Shemitah elevates nature to its root

בענין שמיטין ויובלות.

Concerning the matter of shemitin (sabbatical years) and yovlos (jubilees).

The Sefas Emes opens his discussion on the laws of the seventh year and the fiftieth-year jubilee.

ושבתה הארץ שבת לה' וישבתם לבטח עלי'.

"And the land shall rest a Shabbos to Hashem" (Vayikra 25:2), "and you shall dwell securely upon it" (Vayikra 25:18).

The land's "Shabbos" of shemitah is linked to dwelling in security — a connection the Sefas Emes will explain.

כי בנ"י נכנסו לא"י אחר שקיבלו התורה בהר סיני והלכו כל מ' שנה במדבר בהנהגה שלמעלה מהטבע.

For Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael after they received the Torah at Har Sinai and journeyed all forty years in the wilderness under a conduct above nature (lema'alah mehateva).

Before entering the Land, Bnei Yisrael lived forty years entirely above nature — manna, the well, the clouds — having received the Torah at Sinai.

ובכח זה נכנסו להרים כל הטבע אליו ית'.

And by the power of this they entered to elevate all of nature to Him.

Having absorbed that supernatural conduct, they entered the Land in order to lift the natural order itself up to Hashem.

וזה עצמו הסמיכות שמיטין להר סיני לומר שבכח מצוה זו נתעלה כל הטבע והארציות להיות דבוק בשורשו כמו שהי' קודם החטא וכמו שיהי' לעתיד.

And this itself is [the meaning of] the juxtaposition of shemitah to Har Sinai — to say that by the power of this mitzvah all of nature and earthliness is elevated to cleave to its root, as it was before the sin and as it will be in the future.

The famous question of why shemitah is taught "at Har Sinai" is answered: this mitzvah has the power to raise all of physical nature back to its divine root, restoring the pre-sin state and previewing the future redemption.

וישבתם לבטח הוא להיות גם הישיבה בטבע דבוק בבטחון בשלימות והיא מעלה גדולה.

"And you shall dwell securely" means that even dwelling within nature should be bound up with bitachon (trust) in completeness — and this is a great level.

The promise of secure dwelling means living within the natural order yet with complete bitachon in Hashem — a lofty madreigah of trust even amid ordinary life.

וכתי' בטחו בו בכל עת.

And it is written, "Trust in Him at every time (b'chol eis)" (Tehillim 62:9).

The verse calls for bitachon "at all times" — a phrase the Sefas Emes now unpacks through the word "eis" (time).

כי יש כ"ח עתים אשר כל הטבע מתנהג בהם כמ"ש בקהלת י"ד עתים לטובה וי"ד כו'.

For there are twenty-eight times (eitim) through which all of nature is conducted, as is written in Koheles — fourteen times for good and fourteen [for the opposite] (Koheles 3:2-8).

Koheles lists twenty-eight "times" (a time to be born, a time to die, and so on) — fourteen positive and fourteen negative — which govern the entire natural order.

אכן יש הנהגה שלמעלה מאלו וכולל כל ב' אלו.

However, there is a conduct above these, which encompasses both of these.

Above the twenty-eight natural "times" stands a higher mode of divine governance that contains and transcends both the good and the difficult times.

והרמז יש יד גדולה ויד חזקה.

And the hint: there is "a great hand" (yad gedolah) and "a strong hand" (yad chazakah).

These two "hands" correspond to the two sets of fourteen times (yad = 14 in gematria) — the modes of good and of severity within nature.

ויד רמה כולל ב' הידות אלו [וג' אלו הידות הם מ"ב. שבשם מ"ב נברא העולם. והם שנים שבתוך השמיטות. וז' שמיטות ויובל משלימים לחמשים שהיובל הוא שער הנ' שלמעלה מכל הטבע והוא עלמא דחירות לגמרי כנ"ל]

And "an uplifted hand" (yad ramah) encompasses these two hands. [And these three "hands" total forty-two — for with the Name of forty-two the world was created. And they are the "two" within the shemitos; and seven shemitos plus the yovel complete fifty, for the yovel is the fiftieth gate (sha'ar hanun) that is above all of nature, and it is a world of complete freedom (alma d'cheirus), as above.]

Three "hands" (great, strong, uplifted) equal 42 (3 × 14), corresponding to the 42-letter Name of creation. The yovel, the fiftieth year and "fiftieth gate," stands entirely above nature — a realm of total freedom that crowns the seven shemitah cycles.

ובנ"י מבטלין כל העתים אל הנהגה העליונה ובאמת אין כל ב"א מוכנים לזה רק בנ"י.

And Bnei Yisrael nullify all the "times" to the supernal conduct; and in truth not all human beings are prepared for this, only Bnei Yisrael.

Bnei Yisrael have the unique capacity to subordinate all the natural "times" to Hashem's higher governance — a level not all of humanity can reach.

וז"ש בטחו בו כו' עם שפכו לפניו לבבכם.

And this is the meaning of "Trust in Him… O people; pour out your heart before Him" (Tehillim 62:9).

The continuation of the verse — "O people, pour out your heart" — shows that this all-encompassing bitachon belongs specifically to Hashem's people.

והוא בכח התורה שנמסר להם שע"ז נאמר כח מעשיו הגיד.

And this is by the power of the Torah that was transmitted to them, concerning which it is said, "He told the power of His deeds [to His people]" (Tehillim 111:6).

It is the Torah, given to Bnei Yisrael, that grants them the power to rise above the natural "times" and trust completely in Hashem.

וכמו כן א"י כל הנהגה שלה משורשת בשורש העליון.

And likewise Eretz Yisrael — its entire conduct is rooted in the supernal root.

Just as Bnei Yisrael transcend nature, so too the Land of Israel is itself governed directly from its supernal source, above ordinary nature.

ולכן כתי' וישבתם לבטח עלי'.

Therefore it is written, "and you shall dwell securely upon it."

Because the Land is rooted above nature, dwelling on it specifically affords this secure, bitachon-filled life.

ובת"כ פ' בחקותי דורש בארצכם אתם יושבים לבטח ולא חו"ל ע"ש הרמז כנ"ל.

And in the Toras Kohanim, Parshas Bechukosai, it expounds: "in your land you dwell securely" — but not outside the Land (chutz la'aretz), as above.

The Toras Kohanim limits the promise of secure dwelling to Eretz Yisrael, confirming that this above-nature security is bound to the Land's supernal root.

וכמו שא"י מיוחדת לבחי' הנ"ל בעולם. כמו כן בנ"י מיוחדים בנפש.

And just as Eretz Yisrael is singled out for the aforementioned aspect in [the dimension of] olam (space), so too Bnei Yisrael are singled out in [the dimension of] nefesh (soul).

Eretz Yisrael is the special point in the dimension of space; Bnei Yisrael are the special point in the dimension of soul — both rooted above nature.

וז"ש בידך עתותי. שעתות של בנ"י מדובקין בשורש בו ית"ש.

And this is the meaning of "my times are in Your hand" (Tehillim 31:16) — that the "times" of Bnei Yisrael are bound to the Root, to Him.

"My times are in Your hand" expresses that the natural "times" of Bnei Yisrael are attached to their divine source rather than governed by blind nature.

ואיתא במד' כ"מ שנאמר וישב לשון צער ע"ש בכמה מקומות.

And it is brought in the Midrash: wherever "vayeshev" (and he dwelt) is said, it connotes distress (tza'ar), as seen in several places.

The Midrash notes that the word "vayeshev" (settling/dwelling) often introduces trouble — a seeming contradiction to "dwelling securely."

וגם וישב יעקב דרשו ביקש לישב בשלוה וקפץ עליו רוגזו של יוסף כו' שטן מקטרג כו' והיינו שעדיין לא הי' ניתקן א"י והי' עוד ת"י כנען.

And also "Vayeshev Yaakov" — they expounded: he sought to dwell in tranquility, and the trouble of Yosef sprang upon him… the Satan accuses… and this is because Eretz Yisrael was not yet rectified and was still under the hand of Canaan.

Yaakov's wish to settle in peace was disrupted because the Land was not yet rectified — it still lay under Canaanite control, so true secure dwelling was not yet possible.

אבל כשנכנסו בנ"י ושבתה הארץ.

But when Bnei Yisrael entered and "the land rested."

Once Bnei Yisrael entered and the land kept its "Shabbos" (shemitah), the situation changed entirely.

ונעשה התיקון להיות אפי' הנהגה שלמטה מיושבת ומדובקת באחדות השורש כי הקב"ה ברא הכל עולם שנה נפש.

And the rectification was accomplished, that even the lower conduct should be settled and bound to the unity of the Root — for HaKadosh Baruch Hu created everything [in the three dimensions of] olam (space), shanah (time), nefesh (soul).

The rectification enables even the lower, natural realm to be "settled" and attached to its divine root. All of creation is structured along three axes: space, time, and soul.

וא"כ יש נקודה ממוצעת שמחבר הגשמיות אל השורש הרוחני.

And so there is a "central point" (nekudah memutza'as) that connects the physical to the spiritual root.

In each dimension there is a focal point that links the material world to its spiritual source.

וזו הנקודה בעולם היא בא"י. ובנפש בבנ"י. ובזמן הי' ע"י שמיטין ויובלות.

And this point, in [the dimension of] space, is in Eretz Yisrael; in [the dimension of] soul, in Bnei Yisrael; and in [the dimension of] time, it was through shemitin and yovlos.

The connecting point is Eretz Yisrael in space, Bnei Yisrael in soul, and the shemitah/yovel cycle in time — the three "central points" that bind the physical to the spiritual.

וכולן תלוין זה בזה.

And they are all dependent on one another.

These three points are interlinked: each depends on the others to function fully.

וכפי תיקון הנפשות כך בזמן כמ"ש במד' יודע ה' ימי תמימים כשם שהם תמימים.

And according to the rectification of the souls, so too in time, as the Midrash says on "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted (temimim)" (Tehillim 37:18) — just as they are wholehearted [so are their days].

The condition of the dimension of time depends on the spiritual state of the souls: when the people are "whole," their times become whole as well.

לכן סמך הכתוב פרשת לא תונו לשמיטין ויובלות.

Therefore the verse juxtaposed the portion of "lo sonu" (do not wrong one another) to shemitin and yovlos.

The laws against wronging one's fellow are placed beside shemitah/yovel because social and spiritual wholeness among the people directly affects the dimension of time.

שכפי אחדות שבנפשות בני ישראל. כך נתאחד הזמן על ידיהם.

For according to the unity among the souls of Bnei Yisrael, so is time unified through them.

The unity of Bnei Yisrael in the dimension of soul is what brings unity to the dimension of time — hence the link to laws of fair dealing.

לכן אין יובל נוהג רק כשכל יושבי' עלי'.

Therefore the yovel only takes effect when all its inhabitants are upon it.

The jubilee functions only when all of Bnei Yisrael dwell in the Land — because the unity of souls is a prerequisite for the rectification of time.

ובמ"א כתבנו. על המדרש מות וחיים ביד לשון שכמו הלשון מחבר כל האדם כן בני ישראל מחברין כל הנפשות על ידי כח התורה שקיבלו בהר סיני ע"ש:

And elsewhere we wrote on the Midrash, "death and life are in the hand of the tongue" (Mishlei 18:21): that just as the tongue connects the whole person, so Bnei Yisrael connect all souls through the power of the Torah they received at Har Sinai.

Just as the tongue (speech) integrates and unifies the whole person, Bnei Yisrael serve as the unifying "tongue" that binds together all souls — empowered by the Torah received at Sinai.

Summary: Having lived forty years above nature, Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael to elevate the natural order to its divine root — which is why shemitah is taught "at Har Sinai." The mitzvah of shemitah and yovel lets even physical nature cleave to its source, restoring the pre-sin state. Bnei Yisrael uniquely can nullify all the natural "times" (the twenty-eight eitim of Koheles, the "hands" totaling forty-two, crowned by the yovel as the supernal fiftieth gate of freedom) to Hashem's higher governance. Creation has three axes — space, time, soul — each with a "central point" linking matter to spirit: Eretz Yisrael in space, the shemitah/yovel cycle in time, and Bnei Yisrael in soul. These are interdependent, so the unity of souls determines the wholeness of time — which is why the yovel requires all Israel dwelling in the Land, and why "do not wrong one another" sits beside these laws.