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Save "Parshat Bahar

In Memory of Shimshon Ben Shalom
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Parshat Bahar In Memory of Shimshon Ben Shalom
וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בְּהַ֥ר סִינַ֖י לֵאמֹֽר׃
יהוה spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai:

Regarding this verse, Rashi asks the following question..

בהר סיני. מָה עִנְיַן שְׁמִטָּה אֵצֶל הַר סִינַי? וַהֲלֹא כָל הַמִּצְוֹת נֶאֶמְרוּ מִסִּינַי?

בהר סיני [AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES] ON THE MOUNT SINAI — What has the matter of the Sabbatical year to do with Mount Sinai that Scripture felt compelled to expressly state where it was commanded? Were not all commandments given on Sinai?

And it's possible to answer Rashi's question in another manner. Firstly, let us examine two teachings from the sages that seem to contradict one another -

אַשְׁרֵי שׁוֹמְרֵי מִשְׁפָּט עוֹשֵׂה צְדָקָה בְכׇל עֵת וְכִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה בְּכׇל עֵת דָּרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁבְּיַבְנֶה וְאָמְרִי לַהּ רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר זֶה הַזָּן בָּנָיו וּבְנוֹתָיו כְּשֶׁהֵן קְטַנִּים רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר זֶה הַמְגַדֵּל יָתוֹם וִיתוֹמָה בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ וּמַשִּׂיאָן

But is it possible to perform charity at all times? Is one always in the presence of paupers? Therefore, our Rabbis in Yavne taught, and some say it was Rabbi Eliezer: This is referring to one who sustains his sons and daughters when they are minors.

And then later on we are taught -

אָמַר רַבִּי אִילְעָא אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר חֲנִינָא בְּאוּשָׁא הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהֵא אָדָם זָן אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בְּנוֹתָיו כְּשֶׁהֵן קְטַנִּים

§ Rabbi Ile’a said that Reish Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Ḥanina: In Usha the Sages instituted that a man should sustain his sons and daughters when they are minors.

If this is true that a man is obligated to feed them, then how are we calling it charity, as mentioned above?

And we can answer this by examining the below teaching from the sages -

וְהַמַּלְוֶה סֶלַע לְעָנִי בִּשְׁעַת דׇּחְקוֹ — עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: ״אָז תִּקְרָא וַה׳ יַעֲנֶה תְּשַׁוַּע וְיֹאמַר הִנֵּנִי״.

One who lends a sela to a pauper at his time of need, about him the verse states: “Then shall you call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: Here I am” (Isaiah 58:9).

Let us examine the wording here, 'in his time of need' - isn't a poor person always in a perpetual time of need? The verse should have just said, 'when you lend a poor person money'. However, the explanation is that we are really being told is that 'whoever lends to a poor person in his time of need, the word 'his' over here is referring to the lender, not the poor person! That the giver himself finds himself in a place of financial hardships, and due to his situation it makes it hard for him to lend to another, and even though thats the case, he still exerts himself extra beyond his ability to lend to the poor.

And based on this we can see that there was no real contradiction between the two teachings of the sages we saw above. Behold, the real intention of the Talmud when it says 'who is giving charity at all times? Is someone who feeds his children' is the following - that he is feeding his children as the sages taught is incumbent upon him, and on-top of all of that he also is giving charity. This is someone who is giving charity at all times, just like someone who lends money to another when the lender himself is going through a hard times, as we explained above.

And on this path of logic we can apply the same to our topic at hand (regarding Rashi's initial question), that during the Shmita year when farmers aren't plowing or harvesting, and the owner of the field may not have enough financial stability to even properly take care of his household, and even during those challenging times, he still upkeeps the commandments of The Creator, and he makes his fields of food ownerless so that the rich and the poor are equal in terms of being able to eat from his field, and this is total self sacrifice, and there is no greater form of Ahavat Yisrael, unconditional love for your Israelite brother/sister. And as a result of this great show of faith his/her heart burns in total faith in He who spoke and the world came into being, and he upkeeps the commandments with simplicity and purity.

And behold, the commandment of Shmita, is a foundational fundamental commandment of the whole Torah, as only someone who believes that everything comes from HaShem can really hold to this commandment. And as Rabenu Yona explains on the following Mishna -

רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אִישׁ בַּרְתּוֹתָא אוֹמֵר, תֶּן לוֹ מִשֶּׁלּוֹ, שֶׁאַתָּה וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלּוֹ.

Rabbi Elazar of Bartotha said: give to Him of that which is His, for you and that which is yours is His

And the explanation above is that you are never really giving of yourself, your body, or your money, rather its all belonging to HaShem Baruch Hu, as all is His!

And with this reality there appears to be no foreign thoughts in the mind to rationalize that you yourself with your strength did this action, rather you know, that it all comes from the Holy One Blessed be He, and everything is in terms of Him, Blessed. And behold, Emunah/faith is the foundation and the purpose of all the commandments.

And as its brought down in the writings of the Degel Machaneh Efrayim in the name of our elder, the Holy Baal Shem Tov, may his merit rest upon us, the following thoughts on this verse -

כׇּל־מִצְוֺתֶ֥יךָ אֱמוּנָ֑ה שֶׁ֖קֶר רְדָפ֣וּנִי עׇזְרֵֽנִי׃

All Your commandments are faith;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!

That we can see from this that the verse is teaching us that the whole purpose of the commandments is faith!


And now we can understand the juxtaposition of Shmita next to Mount Sinai, in that whoever upkeeps the commandment of Shmita properly, and still gives to the poor in the time of his financial need, its a sign that he has total faith in HaShem, and its in his hand to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah that was given at Mount Sinai!

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