Behar: The Good and the Good
Last week, we saw the Meshech Chochma comment on Shabbat and on the shemittah year, the final of a seven-year cycle in which we are commanded to let our land lie fallow. The seventh year, however, is not the only of the cycle that has particular characteristics.
We are also commanded to give tithes of our produce in the first six years of the cycle. The first of those tithes goes to support the kohanim and the second goes to the levi’im. Then, there is a tithe which, during the third and sixth years of the shemittah cycle, is donated to be eaten by the poor in our midst.
The Meshech Chochma will use this template and help us think about why these particular years are designated for the giving of what we have to the less fortunate around us. He comments on the following verse, drawing our attention to the first six years of the seven-year cycle.
שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃
Six years you shall sow your fields and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its yield. (Vayikra 25:3)
שש שנים. ענין השנים כימי בראשית. וכן אמרו "כשם שנאמר שבת לד' בשבת בראשית כן בשמיטה." ולזה ביום שלישי וביום ששי נאמר כי טוב שני פעמים, לכן בשנה השלישית ובשנה שישית צריך ליתן מעשר עני ולהטיב לזולתו. וזה רמז נאה.1
Six years. The meaning of the years of the shemittah cycle is like the days of creation. And so too, “just as the seventh day of creation is called a Shabbat for God, the same is true of the seventh year” (Sifra on Behar). And in that vein, on the third and sixth days [of creation], “since it was good” is said twice (Bereshit 1:12-13, Bereshit 1:31), and therefore in the third and sixth years [of the shemittah cycle], one must give tithes to the poor and do good for another. And this is a nice hint.
The Meshech Chochma draws a parallel here between the days of creation and the years of the shemittah cycle. We learn in the Sifra that the seventh day, on which God rested, is parallel to the seventh year of the shemittah cycle, in which we let our fields rest.
The connection, though, doesn’t stop there. The Meshech Chochma now extends it into the days of the week and the years within the seven-year cycle. Since the seventh day and year are connected, so too should the first six be connected as well.
In Bereshit chapter 1, there are several times when God looks at God’s creation and deems it “good,” using the Hebrew words ki tov. The phrase is used in regards to actions on days 1, 3, 4, and 6. However, on days 3 and 6, ki tov is used not once but twice.
The Meshech Chochma asks: why is the phrase ki tov repeated in regards to these particular days and how might I connect that to what we learned in the Sifra about the comparison between days of creation and years of the shemittah cycle?
Now, we go back to the issue of the tithes. Just as days 3 and 6 of creation are singled out by the repetition of ki tov, so too are years 3 and 6 of the shemittah cycle singled out as obligatory times for the giving of tithes to the poor.
Not only is there the link of 3 and 6, but also the very words used to describe God’s feelings are relevant. God used the word tov, signaling goodness and pleasantness. God doubled up on the use of the word tov to describe days 3 and 6. The Meshech Chochma is suggesting that we, to honor this linguistic feature and God’s command, do our own version of tov through the giving of some of what we own to those less fortunate.
Once we have the Sifra’s connection between creation and shemittah and the relationship between “rest” of the week and “rest” of the land, everything falls into place. It’s only natural that this link extends further outward into the weekdays and into the years of the shemittah cycle that don’t have obligations that are as easily recognizable.
As the Meshech Chochma himself says at the end of his comment, this is a very nice idea. It allows us to see ourselves and our practices in the creation story aside from the seventh day and provides a rationale for why tithes are given to the poor when they are. One could think that the specific years chosen were arbitrary. No, says the Meshech Chochma. Hashem connected it all.
What I also like about this connection is that we’re able to see kedusha and obligation as being operative in the chol (profane) parts of cycles of seven. We are accustomed to seeing that seventh day or year as the one that is most set aside for kedusha and obligation, and for good reason! Shabbat and the shemittah year are important times. Through this interpretation, though, we’re able to see our obligations extend into profane parts of the cycle. Here, we’re obligated to give over our goods, because of that which God saw as good.
That isn’t to say, though, that our obligation to help feed those less fortunate in our society is limited to two particular years. Just because there is a specific time to give these gifts should not exempt us from making a stronger habit of it. I hope the Meshech Chochma here can serve as a reminder, even though we are not in either year 3 or 6 of the shemittah cycle, to make a donation and give of what we have to those less fortunate than us. Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Dan Margulies posted this comment to Twitter early in the week. It was there I first saw and decided to use this particular Meshech Chochma this week.