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Version as of 02:51, 19 June 2016
Nature of the Pre-Shemittah Blessing of the Produce
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
Commentators offer various approaches regarding the nature of the blessing promised by Hashem in anticipation of the Shemittah year. These affect not only how one reads the relevant verses in Vayikra 25, but also how one understands Hashem's goals in conferring blessings and the purpose of the commandment of Shemittah.
The standard interpretation assumes that Hashem's blessing is a quantitative one. In the sixth year, the people will reap more than usual, so that the sixth year's crop will sustain them during the following years in which there is nothing to harvest. As such, this blessing comes to facilitate observance of Shemittah, rather than to reward it. The Keli Yekar, in contrast, posits that the blessing is a qualitative one. A normal sized crop will manage to nourish the people for three years. This blessing is less tangible and makes observance of Shemittah more difficult, as it requires trust. It comes simultaneous with the observance of Shemittah, and is not visible beforehand.
Finally, Seforno combines the two approaches, claiming that the nature of the blessing changes based on the degree of the people's faith. When they had great faith, Hashem blessed the quality of the crops, but when they were full of doubts, Hashem blessed the quantity.
Increased Production
Hashem promised that, in the sixth year, the land would bring forth more grain than usual, enough to sustain the people for thee years.
- Since this position assumes that the people are given supplies of food in advance, it views Shemittah not as a test of faith but as a tool to instill it. The gift of a threefold harvest1 teaches the nation that Hashem always cares for them, leading to dependence on Him.
- Alternatively, Shemittah is not primarily about man's relationship with Hashem at all, but is rather about social justice and providing for the poor. See Purpose of Shemittah for elaboration on both possibilities.
- It might say, as the Minchat Yehuda, that the people are questioning not what they will eat the entire seventh year, but what they will eat in the second half of the seventh year, by which point they would normally be eating from the harvest of the seventh year.
- Alternatively, it could follow the explanation of Abarbanel who proposes to repunctuate the verse, placing a pause after the words, "מַה נֹּאכַל" rather than after "בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת".4 As such, the verse reads: "If you say: 'What shall we eat [in subsequent years]? [After all] in the seventh year we will neither sow nor harvest!?'"
Produce Goes Further
Although the amount harvested in the sixth year would be no different from in any other year, Hashem promised that it would last longer. The same amount of grain would nourish the people for three years instead of the usual one.
- He cites Ramban who suggests that one understand the verse as if its order were rearranged (מקרא מסורס), so that it reads: "And if you will say in the seventh year: 'What shall we eat [in subsequent years]'." The Keli Yekar points out that Ramban's reading of the verse is viable only if one assumes that the blessing was hidden and related not to the quantity of the food but to how long it was to last. Otherwise, by the seventh year people would already have known that they were cared for and would have no need to question.
- Alternatively, the Keli Yekar suggests that the people are actually concerned about the seventh year itself. Knowing that they cannot plant, and not seeing anything saved for the next year, would make it difficult to feel satisfied even while they were eating food in the seventh year (אינו דומה מי שיש לו פת בסלו למי שאין לו).6
Dependent on Faith
The blessing differed in accordance with the degree of faith held by the people. Hashem promised that if the nation had enough trust, He would ensure that a regular-sized harvest would be of such quality that it could nourish the nation for three years. However, if the people had doubts, He would increase the quantity of the harvest so they could see with their own eyes that it would suffice.
Seforno's reading of the verses differs from that of the above commentators in that he begins the unit, not in verse 20, but in verse 18. According to him, the verses present two different scenarios. Verses 18-19 speak of a case in which the people have faith and are thus blessed "וַאֲכַלְתֶּם לָשֹׂבַע", while verses 20-22 refer to a case in which the people are plagued with doubts and are told, "וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים".