Our Parsha begins with the Mitzvah of Shemitta – the Sabbatical seventh year when it is prohibited to plant or make improvements in gardens and fields the Land of Israel. It is also prohibited to do commerce with what grew wild in the fields.
During the Shemitta year; the land is considered ownerless – thus anyone is permitted to enter and take produce without payment.
Our Parsha is not the first time the Torah mentions the Mitzvah of the observance of Shemitta, it was already mentioned in the Book of Exodus, where it is preceded by the Mitzvah of the observance of the weekly Shabbos.
The Medrash points out that the Torah specifically mentions the laws of Shabbos together with the law of Shemitta so that one should not think, “since I am observing a ‘Shabbos’ in my fields for an entire year, perhaps, the observance of the weekly Shabbos is not necessary.” Therefore, the Torah places the Mitzvah of Shabbos right next to the Mitzvah of Shemitta to teach that the weekly Shabbos must be observed even in the Shemitta year.
The Shem Mishmuel asks an interesting question. There are so many laws regarding prohibited activities that we may not do on Shabbos, such as not being allowed to cook, bake, dye, write, build, weave, shear, harvest, grind, plant etc., while the laws concerning Shemitta only impact upon agricultural activities. Why would one think that the weekly Shabbos should be canceled during the Shemitta year? After all, since Shemitta involves less observances, why should it have the power to override the more involved and intense Mitzvah of Shabbos?
The Shem Mishmuel explains that we might entertain that the weekly Shabbos should be waived during the Shemitta because whenever the Torah speaks about the holy day of Shabbos, it introduces it with, “Six days a week you should do your work.”
This is because in order to appreciate the holiness of the Shabbos, one needs to contrast the cessation of work on Shabbos with the performance of work during the week. When one displays the ability and strength to halt the creative things they are doing during the weekday, leaving it as it is and shifting gears to embrace the restrictions of the Shabbos, the transformation enables him to embrace the holiness of the Shabbos, which is compared to a touch of the delight and pleasure of the World to Come. Without adjusting from the ordinary and standard weekly grind, to the rest of Shabbos, we would not feel the holiness of Shabbos.
Since agricultural work is forbidden to be performed in the field, and work during the six days of the week is rather limited in terms of ones livelihood during the Shemitta year, one might entertain the thought that there isn’t enough contrast between the six day work week of Shemitta and the restrictions of Shabbos and therefore the weekly Shabbos should be suspended. The Torah therefore prefaces the law of Shabbos before Shemitta to emphasize that the weekly Shabbos
is always in place
for us to embrace
and ace the spiritual space
that we interface with
during this exalted time of grace
when we change our pace!