Believe it or not, not only are we meant to get a day off, so is the land. Additionally, not only do clergy and academics need sabbaticals to recharge, so does the land. In this week’s Torah portion Behar we are told: “When you come into the land that I am giving you, the land must be given a rest period, a Sabbath to God. Six years you may plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and harvest your crops but the seventh year is a Sabbath of Sabbaths for the land. In that seventh year, you may not plant your fields or prune your vineyards… And you shall count off seven sabbatical years — forty nine years. You shall sanctify the fiftieth year, called the Jubilee.” In that fiftieth year we are meant to declare the emancipation of slaves and each person shall return to their hereditary property and to their family.
The Torah teaches that when we are settled in our land, if we get into debt and must sell our land, we can only sell for the length of time before the Jubilee. In the 50th year, debts are forgiven and land reverts back to its original owner. The land allocated to each tribe was to stay with its original owner as the land ultimately belongs not to people but to God.
Yet today the land does not seem to belong God or to all. We buy up lots thinking they are ours to own. And some buy up more lots than others, building upon them higher and higher edifices. Donald Trump comes to mind. One online magazine called The Business Insider, states that the world’s total land mass consists of 36.8 billion acres of inhabitable land. 21 percent of this land is owned by a handful of landowners. That group includes the Queen of England, who ostensibly owns places like Canada and Australia, and several American billionaires such as Ted Turner and the Irving family. (http://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-biggest-landowners-2011-3?op=1)
If the ancient prophet Isaiah lived today, he might bring forth his words from chapter five of the book in his name: “God hopes for justice, but behold, injustice; for equity, but behold, iniquity; Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, till there is room for none but you to dwell in the land.”
Sometimes we lose our way thinking we need more land for ourselves, but Shabbat is meant to help us get perspective and right our path.
Two people were once fighting over a piece of land. Each claimed ownership, and each bolstered the claim with apparent proof. After arguing for a long time, they agreed to resolve their conflict by putting the case before a rabbi. The rabbi sat as an arbitrator and listened carefully, but despite years of legal training the rabbi could not reach a decision. Both parties seemed to be right. Finally the Rabbi said, “Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let’s ask the land.” The rabbi put an ear to the ground, and after a moment stood up. “My friends, the land says it belongs to neither of you – but you belong to it.” (Source unknown, cited by Rabbi David E. Stein in A Garden of Choice Fruits, Shomrei Adamah, 1991).
On this Shabbat day, may we recognize that the land does not belong to us, but we belong to the land. May we honor the land. May we care for the land. May we tend and till it. May we give it rest so that it can sustain us as we sustain it.
One Response
Rabbi, I thought this is where you were headed with that title.
Who Does The Land of Israel Belong To?
An Israeli Sense of Humor at UN set the record straight.
An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly and made the world community smile.
A representative from Israel began: ‘Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses: When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, ‘What a good opportunity to have a bath!’ Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!
The Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up furiously and shouted, ‘What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren’t there then.’
The Israeli representative smiled and said, ‘And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech..’.