With a Torah portion, filled with so many details of so many commandments it is hard to decide which issue to single out. Some have theological questions lurking behind them, some practical and technical ones. Some scream 'I represent social justice, pick me!' If that isn't enough, we bless the new moon this Shabbat, ushering in the month of Elul. I know of someone who already received an invitation to a Rosh Hashana meal, how can Elul not be addressed?
But while reading through the parasha multiple times, there were three words that brought me back to the last two sections of the last chapter of Shvi'it - the tractate of the Mishna that deals with the sabbatical year, the Shmita (Shvi'it 10:8-9). There are three components to the Shmita year - leaving the land to rest, the sanctification of the fruits of the land, a relinquishing of depts. This last component is discussed in our parasha (D'varim/Deuteronomy 15:1-11) entangled within issues of poverty and how the poor are meant to be taken care of.
The Torah warns us not only of relinquishing all loans that we have given others, but also warns us to not withhold from offering a loan in the years adjacent to the Shmita year, since it's clear that we probably won't be able to collect a significant portion of the original loan:
"Beware that there not be an unworthy thought in your heart, saying, 'the seventh year, the year of release (Shmita), is at hand', and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cries to God against you, for it shall be considered that you have sinned." (D'varim/Deuteronomy 15:9)
When first reading this pasuk (verse) I'm taken by the sensitivity of the Torah to the human heart - it would only be natural to want to assure oneself that they will be able to receive that which they have coming to them justly. It is legitimate to expect that when you lend someone something, you will indeed get it back. It is also human to calculate risks and trajectories as to the reimbursement process. It is here that the Torah steps in and demands of us to surpass these calculations and to give the needy with an open hand and heart (D'varim/Deuteronomy 15:7-8). It seems that there is a partnership between God and those that have to take care of the needy. In many Chassidic stories the rich are looked upon as God's personal banks and bankers - God deposits His money with certain people so that they will be able to distribute it to others…
The rabbis at the end of the tractate Shvi'it cultivate another partnership, one that, seemingly, doesn't appear in the Torah - a partnership between the poor, the needy, and God! The Mishna teaches us:
"When a person comes to return his loan during the Shvi'it (the Shmita, the sabbatical year) he (the loaner) should say to him: I observe the Shmita (I release all loans). If he (the loaned) says, "Even so", he (the loaner) should accept, for it says, "ZEH DVAR HA'SHMITA" (D'varim/ Deuteronomy 15:2)… "
These are the three words that I alluded to in the beginning. The word 'DVAR' in the literal understanding of the pasuk (verse) is 'this is the 'manner' of the Shmita', but the Sages of the Mishna understand the word 'DVAR' as in speech, meaning 'this is the 'speech' of the Shmita. A person can accept the loan and will still be observing the Shmita by saying that he is observing the Shmita. It is here that the Sages bring in the contract between the needy and God!
Yes, it is true that according to the Torah the rich have an obligation to give loans, even close to the Shmita year, and the poor have a right to ask for them. But could we not ask of the needy the same that the Torah asks of the rich? Could we not rewrite the quoted verses from our parasha and point them towards the poor? Could we not say, 'Beware that there not be an unworthy thought in your heart, saying, 'the seventh year, the year of release, is at hand', and your eye be evil against your rich brother, and you ask him for everything; and he cries to God against you, for it shall be considered that you have sinned.' Could we not ask of the poor to think about the rich when asking for a loan? It is here that the poor are asked to enter into partnership with God parallel to the partnership of the rich.
With these holy contracts in mind the Sages complete the tractate dealing with Shmita. Yes it is true that rich have a clear and divine obligation to give loans, but it is also the unspoken, divine obligation of the needy to not only take care of the rich, to not be a stumbling block in front of them as the Shmita year comes close, but also to promise that the flow of possibilities to others in need will continue. The Mishna stages a scenario that wasn't evident in the Torah, the possibility of the poor wanting to return their loan. The word 'DVAR' availed the Sages to interpret a reality in which the Shmita is observed verbally. That would be the reality if the poor came to return the loan. The Mishna concludes the entire tractate by saying that the Sages are pleased with one that returns their loan during the Shmita year 'Ruach Chachamim no'chah mi'menu'. The Melechet Shlomo (Rabbi Shlomo Adani, 1567-1624) interprets this by saying, 'the spirit of wisdom lays upon him.'
I would not be me if I didn't mention my beloved teacher, the Ishbitzer Rebbe (1800-1853), in the last d'var Torah that I offer in 5770. The Ishbitzer Rebbe uses the paradigm of Shmita that we just learned about, the holy contract between those who have, those who are in need and the Bestower of Life, to pose the question: 'What Does God Really Want?' He brings (Mei HaSholoach II, parashat B'chukotai) our learning and asks of us to widen our horizon as to what it means to live our lives aligned with God's Will. He is bold and courageous enough to challenge us, saying that 'Even if we were to observe all the laws of the Shulchan Aruch (the Code of Law) we may still, possibly, not have aligned ourselves with God's Will, for God's Will is the deepest depths, who can find it?'
When looking back at 5770, as entering the month of Elul invites us to do, we are being asked to look beyond the check list of rights and wrongs, observance of commandments and transgressions. We are asked to be like the needy person in our Torah portion, as well as the giver of loans / the granter of gifts. We are asked to ask ourselves, 'What is it the God really wanted of me this past year? How can I come closer to understanding what it is the God wants of me in the year to come?'
May we be blessed this Shabbat, as we invite in the last new moon of the year, with the peace of mind to reflect in both directions. May the concealed light of the moon grant us the privacy we need to see and hear that which we are being shown.
Shabbat shalom, chodesh tov and shanna tova u'metuka!
Shabbat shalom.