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Orchard of Delights
endangers one’s life than the mitzvah should not be performed.
Under ordinary circumstances, we are not expected to die in order
to keep the Torah.
Adopting another homiletic approach, the Hebrew words translated
above as “and live by them” (vechai bahem) can be read more literally
as “and live in them”: each and every mitzvah being a source of
Divine life force, which has the ability to continually “enliven” and
renew us. The sum of our lives is constructed from its parts; for a
Torah lifestyle to bring true life to the practitioner he or she must
draw life from each and every individual mitzvah. Taken together
they provide the overall context of our lives.
Further deepening this concept, the Ba’al Shem Tov taught that
one reaches the level of living in the mitzvot only through joy and
doing the mitzvot with enthusiasm and passion. If not, the mitzvot
may appear dry and lifeless. The life force inherent in the mitzvot
is only activated when we perform them with vitality and deep
intent.
The Slonimer Rebbe linking two of the above explanations explains
that peoples’ lives in the World to Come are constructed from their
actions and intent in this world. For example, he declares that people
who meticulously keep all the laws of Shabbat but do not experience
its joy and spirituality will certainly inherit the World to Come, but
in the World to Come they will only be, figuratively speaking, park
benches. Just as their Shabbat observance was static and joyless,
their reward in the World to Come will take the form of becoming
inanimate and static park benches.
Commenting on our verse, the Ba’al Shem Tov declared that there
is no more meritorious or appropriate way of performing a mitzvah
than with joy and pleasure. Doing so provides one with an experience
that outstrips any possible reward in this world or even in the World
to Come. One time it was revealed to the Ba’al Shem Tov that he
had lost his portion in the World to Come. Instead of becoming
despondent, he rejoiced. He reasoned that now he definitely had no
ulterior motives for performing the mitzvot (not even a reward in the
next world); he could now perform the mitzvot and serve God with
no other motive than fulfilling God’s will.
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humanity and the earth of the damage caused by the primordial sin.
Furthermore, it teaches us how this sin can be rectified so that we can
“return to the Garden.” During both the time spent in the Garden of
Eden and the Sabbatical year, we live off the abundance of the land
without engaging in agriculture. During the Sabbatical year, we once
again exchange working by the “sweat of our brow” for living in tune
with nature and the bounty it provides. Since the Land of Israel rests
during the Shemittah year, the “soul” of the land is partially healed
from the “curse” it received for Adam’s sin. Of course, the Sabbatical
year is slightly different from the time we spent in Eden, for we need
to prepare for the seventh year by working hard in the sixth year to
raise and store enough crops to last for three years. However, this
level of faith is, in and of itself, an essential aspect of living in unison
with nature and God, and also rectifies the lack of faith evidenced by
Adam and Eve’s sin.
As a commandment that is only fulfilled in the Land of Israel,
Shemittah also stresses a message inherent in the Garden of Eden
story. Just as in the Garden of Eden humanity did not own or possess
the Garden, the Shemittah year reminds us that the Holy Land of
Israel really belongs to God. We are neither accursed slaves to the
Land nor its fortunate masters, but instead temporary dwellers
aware of the privilege of living in the Holy Land. Therefore, the
Torah proclaims: “The Land shall not be sold forever; for the land
is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me (Leviticus
25:23). Indeed, the Land of Israel on spiritual and mystical levels
fundamentally corresponds to the Garden of Eden.
Tying together both the practical socioeconomic message and the
mystical significance of the Sabbatical year is the fact that during the
Shemittah year, everything the Land produces is decreed ownerless;
thus ensuring that once every seven years, even the wealthy land
owners are reminded that the earth belongs to God and the nation
of Israel, not to them. After working for six years to build up one’s
lands and estates, it is no easy task to admit that they are on loan
from the true Owner. Such a courageous act bridges the social and
economic divide in society and returns the Jews to a utopian Eden-
like state, where God is the true owner of the Land and everyone
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