Page 5 - HaMizrachi Tu BiShvat 5782 - USA

there is a premium placed on produc- demanding that we be fully present. It and shevi’it. Only Shabbat and Shem-
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tivity. The quicker we are able to manu- calls upon us to give full attention to itta are called by the unique term ’ת ָּב ַׁש
facture and produce at industrial levels, that which is important and meaning- ה ַל, “Shabbat to Hashem,” for both are
the more successful we become. The ful as opposed to that which is urgent unique times dedicated to G-d and heav-
technological interconnectedness of the and pressing. We focus not on results enly pursuits.
global economy has only exacerbated but on the relationships that truly For millennia, Shabbat gave our people
our frenetic work pace, as colleagues matter – with Hashem, ourselves, our the strength and perspective to survive
and clients throughout the world spouses and family and friends. in exile. Today, in the Land of Israel,
reach out to us day and night with the How do we achieve this state of mind? Shabbat and Shemitta are shaping our
expectation of an immediate response. Our Sages offer a remarkable insight future. Every seven days, the economy
Our output-driven lives are dictated by which is hinted to in the Ten Com- comes to a standstill, as Jews across the
urgency, deadlines and performance. mandments: “Six days you shall labor Land pause and spiritually reboot. Every
We have become human “doings,” con- and complete all your work but the sev- seven years, the Land of Israel itself and
stantly on the go. You snooze, you lose! enth day is a Shabbat to Hashem.” The the entire agrarian economy come to a
It is true that little in life is accom- verse states that we must complete all grinding halt for an entire year. It is a
plished without hard work, dedication, of our work before Shabbat. Our Sages time for societal recalibration.
toil and a proactive focus on getting point out that this is an impossible The weekly Shabbat and Shemitta
things done. The great challenge of task. When do we ever complete year are times for resetting our spiri-
life, however, is to achieve balance. everything we set out to do? We tual compass, an opportunity to give
It is the transformative concept of always have unfinished tasks that primacy to our cherished relationships
Shabbat which aims to restore this we need to continue working on and to reconnect with our core values. It
critical balance. after Shabbat! They explain that is a critical time of perspective, whole-
there is only one place in which ness and restoration of balance, when
you can, indeed, “complete all
Human ‘beings’ your work” – in the precincts of our self-worth stems not from what we
To ensure that the dual impulses the mind. G-d has commanded have and what we do, but from who we
are. It is a time to be truly redeemed as
of consumerism and productiv- us to enter Shabbat as if all of our human beings.
ity, of having and doing, are not work is done. Shabbat calls upon
all-consuming, we are blessed us to alter our frame of mind, to
– every single week – with transcend the daily vicissitudes of 1 Affluenza, John de Graaf, David Wann and Thomas
the opportunity to be human life and enter into an oasis in time H. Naylor, Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2005).
“beings,” to simply be. By pro- and a wellspring of mindfulness. 5 2 Tehillim 25:1.
hibiting all acts of creative work 3 When people stopped loaning money to the poor
and shaping the world for mate- Shabbat & Shemitta because of this law, Hillel instituted the Prozbul to
rial gain, Shabbat celebrates this One of many gifts that the Jewish circumvent this law (see page 12 for an explana-
state of simply being. It allows us people have given the world is the tion of the mechanics of the Prozbul).
to experience one day each week magical concept of Shabbat. It is a 4 Vayikra 25:23.
without producing or procuring, time to balance our proactive, pro- 5 The Midrash from the Mechilta is cited in Rashi,
transforming us from human ducing and procuring selves with Shemot 20:9.
“havings” and human “doings” our mindful and spiritual selves. 6 See Shemot, 25:1–8.
into human “beings.” Shabbat
alters our mindset, focusing us This is precisely the focal point
not on what is yet to be done but of both the weekly Shabbat
rather on what has already been as well as the sabbatical year.
achieved; not on what we lack, but Indeed, the Torah refers to the
on what we already have. Shab- sabbatical year as “Shabbat” far
bat prohibits us from dwelling more frequently than it uses its Rabbi Doron Perez is the Executive Chairman
on our concerns for the future, other names such as Shemitta of World Mizrachi.

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