Page 26 - HaMizrachi Tu BiShvat 5782 - USA

people are indeed like the land, in ways that the Divine soul... The urgency of developing spiritual core… [Shabbat is] a holy day, on
are more obvious in the modern world: For and enhancing life needs to be actualized by which the innate inclination of the people
both, when overwork leads to exhaustion, taking a break and getting a rest from the for a G-dly life emerges in each individual,
we engineer continued “vitality” not with chaos of normal life. as a sign for the nation that it possesses
true renewal, but with chemicals. a treasure (segulah) in its soul, and has a
After this introduction, Rav Kook iden- need and an ability to rejoice in G-d, in the
But just as silence is an integral part of tifies how both Shabbat and shevi’it pleasure of the Divine.
speech, punctuated periods of fallowness are allow for an escape from the mundane:
crucial for guaranteeing continued fertility. Shemitta accomplishes for the nation what Rav Kook writes that this concept is
There’s no reason why only an intellectual Shabbat accomplishes for the individual. reflected in the idea of the neshamah
elite should benefit from a year of learning, This nation has a special need... Periodically, yeterah, the extra soul granted on Shab-
reflection, and regeneration. The original it needs to have the Divine light within it bat. The “segulah” is in the soul of the
sabbatical was for farmers, not physicists… revealed in all its splendor. This light must nation and its ability to rejoice through

The sabbatical principle, dictating periods of not be suppressed by daily mundane life – the spiritual. This is concentrated and
gathered into the spiritual point of the
enforced restraint, rededication and redis- with all its toil and worries, anger and com- neshamah yeterah, which dwells within
tribution, presents a compelling alternative petition – so that the purity of its collective each and every individual. With this
to business as usual. Limiting the share that soul can be revealed within it... in mind, Rav Kook explains his initial
production and consumption have in our Rav Kook describes the natural good of comment: That which Shabbat does for
lives will create the space for higher pur- the world and the Jewish nation that the individual, Shemitta does for the
suits. The economy must not be an engine often finds difficulty expressing itself, collective nation:
that runs by itself, disengaged from social and even finding itself, amidst the sec-
and environmental concerns, but a con- ular realities of existence: The same effect which Shabbat brings
scious expression of our spiritual and moral about upon the individual, Shemitta brings
values. Wealth, both money and land, are This national treasure (segulah) that is about upon the nation as a whole. There is
not personal property to be accumulated, imprinted deep within us, the image of a special need for this nation, in which the
but Divine abundance channeled through a world that is good, upright, and G-dly G-dly creative force is deeply implanted in its
us to be shared for the benefit of all. 6 – aligned with peace, justice, grace, and essence, in a distinct manner, to periodically
courage, all filled with a pervasive Divine reveal its G-dly light with its full illuminating
A year of rest, besides the unique goals perspective that rests in the spirit of the intensity, in a manner in which the secular
of shevi’it, could enable a world-wide people – cannot be actualized within a way and mundane climate of society, with all its
societal reassessment of what is truly of life that is purely businesslike. Such a toil, anxiety, anger and competition, won’t
important in our lives. life, full of frenetic action, veils the glory of entirely suffocate the creative force of the
the Divine soul, and the soul’s clear light is nation; but it will be able to reveal [through
Rav Kook’s perspective blocked from shining through the overpow- Shemitta] the pure collective soul [of the
ering mundane reality. The impulsive push nation] as it truly is.
In his introduction to Shabbat haAretz, toward growth and self-realization needs
Rav Kook explores the role of Shemitta space to come to fruition, by stopping the Rav Kook continues by describing the
in fundamentally transforming Jewish routine and awakening, while shaking off tension of remaining conscious of
life in Israel. Rav Kook does not deny the wildness of daily life. our inner spiritual core while we are
the practical role that shevi’it can play busy with the day-to-day pressures of
in helping refocus one’s energies, but he Shabbat serves the role of creating the the marketplace. The challenges we
notes that as thinking Jews, we must medium for every individual to take face when involved in the mundane
try to look more deeply: one day a week off his weekly routine aspects of existence can also rob us
and to invest it with spirituality: of our morality and our connection to
What makes the Jewish nation special is our spiritual core, if we are not given a
that it looks at all of life through the illumi- The individual is able to shake off the secu- system of checks and balances.
nating lens of holiness. With all its life force, lar mundane routine of life frequently once
it recognizes that life is worthwhile only if it a week, for “when Shabbat comes, repose The once-a-week individual Shabbat and
is infused with the Divine, and life lacking comes” (Rashi, Bereishit 2:2). The soul begins the once-every-seven-years national she-
the Divine is worthless… to be freed from its harsh chains, as “G-d vi’it are built into the fabric of time, to allow
has given you rest from your sorrow and the nation the reprieve that will enable it
The potential of the nation, the Divine good trouble, and from the hard service that you to appreciate its core and learn how to
which is embedded in it... cannot be actual- were made to serve” (Yeshayahu 14:3), and exhibit the moral teachings of the Torah in
ized within mundane life. Such life, with its [the soul] seeks more elevated pathways of a mundane reality that militates against it.
constant chaos, hides the spiritual glory of spiritual desires, consonant with its natural The land and its spiritual character must

26 |