Parshas Behar: The Fruits of our Own Labor

וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית הן לא נזרע ולא נאסוף את תבואתנו וציויתי את ברכתי לכם בשנה הששית ועשית את התבואה לשלש השנים (כ"ה: כ-כ"א)

And if you should say, "What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!" I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years (25:20-21)

HaShem promises us that if we keep the laws of shmitah properly, He will shower us with His bracha; the crops of the sixth year will suffice for years six, seven, and eight. By all accounts, for a crop’s yield to suffice for three years is nothing short of a miracle. This is the reward for those that put their trust in HaShem.

The Chasam Sofer questions the need for this great nes. Was it really necessary for the produce of the sixth year to be so unusually abundant? Was there no other way through which Hashem could sustain Klal Yisroel without the requirement of a nes?

The Gemara in Pesachim (51b) discusses the halacha regarding sfichai shvi’is (“growths” i.e. vegetables and beans etc.). Based on our possuk, הן לא נזרע ולא נאסוף את תבואתנו, there is a machlokes Rebbe Akiva and the Chachomim if they are permissible m'doraisa or only m’drabanan. The Rambam rules according to the Chachomim that it is only forbidden rabbinically, but m’doraysa, sfichai shvi’is remain permissible for consumption throughout shmitah, save for the fact that they cannot be planted during that time.

Accordingly, if there would be many “growths” in the seventh and eighth years, instead of “one lump sum” in year six, this would be in line with nature, so of what purpose is this great nes?

The Chasam Sofer explains that of course HaShem could have done this; however, the gemara in Masechta Bava Metzia (38a) relates a well-known principle: אמר רב כהנא: אדם רוצה בקב שלו מתשעה קבים של חבירו- Rav Kahana taught that a person prefers a kav (measure of grain) of his own to nine kavim from his neighbor's. Rashi explains: חביבה עליו על ידי שעמל בהן וקב שישאר לו מהם הוא רוצה מתשעה קבין של אחרים שיקח בדמיהן אם ימכרם -Man would rather have something that he toiled at and worked hard to produce, even of lesser value, to something produced by someone else. The sweetest bread that a person can ever eat is the bread of his own labor.

This is one of the requests that we ask of HaShem in Birchas Hamazon, that when He provides our sustenance, it should be, לא לידי מתנת בשר ודם “not through a gift of a human being.” No one wants a handout. Similarly, the Mashgiach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein zt’l explains the words in birchas Hamazon, בחן בחסד וברחמים - with grace, kindness and mercy. Chein refers to the fact that HaShem allows us to earn our bread, thereby feeling good about it.

Throughout the seforim we find a concept called נהמא דכיסופא- the bread of shame. The basic concept (as explained by the Maggid Meisharim- Rav Yosef Karo, and the Ramchal in Daas Tevunos) is that Hashem brought us into this world, clothed us, fed us, and continues to sustain us. Unless we do our part (keeping the Torah and mitzvos), we will have accepted nothing more than a shameful handout. The well-known Gemara in Eiruvin (13b) quotes the philosophical debate of Beis Hillel and Beis Shamai- נוח לו לאדם שלא נברא משנברא, או נוח לו לאדם שנברא משלא נברא- is man better off if he would have not been created, or better off now that he was in fact created? The first opinion is that Man comes to this world and can so easily mess up (see Maharsha’s explanation that it is so much easier to fail because there are 365 negative mitzvos vs. only 248 positive mitzvos), so it would better to have not been created. The second opinion held that we are better off having been created because through the Torah and Mitvos, Man has the ability to upgrade from receiving a free handout to actually earning it.

We can explain נהמא דכיסופא with a mashul. A waiter that takes a long time to bring out the food, and when he finally does, the food is cold, would normally be embarrassed. Now let us imagine that he returns to the kitchen to try a second time and bring the food back hot. This time, he takes even longer. Finally arriving, he trips and spills everything on the patron. Surely he would not be entitled to a tip. Now let’s say the patron does give a tip, and let’s say that the tip is not just the 15-18%, but rather a crisp hundred-dollar bill, how would the waiter feel? So in today’s day and age, perhaps the answer might be “entitled”. But a real honest person would not feel good about himself when receiving the large tip. Hashem gives us many opportunities to make us feel that we have “earned it”.

Hashem is the “tachlis of all good”. He wants to give, but in order to do so, there needs to be someone to give to. Hashem understood that if we do not feel good about being on the receiving end, then it cannot be deemed as good and instead becomes resentful. So Hashem gives us ways to feel good about it.

Coming back to our question: if there would be many “growths” in the seventh and eighth years, instead of “one lump sum” in year six, this would be in line with nature, so of what purpose is this great nes? The answer is that, surely, HaShem could have provided for us without a miracle, but doing so would have deprived us of the pleasure of enjoying from the fruits of our own labor. Therefore, HaShem orders this great nes.

Accordingly, says the Chasam Sofer, the passuk can be read as follows:

וכי תאמרו מה נאכל בשנה השביעית “What enjoyment is there in eating food from shvi’is?”

הן לא נזרע ולא נאסוף את תבואתנו “We didn’t work for this; it’s merely a handout, shall we eat such foods?”

To this Hashem responds:וצויתי את ברכתי   “I shall order bracha”, i.e. The work that you did in year six, will last for three years.”

Obviously, this is all from the brocha of HaShem, but the great chessed here is that the Aibeshter allows us to feel good about it. Let us merit to continue “earning” our bread and never have the need to receive a “handout”. 

Good Shabbos, מרדכי אפפעל