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		Always Being Ready     B'har/B'Chukkotai   (Lev 25:1 - 27:34)

Vayikra/Leviticus 25:4   But in the seventh year it shall be a complete shabbat for the land, a shabbat to the L-rd; you shall not sow your field and you shall not prune your vineyard.

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Our text is part of the regulations for the sabbatical year that is to be observed by the Children of Israel once they take possession of the Promised Land, which The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem is giving to them. Spread over several verses and starting with the observation that "the land shall observe a sabbath of the LORD" (Vayikra 25:2, NJPS), the Israelites are instructed about the seven year cycle for the land matching the seven day cycle that they themselves are to observe: "Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield, but in the seventh year the land shall have a shabbat" (v. 3-4, NJPS). Our text gives the first restriction, the second - about not formally harvesting what grows by itself - follows in verse 5, but verses 6-7 allow both people and animals to eat the natural uncultivated growth.

These verses repeat and elaborate on the command originally given in parashat Mishpatim, immediately after the Ten Words were given at Sinai: "Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves" (Shemot 23:10-11, NJPS) where they are neatly juxtaposed with the seven day week for people: "Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and that your bondman and the stranger may be refreshed" (v 12, NJPS). We should note that the sabbatical year is not a year when all work is prohibited. Who Is ...

Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 CE), French rabbi who wrote commentaries on the Torah, the Prophets and the Talmud, lived in Troyes where he founded a yeshiva in 1067; focuses on the plain meaning (p'shat) of the text, although sometimes quite cryptic in his brevity
Rashi points out that the word לָאָרֶץ, "for the land" means "for the fields and for the vineyards" while Who Is ...

The Re'em: Rabbi Elijah Mizrachi (c. 1455-1525/6), born in Constantinople of Ottoman Greek stock; a Talmudist, astronomer and mathematician, he became Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire; most famous for his supercommentary - called Sefer HaMizrachi - on Rashi's commentary on the Torah.
Mizrachi explains that "'for the land' refers only to agricultural work, but non-agricultural work, e.g., excavation for construction, is permitted." Rabbi Who Is ...

Hirsch: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888 CE), German rabbi, author and educator; staunch opponent of the Reform movement in Germany and one of the fathers of Orthodox Judaism
Hirsch confirms that "this does not prohibit all work, as is prohibited for shabbat, but sufficient tasks to recognise G-d as the Owner of the Land of Israel and place the ground under the rule of its Master."

While the original command uses the word וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ - the Qal 2ms affix form of the root נטשׁ, to leave, forsake or abandon, with a 3fs object pronoun suffix and a vav-reversive, translated by NJPS as "you shall let it lie fallow" - and Baruch Levine comments that "allowing the land to lie fallow every seventh year helped to reduce the amount of sodium in the soil, especially where irrigation was employed", the commentators are unanimous in denying any agricultural reason for the sabbatical year, although there may in practice be a consequential benefit. This typified by the early comment from the Talmud: "Rabbi Abbahu continued: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: Sow for six years, and withhold sowing during the seventh year, so that that you will know that the land is Mine" (b>. Sanhedrin 39a).

We should see this a matter of faith and obedience, calling the Israelites to trust in the commitment that HaShem makes to them in response to their concern: "Should you ask, 'What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?' I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years" (Vayikra 25:20-21, NJPS). Walter Kaiser puts it this way: "The sabbatical year is to be observed by both the hired worker and the temporary resident. To demonstrate that G-d is the ultimate owner of everything, nothing is to be harvested in the seventh year. The natural produce of the land is to feed poor people. Moreover, enough food is promised in the sixth year to carry the people through this sabbatical year."¹

Why are the tasks of sowing and pruning singled out as forbidden during the sabbatical year? The Who Is ...

Gersonides: Rabbi Levi ben Gershom, Gersonides or Ralbag (1288-1344 CE); famous rabbi, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer/astrologer; born at Bagnols in Languedock, France; wrote a commentary on the Torah and a parallel to Maimonides' Guide For The Perplexed
Ralbag tells us that "sowing is the essential agricultural task in a field, as pruning is in a vineyard" and Levine offers a more reasoned explanation: "Pruning was essential for assuring the growth of the grapes. There were two prunings each year, one in the winter, or rainy season, when the shoots that had not produced grapes the previous year were snipped off, and a second in June or July, when the new blossoms had already appeared. The latter trimming is precisely described by the prophet: "before the harvest, yet after the budding, when the blossom has hardened into berries, [the vinedresser] will trim away the twigs with pruning hooks, and lop off the trailing branches" (Isaiah 18:5, NJPS).

Although the Who Is ...

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 CE), Italian rabbi, philosopher and physician; born in Cesena, he went to Rome to study medicine; left in 1525 and after some years of travel, settled in Bologna where he founded a yeshiva which he conducted until his death
Sforno suggests that the ban on sowing and pruning should be extended - "including, as well, all agricultural preparations such as besmearing the saplings, and smearing (with oil) and piercing unripe figs and other fruits" based on a comment in the Talmud, "One may smear oil on the unripe figs in the sixth year of the Sabbatical cycle in order to accelerate their ripening, and similarly one may pierce them and fill the cut with oil to facilitate their ripening until Rosh HaShana. One can infer that until Rosh HaShana, yes, one may smear; but during the Sabbatical Year itself one may not do so" (b. Avodah Zarah 50b) - this seems unnecessary if the biblical criteria are met.

How is fresh food to be available during the sabbatical year? The Torah forbids the reaping or harvesting of סְפִיחַ, the "aftergrowth" (Vayikra 25:5, NJPS, NASB) or "what grows by itself" (CJB, ESV, NIV). סְפִיחַ here refers to cereals that grow naturally the following season from seeds that fall to the ground during reaping, or to grapes that naturally grow on untended vines. Both, as Maimonides explains in his commentary to a mishnah, "grain among which aftergrowths of woad came up and also the threshing floors in which many kinds came up" (m. Kilayim 2:5), are a natural phenomenon: "At times, some of the plant grows a second and even a third time after reaping. That which grows a second time is called סְפִיחַ, and after a third time, שָׁהִיס." Once again, Isaiah provides the practical illustration: "This year you eatסְפִיחַwhat grows of itself, and the next yearשָׁהִיס what springs from that, and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruit" (>Isaiah 37:30, NJPS).

Who is allowed to eat the fresh food that grows by itself? When can it be eaten? Rashi tells us that the owner "may not claim possession of it as you would an ordinary harvest; it is considered free for all." It is as if the field and vineyard become ownerless - owned by HaShem - during the sabbatical year, so that the whole community may take the natural produce. Does that include the land-owner? Yes, the Sforo says: "Although I have prohibited the owners to use the field for sowing and reaping as well as for he gathering of its fruit which is done in other years, I did not prohibit the eating of the fruit by the owners. They are permitted to partake like everyone else." Picking or taking small amounts of the self-grown crop when it is needed is not formal harvesting; the Ralbag says, "You shall not reap as the reapers do, all at once; you may only reap and gather little by little, as necessary, and so that others will also have the opportunity to do so." How does this work? The Who Is ...

Bekhor Shor: Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor; a twelfth century French tosafist, commentator and poet; he lived in Orleans and was a pupil of the Rashbam and Rabbenu Tam; wrote a commentary to the Torah and made contributions to the Talmud commentaries; followed the p'shat method of interpretation in the style of Rashi, to the extent of rationalising many miracles
Bekhor Shor replies that "during the sabbatical year, you all alike eat from the table of the One on high." Since, therefore, it comes from His table, Who Is ...

Chizkuni: Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah (13^th century), French rabbi and exegete; his commentary on the Torah was written about 1240 in memory of his father, based principally on Rashi, but using about 20 other sources
Chizkuni reminds us that "you may not bring it as a grain or drink offering to HaShem."

Who Is ...

Nechama Leibowitz: (1905-1997 CE), born in Riga, graduate of the University of Berlin, made aliyah in 1931; professor at Tel Aviv University; taught Torah for over 50 years
Nechama Leibowitz shrewdly observes that "man is possessed of a strong feeling of proprietorship. It is perhaps most strongly rooted in the peasant who dwells and lives on his own land. The sensation of 'mine' is fraught with danger. It is to counter it that the Torah emphasises that the land is a gift from G-d to Israel, and in order to remind him that it is not the power and might of his hand have given him his wealth." How firmly wedded are we to what we can do, what we can provide, how far we can reach or what we can command? Put the other way, are we ready to take a chance on HaShem, relying on His promise alone to do something that - in the eyes of the world - is foolhardy or irresponsible? The Israelites - essentially a completely agrarian economy - were being asked to stop farming for one complete annual cycle in every seven and trust that HaShem would provide enough food in the sixth year to carry them right through the fallow year and into the following year until the harvest started to come in. That's quite a lot to ask! But then, sometimes our G-d does ask a lot of us and we must be ready to believe His promises and follow His call, even if the world thinks that we have taken leave of our senses.

In particular, many folk who don't believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, who was crucified and resurrected, and now lives for ever at the right hand of the Father, awaiting His return to rule this world in Jerusalem as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, think that our faith in Yeshua is foolish. They are not too sure about the birth narratives, but can go along with lots of His teaching; they can applaud the way He rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and spent time with sinners to draw them into the kingdom of G-d. They accept the crucifixion as fact - after all, it was written about in Roman history as well - but completely baulk at the resurrection. No proof, they say, absolutely no proof. And, as Rav Sha'ul so poignantly said: if there is no resurrection of the dead, "we are even found to be misrepresenting G-d, because we testified about G-d that He raised Messiah, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised" (1 Corinthians 15:15, ESV), so that "we are of all people most to be pitied" (v. 19b, ESV). But, on the contrary, the truth is that "Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (v. 20, ESV), was seen by the twelve, by over 500 people at one time - and so on - as all four gospels bear independent witness.

Because Yeshua Himself has been raised from the dead, exactly as He said and according to the word of the Torah, the prophets and the writings, we can believe the promises that He gave us: "This is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:40, ESV); "Do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of G-d and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:31;33, ESV); "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (11:28, ESV); "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20, ESV). All these and many other promises are built upon, held together by and demonstrated by the resurrection because that proves who Yeshua is and that He alone has the power to deliver on those promises.

Are we, then, always ready to believe Yeshua's promises and follow Him faithfully, whatever the world may think or throw at us, because He is faithful and we can trust Him to keep His word, or do we qualify, hedge our bets and seek compromise to mitigate the inevitable conflict between the world and the kingdom? Only those who unashamedly nail our colours to the mast and unequivocally stand by our allegiance to Yeshua will come out on the right side of His word: "everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33, ESV).

1. - Walter C. Kaiser, "Leviticus" in The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary Vol I, edited by Leander E. Keck, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2015), page 644.

Further Study: Joshua 3:14-17; Isaiah 55:8-13; John 7:37-39; Revelation 3:19-22

Application: Is the Spirit asking you to take a step of faith and trust Him to provide for you in some way, somewhat against the expectations of those around you? If you are sure that the Spirit is speaking - and have tested that in all the usual ways - then perhaps is the moment to let your courage rise up and take that step and see the waters of the Jordan, even in flood season, part as you walk across on dry land!

Comment - 08:54 05May26 This is indeed an indictment of our self-preservation and selfishness. To relinquish ownership and to rely solely on the PROVISION OF Hashem is not an easy thing to do. Yet the benefits are out of this world as Adonai fulfills His promises and ALL are lavished from His table. What an amazing world this would be if every country, apart from Israel practiced this Sabbatical cycle. The stress of poverty would be greatly diminished.:

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© Jonathan Allen, 2026

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