Difference between revisions of "Nature of the Pre-Shemittah Blessing of the Produce/1/en"
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<q xml:lang="en">(20) And if ye shall say: 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather our crops'; <br/>(21) then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years.</q> | <q xml:lang="en">(20) And if ye shall say: 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather our crops'; <br/>(21) then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years.</q> | ||
</multilang> | </multilang> | ||
| − | <p>This blessing makes the reader wonder why Shemittah proved so difficult for the nation to observe.  The | + | <p>This blessing makes the reader wonder why Shemittah proved so difficult for the nation to observe.  The blessings and curses of Vayikra 26 single out non-observance of Shemittah as the root cause of the nation's ultimate exile,<fn>In fact, according to Rashbam, all of the blessings and curses of Vayikra 26 relate to only Shemittah and Yovel!  See <a href="Blessings and Curses – Over Which Commandments" data-aht="page">Blessings and Curses – Over Which Commandments?</a> for elaboration on his approach.</fn> and <a href="DivreiHaYamimII36-20-21" data-aht="source">Divrei HaYamim</a> records the fulfillment of that warning. Yet, if the people received a three-fold blessing of grain even before the seventh year began and their needs were already provided for, why was it so difficult for them to fulfill the mitzvah of Shemittah?</p> |
<h2>Blessings as Reward?</h2> | <h2>Blessings as Reward?</h2> | ||
| − | Usually, when Hashem gives a blessing in Tanakh, it comes as recompense for observance.  Thus, | + | Usually, when Hashem gives a blessing in Tanakh, it comes as recompense for observance.  Thus, throughout Torah, formulations such as "לְמַעַן יְבָרֶכְךָ" are preceded by a demand to follow Hashem's commandments.<fn>See, for instance, Devarim 14:29, 23:21 and 24:19.</fn>  Rewards of rain and livelihood are promised only "if you heed my commandments".‎<fn>See Devarim 10:5.</fn> The blessing in our verse stands in stark contrast to these examples, as it is given before, not after, observance.  Moreover, it is a response not to a show of faith, but to a lack thereof!  What about the mitzvah of Shemittah makes its blessing unique? |
<h2>Additional Questions</h2> | <h2>Additional Questions</h2> | ||
<p>The above verses also raise several textual questions which might bear on the above issues:</p> | <p>The above verses also raise several textual questions which might bear on the above issues:</p> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
| − | <li><b>"וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ"</b> –  Does the word "כִי" mean  "if | + | <li><b>"וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ"</b> –  Does the word "כִי" mean  "if," lest," or "when"?  What does that suggest about who is asking "what shall we eat"?  Is Hashem preempting a question that the Generation of the Wilderness might have wanted to ask as they received the laws of Shemittah?  Or, is He speaking about a real scenario that might happen in the future as farmers worry during each Shemittah cycle?<fn>The phrase "וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ" appears elsewhere in Tanakh, including in <a href="Devarim7-17-20" data-aht="source">Devarim 7:17-20</a>, <a href="Devarim18-21-22" data-aht="source">Devarim 18:21-22</a>, <a href="MelakhimII18-22" data-aht="source">Melakhim II 18:22</a>, <a href="Yirmeyahu5-19" data-aht="source">Yirmeyahu 5:19</a> and <a href="Yirmeyahu13-22" data-aht="source">Yirmeyahu 13:22</a>.  In each of these cases the speaker is preempting a question that he thinks his contemporary audience will ask.  This might suggest that here too it is  the people of the Wilderness who will be asking, "What shall we eat".</fn></li> |
<li><b>"מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת"</b> – This question seems to be somewhat imprecise. In the seventh year, the people should have few concerns about food since, as every year, they could eat of the previous season's harvest. Should they not instead be questioning what to eat in the eighth year?</li> | <li><b>"מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת"</b> – This question seems to be somewhat imprecise. In the seventh year, the people should have few concerns about food since, as every year, they could eat of the previous season's harvest. Should they not instead be questioning what to eat in the eighth year?</li> | ||
<li><b>Evaluating the concern</b> – Hashem simply allays the people's anxieties, without passing judgement over whether they are appropriate or not. How, though, should the people's questioning be viewed?  Is their concern a natural and valid one, or should it be understood negatively as an expression of lack of faith, and thus as an unwarranted complaint?</li> | <li><b>Evaluating the concern</b> – Hashem simply allays the people's anxieties, without passing judgement over whether they are appropriate or not. How, though, should the people's questioning be viewed?  Is their concern a natural and valid one, or should it be understood negatively as an expression of lack of faith, and thus as an unwarranted complaint?</li> | ||
Version as of 05:37, 17 June 2016
Nature of the Pre-Shemittah Blessing of the Produce
Introduction
What is So Difficult?
Vayikra 25 is devoted entirely to the laws of Shemittah and Yovel. Hashem anticipates that a ban on all agricultural work for a full year will cause deep anxiety for the people, and He reassures them that the crops of the sixth year will sustain them for three years:
EN/HEע/E
(כ) וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת הֵן לֹא נִזְרָע וְלֹא נֶאֱסֹף אֶת תְּבוּאָתֵנוּ. (כא) וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים.
(20) And if ye shall say: 'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we may not sow, nor gather our crops';
(21) then I will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth produce for the three years.
This blessing makes the reader wonder why Shemittah proved so difficult for the nation to observe. The blessings and curses of Vayikra 26 single out non-observance of Shemittah as the root cause of the nation's ultimate exile,1 and Divrei HaYamim records the fulfillment of that warning. Yet, if the people received a three-fold blessing of grain even before the seventh year began and their needs were already provided for, why was it so difficult for them to fulfill the mitzvah of Shemittah?
Blessings as Reward?
Usually, when Hashem gives a blessing in Tanakh, it comes as recompense for observance. Thus, throughout Torah, formulations such as "לְמַעַן יְבָרֶכְךָ" are preceded by a demand to follow Hashem's commandments.2 Rewards of rain and livelihood are promised only "if you heed my commandments".3 The blessing in our verse stands in stark contrast to these examples, as it is given before, not after, observance. Moreover, it is a response not to a show of faith, but to a lack thereof! What about the mitzvah of Shemittah makes its blessing unique?
Additional Questions
The above verses also raise several textual questions which might bear on the above issues:
- "וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ" – Does the word "כִי" mean "if," lest," or "when"? What does that suggest about who is asking "what shall we eat"? Is Hashem preempting a question that the Generation of the Wilderness might have wanted to ask as they received the laws of Shemittah? Or, is He speaking about a real scenario that might happen in the future as farmers worry during each Shemittah cycle?4
- "מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת" – This question seems to be somewhat imprecise. In the seventh year, the people should have few concerns about food since, as every year, they could eat of the previous season's harvest. Should they not instead be questioning what to eat in the eighth year?
- Evaluating the concern – Hashem simply allays the people's anxieties, without passing judgement over whether they are appropriate or not. How, though, should the people's questioning be viewed? Is their concern a natural and valid one, or should it be understood negatively as an expression of lack of faith, and thus as an unwarranted complaint?
