Servant and son: from yoke to freedom

ענין שמיטין ויובלות להר סיני ע"פ המדרש גבורי כח עושי דברו בשומרי שביעית הכ' מדבר כו'.

The matter of the relationship of shemittin and yovlos to Har Sinai, based on the Midrash: "the mighty in strength who fulfill His word" (Tehillim 103:20) — the verse speaks of those who keep the Sabbatical year (shemittah).

Why does the Torah link shemittah and yovel specifically to Sinai? The Midrash applies "the mighty who fulfill His word" to those who observe shemittah, who let their fields lie fallow with great self-restraint.

והשכר לשמוע בקול דברו הוא היובל כי שמיטה הוא זכר ליצ"מ ויובל זכר לקבלת התורה.

And the reward for "to hearken to the voice of His word" (ibid.) is the yovel — for shemittah is a remembrance of yetzias Mitzrayim, and yovel is a remembrance of kabbalas haTorah (receiving the Torah).

Shemittah corresponds to the Exodus (accepting the yoke), and yovel to Matan Torah (the freedom of hearing). The progression from "doing His word" to "hearing His word" mirrors the progression from the Exodus to Sinai.

והענין הוא כמ"ש בזוה"ק בפרשה זו כי שמיטה בחי' תפילין של יד קבלת העול.

And the matter is as it says in the Zohar HaKadosh in this parashah, that shemittah is the aspect of tefillin shel yad — the acceptance of the yoke.

Shemittah parallels the hand-tefillin, which represent submitting oneself, accepting the yoke of Heaven through action.

ומינה כי יובל הוא בחי' תש"ר שדרשו חז"ל עליו וראו כו' ע"ה כי שם ה' נקרא עליך והוא החירות שכל מי שעוסק בתורה הוא בן חורין.

And from this [it follows] that yovel is the aspect of tefillin shel rosh, regarding which Chazal expounded, "and they shall see... that the Name of Hashem is called upon you [and they shall fear you]" (Devarim 28:10; Berachos 6a) — and this is the freedom, for whoever engages in Torah is a free man.

Yovel parallels the head-tefillin, upon which Hashem's Name rests — representing the freedom of one crowned with Torah. The yovel proclaims liberty, just as Torah grants true freedom.

ומתחילה צריכין לקבל עול המצות וע"ז כ' עושי דברו.

And first one must accept the yoke of the mitzvos, and concerning this it is written, "those who fulfill His word" (osei devaro).

The order begins with accepting the yoke through action — "doing His word," the realm of shemittah and tefillin shel yad.

וכן הי' הסדר ביצ"מ קבלו בנ"י עול המצות.

And so was the order at yetzias Mitzrayim: Bnei Yisrael accepted the yoke of the mitzvos.

At the Exodus, the first step was accepting Hashem's commandments.

וכמ"ש החדש הזה לכם מצוה ראשונה שנצטוו בנ"י.

As it is written, "This month shall be for you [the head of months]" (Shemos 12:2), the first mitzvah that Bnei Yisrael were commanded.

The sanctification of the new moon was the first mitzvah, marking their entry into accepting the yoke of mitzvos.

וכן בכל שנה ושנה בפסח שנעשין בנ"ח מעבדי פרעה נכנסין בכלל להיות עבדי ה'.

And so each and every year, on Pesach, when [Bnei Yisrael] become free men from being slaves of Pharaoh, they enter into the category of being servants of Hashem.

Every Pesach renews this: freedom from Pharaoh is precisely entry into servitude to Hashem — accepting His yoke.

וזה נר מצוה.

And this is "the mitzvah is a lamp (ner mitzvah)" (Mishlei 6:23).

This stage of accepting mitzvos is the "lamp of mitzvah" — the first light, leading to the greater light of Torah.

אח"כ בשבועות זוכין לתורה אור לשמוע בקול דברו ודרך חיים ת"מ הוא בסוכות אחר ימי הדין.

Afterward, on Shavuos, they merit "the Torah is light (Torah ohr)" — "to hearken to the voice of His word"; and "the way of life is reproof (derech chaim tochachas mussar)" (ibid.) is on Sukkos, after the Days of Judgment.

Completing the verse: after the "lamp of mitzvah" (Pesach) comes "Torah is light" (Shavuos, hearing His word), and "the way of life is reproof" corresponds to Sukkos, which follows the purifying judgment of the Yamim Nora'im.

וזה הוא בפנימיות נפשות בנ"י.

And this is [the order] within the inner souls of Bnei Yisrael.

This whole progression unfolds inwardly, within the soul of every Jew, through the cycle of the festivals.

אכן בזמן שהיה היובל נוהג היה נוהג זה הסדר בחיצוניות העולם ג"כ.

However, in the time when the yovel was in force, this order operated in the external world as well.

When yovel was practiced, this inner spiritual order was also manifest outwardly in the physical world.

כמ"ש ושבתה הארץ שבת.

As it is written, "and the land shall rest a Shabbos" (Vayikra 25:2).

The very land kept Shabbos in the shemittah year — an outward expression of the inner reality.

והיה ניכר בהתגלות החירות בשמיטה ויובל.

And the freedom was discernible, openly revealed, in shemittah and yovel.

The spiritual freedom of Torah became visibly manifest in the world through the release of shemittah and yovel.

וכ' ושבתם איש אל אחוזתו.

And it is written, "and you shall return, each man to his ancestral holding (achuzaso)" (Vayikra 25:13).

At yovel everyone returns to his inherited portion of land.

ולכאורה הל"ל שישוב האחוזה לבעליו.

And seemingly it should have said that the holding returns to its owner.

Grammatically it should describe the property returning to its owner, not the man returning to the property.

רק הפי' שישוב כל איש ישראל לשורשו.

Rather, the meaning is that every Jew returns to his root.

The unusual phrasing teaches that at yovel each Jew returns to his spiritual source and root.

וזכה כ"א בחלק שיש בו בהתורה שע"ז מבקשין ותן חלקנו בתורתך וזה התשובה עלמא דחירות ולא לחנם כ' תעבירו שופר.

And each one merits the portion that he has in the Torah, regarding which we request "and grant us our portion in Your Torah" — and this is the teshuvah, the world of freedom (alma d'cheirus); and not for naught is it written, "you shall sound the shofar" (Vayikra 25:9).

Returning to one's root means attaining one's unique portion in Torah. Yovel is thus likened to teshuvah and to the "world of freedom" (Binah), and its shofar is no coincidence.

רק שהיה מתעורר שופר של מתן תורה.

Rather, [it is] that the shofar of Matan Torah was [thereby] aroused.

The yovel shofar re-awakens the shofar that sounded at Sinai — reconnecting to the giving of the Torah.

ובהר סיני נתן לנו הקב"ה שנזכה מצד עצמינו לעורר תמיד הארת היום של מתן תורה בכל יובל.

And at Har Sinai HaKadosh Baruch Hu granted us that we should merit, of our own accord, to arouse always the illumination of the day of Matan Torah in every yovel.

This is why these laws were given at Sinai: Hashem empowered us to reawaken the light of Matan Torah ourselves, in every yovel cycle.

לכן היובל תלוי בכלל ישראל כמ"ש לכל יושביה כשכל יושבי' עלי'.

Therefore the yovel depends on the whole of Yisrael, as it says, "[and you shall proclaim freedom in the land] to all its inhabitants" (Vayikra 25:10) — when all its inhabitants are upon it.

Yovel takes effect only when all of Yisrael dwells in the land — it is a collective, national matter.

כי בפנימיות יכול גם כל פרט למצוא הארה השייך אליו.

For inwardly, even each individual can find the illumination that pertains to him.

While the outward yovel is national, the inner light of Torah-freedom is accessible to every individual.

שלכן ספירה מפסח לשבועות נוהג בכל יחיד.

That is why the counting [of the Omer] from Pesach to Shavuos applies to every individual.

Sefiras HaOmer — the individual's preparation for Torah — is an obligation on each person, reflecting the inner, personal dimension.

אבל בכללות בנ"י עוררו הארת התורה גם בחיצוניות הבריאה כנ"ל.

But the collective of Bnei Yisrael aroused the illumination of the Torah even in the external [physical] creation, as above.

The nation as a whole, through shemittah and yovel, drew the light of Torah down even into the physical world.

ואפשר ע"י מצות ספירת העומר בכוונה מתקנין החטא של ביטול שמיטין ויובלות.

And perhaps through the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer with proper intention, one rectifies the sin of nullifying the shemittin and yovlos.

Since the Omer count is the individual's parallel to yovel's inner light, sincere counting may atone for the historical neglect of shemittah and yovel.

לכן מבקשין הרחמן יחזיר לנו עבודת בהמ"ק כשיהיה ניתקן החטא של שמיטין ויובלות:

Therefore we plead, "May the Merciful One restore to us the service of the Bais Hamikdash" — when the sin of the shemittin and yovlos will be rectified.

The restoration of the Beis Hamikdash is bound up with mending this sin, which is why we pray for it in connection with the Omer.

והנה כ' עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך אתפאר.

Now, it is written, "You are My servant, Yisrael, in whom I will be glorified (espa'er)" (Yeshayahu 49:3).

The Sefas Emes now develops the two modes of serving Hashem hinted in this pasuk: "servant" and the glory that follows.

וכ' בזוה"ק ע"ז שצריך איש ישראל לעבוד להבורא ית' בבחי' עבד ובן.

And it is written in the Zohar HaKadosh on this, that a Jew must serve the Creator in the aspect of both a servant (eved) and a son (ben).

The Zohar teaches that avodas Hashem has two modes — serving like a dutiful servant, and serving like a beloved son.

והם ב' הענינים הנ"ל עושי דברו. לשמוע בקול דברו.

And these are the two matters mentioned above: "those who fulfill His word" and "to hearken to the voice of His word."

"Doing His word" is the servant's mode; "hearing His word" is the son's mode — the two stages of shemittah and yovel.

עושי לשון כפי' שצריך האדם לכוף עצמו לעשות רצון הש"י כמו העבד שעושה גם שלא לרצונו ועי"ז זוכה אח"כ לשמוע ואז עושה בשמחה ובאהבה כבן.

"Doing" is a term of compulsion (kefiyah) — that a person must force himself to do the will of Hashem, like a servant who acts even against his own will; and through this he afterward merits to "hear," and then he acts with joy and love, like a son.

First one compels oneself like a servant, performing Hashem's will even reluctantly; this earns the higher level of "hearing," where one then serves willingly, joyfully, and lovingly like a son.

וז"ש עבדי אתה. אח"כ אשר בך אתפאר.

And this is the meaning of "You are My servant" — and afterward, "in whom I will be glorified."

First comes "My servant" (the eved stage), then "in whom I will be glorified" (the elevated, joyful stage).

והתפארת הוא כשהעובד שש ושמח בעבודת אדוניו.

And the "glory" (tiferes) is when the servant rejoices and delights in the service of his Master.

The "glory" comes about specifically when one serves with joy and delight rather than mere obligation.

והאמת כי הוא הבטחה לעתיד שכפי היגיעה בעוה"ז מתקיים אח"כ א"ב אתפאר.

And in truth it is a promise for the future, that according to the toil in this world, "in you I will be glorified" is afterward fulfilled.

It is also a guarantee: in proportion to one's strenuous service now, the future joy and glory will be realized.

וכמו כן כפי העבודה בימי המעשה מתקיים התפארת בש"ק.

And likewise, according to the service during the weekdays (yemei hama'aseh), the glory is fulfilled on Shabbos Kodesh.

On a weekly scale: the effort invested during the workweek determines the spiritual glory experienced on Shabbos.

אכן הוא גם בכל יום והוא בחי' תפלה ותורה.

However, it exists also every day, and it is the aspect of tefillah and Torah.

This two-stage dynamic occurs daily too — in tefillah and Torah study.

ותש"י וקשרתם כו' ותש"ר והיו לטוטפות בחי' התפארת כנ"ל.

And tefillin shel yad, "and you shall bind them..." (Devarim 6:8), and tefillin shel rosh, "and they shall be for frontlets [between your eyes]" — the aspect of tiferes, as above.

The hand-tefillin (binding/submission, the servant) and the head-tefillin (the crown of glory, the son) again embody these two stages, just as with shemittah and yovel.

ומקודם הכל כתיב גבורי כח הוא בחי' סור מרע גבור הכובש את יצרו.

And before all this it is written, "the mighty in strength" — this is the aspect of "turn away from evil" (sur mei'ra), the mighty one who conquers his yetzer.

The whole progression begins with "mighty in strength": the heroic conquering of one's yetzer hara, "turning from evil," which is the foundation of the servant's avodah.

וכמו כן כלל ישראל ע"י הגלות שהיו במצרים ועמדו באמונתם ונק' גבורי כח עי"ז נתעלו מדרגה אחר מדרגה.

And likewise the whole of Yisrael, through the galus they endured in Mitzrayim, when they stood firm in their emunah and were called "the mighty in strength" — through this they rose level after level.

On the national scale, by withstanding the trials of Mitzrayim with steadfast emunah, Bnei Yisrael earned the title "mighty in strength" and ascended step by step.

עושי דברו אח"כ לשמוע בקול דברו כנ"ל:

"Those who fulfill His word," and afterward "to hearken to the voice of His word," as above.

From "mighty in strength" they advanced to "doing His word" (the servant/Exodus), and then to "hearing His word" (the son/Sinai) — the full ascent culminating in yovel.

Summary: Shemittah and yovel were given at Sinai because they embody the two stages of avodas Hashem: shemittah, like the hand-tefillin and "doing His word," is the servant's acceptance of the yoke (paralleling the Exodus); yovel, like the head-tefillin and "hearing His word," is the freedom of one crowned with Torah (paralleling Matan Torah). This same progression — first compelling oneself like a servant, then serving with the joy and glory of a son — recurs in the festival cycle, in the workweek and Shabbos, and daily in tefillah and Torah. It begins with conquering the yetzer ("mighty in strength"), and at yovel every Jew returns to his root and his unique portion in Torah, the world of freedom.