Living as a temporary stranger in the world

בפסוק והארץ ל"ת לצמיתות כו' גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי.

On the pasuk, "And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity (litzmisus)... for you are gerim (strangers) and toshavim (sojourners) with Me" (Vayikra 25:23).

The Torah teaches that the land may not be sold permanently, because in truth we are only temporary residents "with" Hashem — the launching point of the piece.

שבנ"י צריכין להיות בעוה"ז גרים לידע כי עיקר שלהם למעלה.

For Bnei Yisrael must be like gerim in this world, to know that their ikar (essence) is above.

A Yid should feel like a temporary stranger here, always aware that his true home and essence are in the upper world.

כדאיתא בחובת הלבבות מענין הגירות בעולם.

As is brought in Chovos HaLevavos concerning the matter of being a ger (stranger) in the world.

This idea of living as a stranger passing through the world is developed in Chovos HaLevavos.

ופי' עמדי כמו שקדושתו ית' למעלה מכל רק שלפעמים יורד למטה איזה הארה סתים וגליא.

And the meaning of "with Me" is: just as His kedushah, yisborach, is above everything, except that at times some illumination (he'arah) descends below — hidden and revealed (sasim v'galya).

Hashem's holiness wholly transcends the world, yet occasionally a flash of His light descends into it, both concealed and revealed.

כן צריכין להיות בנ"י בעוה"ז בעראי.

So too Bnei Yisrael must be in this world only temporarily (be'arai).

A Yid should model himself on Hashem's relationship to the world — present here only as a passing, temporary presence.

כמ"ש חסידים תורתן קבע ומלאכתן עראי.

As is said, the pious ones make their Torah fixed (keva) and their work temporary (arai).

For the truly devoted, Torah is the permanent anchor of life and worldly labor is merely incidental.

ואפי' מי שצריך לעסוק בפרנסה ג' שעות ובתורה שעה א' אעפ"כ צריך להיות התורה קבע.

And even one who must engage in parnasah (livelihood) for three hours and in Torah for one hour — nevertheless the Torah must be the fixed thing (keva).

It is not about the number of hours; even with little time for Torah, one's inner orientation must treat Torah as the fixed point and work as the temporary one.

וכן הי' מצות השמיטה אע"פ שששה שנים היו עוסקין במלאכתן ושמיטה היו פנוים.

And so was the mitzvah of Shemittah: even though for six years they engaged in their work and in the Shemittah they were free.

Shemittah enacts this same principle on the scale of years — six of labor and one of release.

מ"מ ע"י שהיו סופרין אחר השמיטין ויובלות.

Nevertheless, by counting toward the Shemittos and the Yovlos (Jubilees).

Throughout all six working years, the people were counting toward the coming Shemittah and Yovel.

הי' זה להראות שמלאכתן עראי והי' בטל כל המלאכות אל השביתה.

This was to show that their work is temporary, and all their labors were nullified (batel) toward the resting.

The ongoing count proved that work itself was merely incidental, with everything subordinated and pointing toward the rest of Shemittah.

וכן הוא בימי המעשה שצריכין להיות בטלין אל השבת ואז יכולין להרגיש הקדושה בכל הימים.

And so it is during the weekdays (yemei hama'aseh), that one must be nullified (batel) toward Shabbos, and then one can feel the kedushah on all the days.

On the weekly scale, the workdays should likewise be oriented in bittul toward Shabbos, and through that the holiness of Shabbos is felt all week long.

ולא להיות נפרד מן השורש.

And not to be separated from the root (shoresh).

The purpose of all this bittul is to never become detached from one's spiritual source.

וזה הרמז לא תמכר לצמיתות שלא יהי' מתנכר ורחוק לגמרי מן השורש שלמעלה.

And this is the hint of "it shall not be sold in perpetuity" — that one should not become estranged and entirely distant from the higher root.

Just as land cannot be permanently severed from its owner, a person must never let himself become permanently cut off from his root above.

וכמ"ש גאולה תתנו לארץ.

As is written, "you shall grant a redemption (geulah) for the land" (Vayikra 25:24).

The Torah commands that a means of geulah always remain so that what was sold can return — a hint to spiritual redemption as well.

וכבר כ' בכמה מקומות כמו שיש גאולה בנפש כן בזמן ובמקום.

And it has already been written in several places that just as there is geulah in the soul (nefesh), so too in time and in place.

Redemption operates on three planes — within the soul, within time, and within physical place.

וכמו שיש מ"ט שערי טומאה שצריך האדם לצאת מהם כמו שגאלנו הקב"ה ממצרים כן צריכין בנ"י ליתן גאולה למקום ולזמן.

And just as there are forty-nine gates of tumah (impurity) from which a person must exit — as HaKadosh Baruch Hu redeemed us from Mitzrayim — so too Bnei Yisrael must grant geulah to place and to time.

As we were drawn out of the 49 gates of impurity at Yetzias Mitzrayim, so we are charged to bring redemption into physical space and into time itself.

וכתי' תן חלק לשבעה וגם לשמנה.

And it is written, "Give a portion to seven, and also to eight" (Koheles 11:2).

This verse is read as hinting to the cycles of seven and the eighth that transcends them.

יתכן לרמוז לשבעה שמיטין.

It can be taken to allude to the seven Shemittos.

The "seven" alludes to the seven Shemittah cycles that lead up to the Yovel.

וגם לשמונה הוא יובל שהוא למעלה משבע שבועות והוא עלמא דחירות.

And "also to eight" — this is the Yovel, which is above the seven cycles of weeks, and it is the "world of freedom" (alma d'cheirus).

The "eighth" is the Yovel, which transcends the seven sevens and represents the realm of ultimate freedom and release.

וג"ם גי' מ"ט שבימי השמיטין יוצאין ממ"ט שערים ומתגלה שער הנ' שהוא אחדות בלי תערובות.

And "v'gam" (and also) has the gematria of forty-nine, for in the days of the Shemittos one exits the forty-nine gates, and the fiftieth gate is revealed, which is achdus (oneness) without admixture.

The word "v'gam" equals 49, alluding to leaving the 49 gates so that the fiftieth gate — pure, unmixed unity with Hashem — can be revealed in the Yovel.

וכתיב וגם הקימותי כו' לתת כו' היינו גאולת הארץ.

And it is written, "And also (v'gam) I established... to give..." (Shemos 6:4) — this is the redemption of the land.

The same word "v'gam" in the promise to the Avos points to the geulah of place — the redemption of the land.

מת"י כנען לצאת ממ"ט שערים.

From the hand of Canaan, to exit from the forty-nine gates.

The land was taken out of Canaanite hands precisely so that it could leave the 49 gates of impurity and become holy.

וגם אני שמעתי כו' נאקת כו' הוא גאולת הנפשות ממ"ט שערים:

"And also (v'gam) I have heard... the groaning..." (Shemos 6:5) — this is the redemption of the souls (nefashos) from the forty-nine gates.

The second "v'gam," about hearing Yisrael's cry, points to the geulah of the soul — redeeming the nefesh from the 49 gates of impurity.

Summary: Bnei Yisrael must live in this world as temporary gerim, keeping Torah and Shabbos/Shemittah as the fixed point (keva) and worldly labor as merely incidental (arai), never becoming permanently severed (litzmisus) from their root above. Just as Hashem redeemed us from the forty-nine gates of impurity in Mitzrayim, we are charged to bring geulah to soul, time, and place — culminating in the Yovel, the "eighth," the world of freedom and the fiftieth gate of pure unity.