef was not there…

Rashi asks why it was necessary to say both “the pit was empty” and “there was no water in it.”

He answers: “there was no water in it” comes to teach us that although there was no water, there were snakes and scorpions.

Yirmiyahu chapter 38 describes the prophet being lowered into a pit that did not have water but it did have mud which Yirmiyahu sank into and thirty men were needed to lift him up.

In the Talmud, Yoma 84b we learn that saving a child who falls in a pit supersedes Shabbat:

If one sees a child fall into a pit on Shabbat and the child cannot get out, one digs part of the ground out around the edge of the pit to create a makeshift step and raises the child out. One who is vigilant and acts quickly is praiseworthy, and one need not seek permission from a court, although in doing so he fashions a step.

Pits can be very dangerous if someone is deliberately thrown in or if a person or animal falls in by accident. We are warned to keep the pit covered or face the consequences.

Pits were great for storing precious rainwater or freshly squeezed grape juice. Yet danger lurked behind pits that weren’t covered properly. Today as well, we must be vigilant to keep swimming pools and construction sites guarded when in use and locked when not in use in order to keep our children safe.

In Shmot 22:3 we learn:

If the theft shall be found in the thief’s possession- whether a live ox or donkey or sheep or goat- he shall pay double.

This is an example of a knas, a penalty, where the thief is required to pay a set amount to the victim, in this case double, regardless of how much damage he caused.

Cases of penalties were only judged by rabbis who held true Semicha (ordination) passed down from Moshe. This true Semicha only existed until 135 CE. True Semicha was only conferred in the Land of Israel.

The Rambam writes in Hilchot Sanhedrin 4:6, 11:

One may not confer Semicha upon elders outside of the Land of Israel, even if the conferrers received their Semicha in the Land of Israel…It seems to me that if all of the sages of The Land of Israel would agree to appoint judges and grant them Semicha, these judges would have genuine Semicha. Then they would be able to judge cases of penalties and confer Semicha upon others… Why were the sages so distressed about the abolition of Semicha? Because the Jews are scattered about…

We see from here that true Semicha can only take place in the Land of Israel. When all of the Jews return to their homeland we can revisit conferring true Semicha once again and then we will be able to judge all cases including those that involve penalties.

May we see that time speedily in our days.

In Parshat Chayei Sara, Breisheet Chapter 24 we read the story of
Avraham sending his servant (Midrashically
known as Eliezer) to find a wife for Yitzchak.

Rabbeinu Bachya comments (Breisheet 24:22):

All the details of what was
happening with Rivka at this time foreshadowed events of the future involving
her offspring. Similarly, all that happened to Avraham’s servant on this
mission foreshadowed events that would happen to her descendants in the desert.

Avraham told Eliezer in Breisheet
24:7:

HaShem, God of heaven, Who took me
from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, Who spoke to me, and Who
swore to me, saying, “To your descendants I will give this land”- He will send
His angel (Malacho) before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from
there.

Just as an angel had been at
Eliezer’s side through the efficacy of Avraham’s prayer who had said that “G-d
will send His angel before you,” so too did it happen to Avraham’s descendants
in the desert. The angel in question was not a regular natural phenomenon but
one of the disembodied spiritual creatures. As well, the angel who accompanied
the Jewish people was such a disembodied spiritual force who had been emanated
by the merit of Avraham.

This was whom the Torah had in mind
when it quoted God as telling Moses in Parshat Mishpatim, Shmot 23:20:

Here I am about to send an angel
(Malachi) ahead of you.

Just as Avraham referred to this
divine force as Malacho, “His angel,” so too did God refer to the same divine
force as Malachi, “My angel.”

Rabbeinu Bachya adds more similarities
between the two stories:

Just as the waters at the well had
risen towards Rivka, so the waters rose towards her “children” in the desert as
it says in Bamidbar 21:17: “It was then that Yisrael sang the song: ‘Arise, O
well, sing to it!’”

The mission to find a wife for
Yitzchak was carried out by a trusted servant (Eliezer). The Jewish people in
the desert were led by God’s trusted servant (Moshe).

We read in Breisheet 24:10: “The
servant took ten camels from his master’s camels and departed. All the best of
his master was in his hand…” Eliezer had been equipped with all the “good” of
his master, Avraham, The Torah, in a parallel reference, tells us that God
equipped Moshe for his task by equipping him with all ‘His goodness’. This is
what is meant in Shmot 33:19: “God said, ‘I will cause all My goodness to pass
before your presence…”

Eliezer gave gifts to Rivka at the
well (Breisheet 24:22):

When the camels had finished
drinking, the man took a gold nose ring, weighing half a shekel, and two
bracelets for her arms, weighing ten gold shekel.

He also gave gifts to Rivka and her
family at her father’s house (Breisheet 24:53):

The servant took out articles of
silver, articles of gold and garments and gave them to Rivka. To her brother
and mother, he gave precious fruits.

The Jewish people also received gifts
on two separate occasions. They received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai
and received the gift of the covenant shortly before they entered the Land of
Israel (Devarim 28:69):

These are the statements of the
covenant that God commanded Moshe to ratify with B’nai Yisrael in the land of
Moav, beside the covenant that he made with them at Chorev (Mt. Sinai).

At that time many commandments which
were applicable in the Land of Israel were revealed for the first time in
detail as B’nai Yisrael were getting ready to enter the Land.

We see from here that Rabbeinu Bachya’s parallels really work.
Just as Good took care of Eliezer and Rivka, so too did He take care of Moshe
and B’nai Yisrael.

Now we need to be taken care of once again.
We need God to send us an angel to help us fight this war, we need trusted
leaders that we can rely on and we need to appreciate the Torah, God’s bond with
the Jewish people including the agricultural mitzvot which help connect us with
the Land of Israel.

Sponsored by Bonnie Kamel and Steve Toberman in honor of
their Mother’s 14th yahrzeit on Thursday night, January 27th,

Miriam bat Ya’akov Hersh Halevi and Devora, Marion
Betty Tomsky Toberman

Born on Sept. 27 1922 in St. Paul Minnesota

Shmita is not only about agriculture. Loans are also cancelled out by
the end of the Shmita year. In addition to the agricultural laws of Shmita that
we learn about in Parshat Mishpatim and in Parshat Behar, in Parshat Re’eh
(Dvarim 15:1-10) we learn about Shmitat Ksafim (cancelling debts):

At the end of seven years you shall
institute a remission. This is the matter of the remission: every creditor
shall remit his authority over what he has lent his fellow; he shall not press
his fellow or his brother for He has proclaimed a remission for God. You may
press the gentile; but over what you have with your brother, you shall remit
your authority…Beware lest there be a lawless thought in your heart saying,
“The seventh year approaches, the remission year,” and you will look
malevolently upon your destitute brother and refuse to give him- then he may
appeal against you to God and it will be a sin upon you. You shall surely give
him and let your heart not feel bad when you give him, for in return for this
matter, Hashem, your God will bless you in all your deeds and in your every
undertaking.

Is Cancellation
of Debts D’Oraita (a Biblical obligation) or D’Rabbanan (a Rabbinic Obligation)
today?

Hillel instituted prosbul (a
document that allows debts to be collected after Shmita) for the benefit of
society (Talmud, Gittin 36a).

We learn in the Mishna (Shviit
10:3-4):

When a person writes a prosbul, he
does not have to relinquish his loans and may collect them after Shmita. This
is one of the things that Hillel HaZaken instituted for he saw that the people
refrained from lending money to one another as Shmita approached because they
were afraid that they would not be repaid in time. They thereby transgressed
that which is written in the Torah (Dvarim 15:9): “Beware lest there be a
lawless thought in your heart saying, “The seventh year approaches, the
remission year,” and you will look malevolently upon your destitute brother and
refuse to give him…” Hillel therefore rose and instituted prosbul.

The Gemara asks: Is it possible that
from a Biblical standpoint, the seventh year cancels loans yet Hillel decreed
that it does not cancel?

The Gemara answers: Abaye said:
Hillel instituted prosbul to be effective only in regard to the observation of
Shmita nowadays, following the view of Rebbi, that Shmita’s cancellation of
loans nowadays is only a Rabbinic law. As it was taught in a Braita: Rebbi says
“and this is the matter of the remission, remit”. The verse speaks of two
Shmitot (relinquishments) one is the relinquishment of land (Shmita of the
land) and one is the relinquishment of monies (Shmitat Ksafim) that are owed to
you. The Torah compares the two to teach us that at a time that you relinquish
land, you relinquish monies that are owed to you. But at a time that you do not
relinquish land, you do not have the obligation to relinquish monies.

Abaye continues: Nevertheless, the
Rabbis declared that Shmita should cancel out loans even nowadays, as a
reminder of the Biblical law of the seventh year so that it will not be
forgotten. Since Shmita’s cancellation of loans became Rabbinic, when Hillel
saw that people refrained from lending money to one another, he rose and
instituted the prosbul.

The Rambam, Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam,
Rashba and Ritva all follow the view of Rebbe and Hillel that Shmitat Ksafim is
Rabbinic today.

How does the Prosbul
work?

The lender authorizes a Beit Din (a
court of three observant men) to collect money on their behalf. Only loans
between a Jew and their fellow Jew are cancelled (not loans between a Jew and a
Beit Din) as we learn in Dvarim 15:3, “You must forfeit a claim against
your brother.”

We see that Shmita is not only about
agriculture, it is also about loans being cancelled out by the end of the Shmita
year. If you lent out money which you would like to get back, then you should set
up a prosbul!

In Parshat Mishpatim, Shmot 24:3-4 we read: “Moshe came and told the people all the words of God and all the
laws. The people responded with one voice and said, ‘All the words that God has
spoken, we will do (na’aseh).’Moshe wrote down all the words of God…” A few verses
later (verse 7) we read: “He then took the Sefer HaBrit (Book of the Covenant)
and read it in the ears of the people. They said, ‘All that God has spoken, we
will do and we will listen (na’aseh v’nishma).’”

What was written in the Sefer HaBrit?

Rashi brings the Mechilta’s interpretation that the Sefer HaBrit listed
everything from Breisheet until the Giving of the Torah as well as the mitzvot
that were commanded at Marah (B’nai Yisrael’s first encampment in the
wilderness).

What happened at Marah and which mitzvot were given there?

The incident at Marah is told in Parshat Beshalach, Shmot 15:22-25:

Moshe led B’nai Yisrael away from the Reed Sea, and they went into the
desert of Shur, they travelled for three days in the desert and they did not
find any water. They came to Marah but they could not drink the water because
it was bitter. The place was therefore called Marah (bitter). The people
complained to Moshe saying, “What shall we drink?” He (Moshe) cried out to God,
And God showed him a tree and he threw it into the water, and the water became
sweet. There he set before them the statutes (chok) and ordinances (mishpat),
and there he tested them. 

Rashi who seems to be basing himself on the Mechilta’s explanation and
on the Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b, says that in Marah God gave B’nai Yisrael some
sections of the Torah so that they could occupy themselves with studying them:
These were the sections dealing with Shabbat, the Parah Aduma (the Red Heifer)
and the Administration of Justice.

However, the Mechilta as well as the Talmud actually say that the
mitzvah of Kibbud Av v’Em, Honoring Your Parents was introduced in Marah along
with Shabbat and the Administration of Justice (with no mention of the Parah
Aduma).

Maskil L’David tries to rectify this by saying that Rashi was quoting a
midrash which has been lost to us.

Gur Aryeh explains that Parah Aduma is a mitzvah that we don’t have a
reason for and therefore fits into the category of a ‘chok,’ so Rashi’s
interpretation makes sense.

The Talmud, Sanhedrin 56b brings a braita:

Ten mitzvot were given to B’nai Yisrael at Marah: Seven that the B’nai
Noach accepted upon themselves to which were added three more: Administration
of Justice, Shabbat and Honoring Your Parents.

Why does it make sense for Shabbat and Honoring Your Parents to already
have been given at Marah?

In Dvarim Chapter 5, in the second recording of the Ten Commandments-
both Shabbat (5:12) and Honoring Your Parents (5:16) end with the words “as Hashem your God commanded you.” Rabbi Yehuda said: as He
commanded you in Marah.

It is interesting to note that when
commenting on Dvarim 5:16, Rashi states that the mitzvot of Honoring Your
Parents and Shabbat were already given at Marah!

Even if we don’t know exactly which mitzvot
B’nai Yisrael were given at that time, it is clear that after hearing Moshe
read the Sefer HaBrit, they already had an idea of what they were getting
themselves into when they said “na’aseh,” “we will do”, and they were willing
to commit to taking on more mitzvot that they didn’t even know about yet when
they said “nishma,” “we will listen.”

The Torah is so vast that even those
who have been studying for years always find more to learn. When studying Torah
and living a Jewish life we must take the attitude that B’nai Yisrael had when
they first got a taste of the Torah- we will do and we will listen.

We learn about not taking a bribe
twice in the Torah:

In Parshat Mishpatim, Shmot 23:8 we
are told:

Do not accept a bribe, for the bribe
will blind those who see and corrupt words that are just.

In Parshat Shoftim, Dvarim 16:19, we
are commanded using almost the same words with a slight variation:

Do not wrest judgment; do not
display favoritism; neither take a bribe for a bribe blinds the eyes of the
wise and make just words crooked.

Nechama Leibowitz points out the
extremes that the rabbis in the Talmud went through in order to not transgress
this mitzvah:

The very concept of bribery has been
extended by our Sages to include not only the acceptance of a monetary gift but
all kinds of benefits and services, even the student’s showing respect to his
teacher. Though this is his duty, if it is liable to create a predisposition in
his favor in the heart of the judge, it comes under the prohibition of: “neither
take a bribe.”

Professor Leibowitz brings two
examples from the Talmud, Ketubot 105b:

“Neither take a bribe”- not merely a
monetary gift but even verbal bribery is forbidden. What is meant by verbal
bribery? Shmuel (a Talmudic sage) was crossing a ferry and a man came up and
gave him his hand for support. Shmuel said to him: “What are you doing here?”
The man answered: “I have a lawsuit to submit to you.” Shmuel answered: “I am
disqualified from judging your case.”

Amemar was judging a case. A bird
perched on his head. A man came and removed it. Amemar asked him: “What are you
doing here?”  He answered: “I have a
lawsuit here.” Amemar observed: “Then I am disqualified from judging your case.

The Rambam (Hilchot Sanhedrin v’HaOnshin
HaMesurin Lahem 23:3) teaches:

Any
judge who sits and seeks to amplify his reputation in order to cause the wages
of his attendants and scribes to be enhanced is included among those who seek
after profit (betza). This is what the sons of Shmuel the Prophet did. As we see in Shmuel Alef 8:3
“His sons did not follow his ways. They were swayed by profit (betza).
They took bribes and they perverted justice.”

Shmuel’s sons moved down to Be’er
Sheva and charged for their services as opposed to Shmuel who was located in Ramah
which was much more accessible and never accepted payment.

When it was time to choose a new
leader, the elders told Shmuel (Shmuel Alef 8:4) “You have grown old and your
sons did not follow your ways. So now appoint for us a king to judge us, like
all the nations.”

The elders understood that it is
impossible to continue with corrupt leaders who take bribes.

There is a reason why the Torah
mentions not taking bribes twice when it could have been mentioned once. We
need an extra reminder that our leaders must be upstanding like Shmuel who did
everything above board as opposed to his sons who were doing business under the
table.

Some things never change. Many
Israelis still don’t seem to understand what the big deal is if a Prime
Minister takes gifts such as cigars. The Torah and the rabbis therefore
emphasize that this is not acceptable and it should not be done. The rabbis in the
Talmud were careful not to even take the case of a person that helped them out
for a minute (without an exchange of material gifts).

When we go to the elections next
month, may we focus on the original commandment, take the Rambam’s message
seriously and not support candidates and leaders who chase after money or other
forms of corruption. Can we find any candidates who meet these criteria? For
the sake of our future, I certainly hope so.

In Parshat Mishpatim (Shmot 24:12-14) God asks Moshe to come up to Mount
Sinai:

God then said to Moshe, “Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there.
I will give you the tablets of stone, the Torah and the commandment, which I
have written in order to teach them.”
Moshe and Yehoshua, his attendant, set out, but only Moshe went up to the
mountain of God. He (Moshe) said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we
return to you, and Aharon and Chur will be with you. Whoever has a claim can
approach them.”

The first time that Chur was
mentioned in the Torah was in Shmot 17:11-12, during the fight against Amalek:

When Moshe raised his hand, B’nai
Yisrael prevailed: But when he let his hand down to rest, Amalek prevailed. Moshe’s
hands became heavy. They took a stone and placed it under him and he sat upon
it. Aharon and Chur supported his hands, one of them on one side. His hands
remained an expression of faith until sunset.

Who was Chur? How was he chosen to
hold up Moshe’s hands and why was he left in charge of the nation along with
Aharon while Moshe went to receive the Torah?

Rashi comments on Shmot 17:12 that
Chur was Miriam’s son (this is derived from the Talmud, Sotah 11b).

In his commentary on Shmot 24:14,
Rashi mentions that Chur was Miriam’s son and adds that his father was Kalev
ben Yefuneh as it says in Divrei HaYamim I 2:19, “Kalev took Efrat (as a wife)
and she gave birth to Chur. In Sotah 11b we learn that Efrat is Miriam.

The background story can be found in
Divrei HaYamim 18-20:

And Kalev the son of Hetzron had
children with Azuva, his wife and with Yeriot; her sons are Yesher and Shovav
and Ardon. And when Azuva died Kalev married Efrat who gave birth to Chur. And
Chur begot Uri and Uri begot Bezalel.

The Agaddeta in the Talmud, Masechet
Sotah answers some difficult questions on these verses:

Why is Kalev called the son of Hetzron
if in the Torah his name is Kalev the son of Yefuneh?

Kalev’s father’s name was Hetzron.
However, since he turned aside (fanah) from the bad behavior of the other
scouts, he was called the son of Yefuneh.

Who were Azuva and Yeriot?

They were both names of Miriam. She
was called Azuva (deserted) since the men didn’t want to marry her when she had
the skin disease, tzaraat. She was called Yeriot since her complexion was
similar to undyed curtains.

Why don’t we know anything about Yesher
and Shovav and Ardon?

They weren’t actually sons (vaneha),
rather they were her builders (voneha) and describe her husband, Calev who didn’t
follow the bad behavior of the scouts who gave about report about the Land of
Israel.

Why does it say that she died?

When she was sick it was almost like
she died.

Why is she called Efrat?

The name Efrat has the root “paru”, “were
fruitful.” When Miriam was a midwife (Puah) she ensured that B’nai Yisrael were
fruitful and multiplied.

Why does it say that Calev married Efrat?

When she was healed it was like she
was a new person and they renewed their wedding vows.

King David was called an Efrati
since he was a descendant of Miriam.

Chur was the son of important
parents, Miriam and Kalev, leaders of B’nai Yisrael. His uncles were Moshe and
Aharon. He merited to have Bezalel, the artist chosen to create the artifacts
for the mishkan (Tabernacle), as his grandson.

In Memory of Esther Zuroff z”l 

In Parshat Mishpatim, we read about
God’s promise to Moshe that B’nai Yisrael will be brought to the Land of Israel
and that God will protect them there. In Shmot 23:26, we read: “No woman will
suffer miscarriage or remain childless in your land. I will cause the number of
your days to be full.”

This means that in an ideal world, women
would carry their babies to term and give birth to healthy children who would
live full lives.

According to Ramban, this would be a
true miracle which would include no deaths from war, plague or illness. Rather,
people would die at a ripe old age- whatever happens to be the normal span of
life in that particular generation (during the time of King David people lived
into their seventies and eighties).

This blessing can’t come soon
enough. After teaching an eight week fertility workshop and seeing what trials
and tribulations the women in the group are going through in order to conceive and
give birth to a healthy full term baby, I can only pray that they are blessed
and that “no woman will suffer a miscarriage or remain childless” as each baby
is truly a miracle.

This past week, Israel suffered a
great loss as a twenty-nine year old teacher, husband and father of four, Rabbi
Itamar Ben Gal z”l was murdered by a nineteen year old Israeli-Arab while
waiting at a bus stop. This senseless murder especially affected our community
as Rabbi Ben Gal’s sister teaches at our elementary school in Jerusalem and over
the years has taught our children. This murder took place just a month after
Rabbi Raziel Shevach, a thirty-five years old mohel, husband and father of six
was fatally shot.

Both rabbis lost their lives because
they were Jewish. Now more than ever we need God’s protection of the Jewish
people in the land of Israel as stated in our parsha.

May the miracles of Shmot 23:26 be
fulfilled speedily in our days and may the blessing that we recite during the
Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings) at each wedding be fulfilled: “Bring intense
joy and exultation to the barren one (Jerusalem) through the ingathering of her
children amidst her in gladness. Blessed are you, God, Who gladdens Zion
through her children.”

May we be blessed in celebrating
happy occasions in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.

In Parshat Mishpatim (Shmot 22:21)
we are commanded: “You must not mistreat (lo t’anun) any widow or orphan.”

Rashi comments that nobody should be
mistreated. Nevertheless, since widows and orphans are frequently mistreated,
the Torah specifically points them out.

Rav Saadia Gaon explains that not
mistreating includes not mistreating their bodies as well as their money and
dealing with them fairly in a court of law.

According to Ibn Ezra, whoever sees
someone mistreating a widow or an orphan and doesn’t go to help them is
considered as if they themselves are mistreating them.

Although it may seem obvious to some
of us, the Torah emphasizes the fact that we must not mistreat the widow and
the orphan (as well as the convert) as they may not have anyone to stand up for
them.

The same is true for many residents
of nursing homes.

Over the past few weeks, an issue
arose in Israel where many nursing homes have been exposed as not treating
their residents properly. Security cameras are now being installed in Israel’s
120 nursing homes to make sure that if there is a case of abuse it will be
caught. Unfortunately, there is a culture in long term care facilities to pay
more attention to the needs of those residents who have family and friends
checking up on them on a regular basis and neglecting those who don’t. It is
the responsibility of all those who work in or visit nursing homes to speak up if
they see residents being mistreated. This includes looking out for physical
abuse, verbal abuse and theft.

We must remember that if we don’t
personally step in to help those who are vulnerable it is as if we too are
mistreating them.

Parshat Mishpatim teaches us many laws about the proper way
to conduct our lives. One law that is especially relevant this year is the law
of Shmita (the sabbatical year).

In Shmot 23:10-11 we read: “You may sow your land for six
years and gather its crops. But on the seventh year you must let it rest and
abandon it and let the needy among your people eat it. What they leave over,
the beasts of the field can eat”.

The Shmita year teaches us about social justice. Technically
all of the fields should be hefker (abandoned) and anybody that needs food
should be allowed to enter any field and harvest what they need.

On a private level the concept of the “abandoned field”
still takes place during the Shmita year in Israel. If one has a garden, in
order to eat what is being grown, one must share with others. This is done by
leaving the gate open and putting up a sign alerting the neighbors when they
are free to pick from the garden. The lesson here is that what is being grown
this year does not belong to me, it belongs to everybody.

Community gardens also observe Shmita when the members of
the community plant the garden before the Shmita year begins and work together
to tend to the garden on a regular basis throughout the year. The garden is
open to the entire community who come to pick from a variety of seasonal
produce.

There is also a feeling of community that extends beyond the
crops that are being grown. The Shmita year is a time to step back and figure
out how we can help those who are less fortunate. In Biblical times all loans
that had not been repaid were canceled out during the Shmita year. Today the
Israeli government is working on a project called Shnat HaSmita initiated by MK
Ruth Calderon to help 1500 families who are over their heads in debt. The
project helps families who are in debt due to an illness or death in the
family, divorce, unemployment or another family crisis get their finances in
order and guides them in setting up a plan to repay their debt, find other
sources of employment and ways to cut spending so that they can remain on their
feet. Projects like this literally plant the seeds for a brighter future for
Israelis who have been going through a difficult time in their lives.

These are just some of the initiatives that are taking place
in Israel
this year to bring the social justice aspect of Shmita into our consciousness.
Our hope is that the loving kindness taking place this year will spill over
into the upcoming years as well.