(א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר. (ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה. (ג) שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ. (ד) וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרָע וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר. (ה) אֵת סְפִיחַ קְצִירְךָ לֹא תִקְצוֹר וְאֶת עִנְּבֵי נְזִירֶךָ לֹא תִבְצֹר שְׁנַת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ. (ו) וְהָיְתָה שַׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה לְךָ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ וְלַאֲמָתֶךָ וְלִשְׂכִירְךָ וּלְתוֹשָׁבְךָ הַגָּרִים עִמָּךְ. (ז) וְלִבְהֶמְתְּךָ וְלַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצֶךָ תִּהְיֶה כָל תְּבוּאָתָהּ לֶאֱכֹל.
(כג) וְהָאָרֶץ לֹא תִמָּכֵר לִצְמִתֻת כִּי לִי הָאָרֶץ כִּי גֵרִים וְתוֹשָׁבִים אַתֶּם עִמָּדִי.
(1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying: (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. (3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof. (4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto the LORD; thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. (5) That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. (6) And the sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you: for thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for the settler by thy side that sojourn with thee; (7) and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food....(23) And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and settlers with Me.
(ט) וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ לִקְצֹר וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט. (י) וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
(9) And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. (10) And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Sacred Earth
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Shiur Komah 206b
(R. Cordovero, the RaMaK, 1522-1570 is a central person in the evolution of kabbalah and was a leading personality in kabbalistic community of 16th century Safed.
The essence of Divinity is found in every single thing—nothing but it exists. Since it causes every thing to be, no thing can live by anything else. It enlivens them; its existence exists in each existent. Do not attribute duality to God. Let God be solely God... If you suppose that Ein Sof emanates until a certain point, and that from that point on is outside of it, you have dualized. God forbid! Realize, rather, that Ein Sof exists in each existent. Do not say, “This is a stone and not God.” God forbid! Rather, all existence is God, and the stone is a thing pervaded by divinity.
Sacred Earth cont.
Tikunei Zohar 122b
(lit. “Repairs of Zohar” is a central kabbalistic work. It is a discrete work organized around 70 commentaries to the first word of the Torah, “Bereshit.”)
There is no place empty of the Divine. (Leit atar panui minei)
אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל כל הנהנה מן העוה"ז בלא ברכה כאילו נהנה מקדשי שמים שנא' ... (תהלים כד, א) לה' הארץ ומלואה ר' לוי רמי כתיב לה' הארץ ומלואה וכתיב (תהלים קטו, טז) השמים שמים לה' והארץ נתן לבני אדם לא קשיא כאן קודם ברכה כאן לאחר ברכה א"ר חנינא בר פפא כל הנהנה מן העוה"ז בלא ברכה כאילו גוזל להקב"ה וכנסת ישראל שנא' (משלי כח, כד) גוזל אביו ואמו
Sacred Earth cont.
Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 35a-b
Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: To enjoy anything of this world without a blessing is like making personal use of things consecrated to Heaven (meilah), since it says. ‘The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.’ (Ps. 24) …R. Hanina b. Papa said: To enjoy this world without a blessing is like robbing the Holy One, blessed be He, and the community of Israel.
(1) Hallelujah. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights. (2) Praise ye Him, all His angels; Praise ye Him, all His hosts. (3) Praise ye Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all ye stars of light. (4) Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that are above the heavens. (5) Let them praise the name of the LORD; For He commanded, and they were created. (6) He hath also established them for ever and ever; He hath made a decree which shall not be transgressed. (7) Praise the LORD from the earth, Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps; (8) Fire and hail, snow and vapour, Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; (9) Mountains and all hills, Fruitful trees and all cedars; (10) Beasts and all cattle, Creeping things and winged fowl; (11) Kings of the earth and all peoples, Princes and all judges of the earth; (12) Both young men and maidens, Old men and children; (13) Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. (14) And He hath lifted up a horn for His people, A praise for all His saints, Even for the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Hallelujah.
Earth is Animate and Alive cont.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man in Search of God, 95
[From a Jewish perspective] The earth is [a person’s] sister rather than his mother. Man and earth are equally the creations of God...To think of God, man must hear the world. Man is not alone in celebrating God. To praise Him is to join all things in their song to Him.
Creation has Intrinsic Value
Rambam, Guide for the Perplexed 3:13, 452
It should not be believed that all the beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes.
Shmita: How it All Comes Together
Rambam, Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shmita v’Yovel
7.1-2, 6
We may only partake of the produce of
the Sabbatical year as long as that species
is still found growing in the field. This
is derived from Leviticus 25:7: “For the
animal and the beast in your land will be
all the produce to eat.” This implies that
as long as a beast [chaya] can be eating
from this species in the field, one may
eat from what he has collected at home.
When there is no longer any of that
species for the beast to eat in the field,
one is obligated to remove that species
from his home [and make it available
to the public]. This is the obligation of
Biur which applies to the produce of the
Sabbatical year.
2
What is implied? If a person has dried
figs at home, he may partake of them as
long as there are figs on the trees in the
field. When there are no longer figs in the
field, it is forbidden for him to partake
of the figs he has at home and he must
instead remove them.
6
When a person pickles three types of
produce in one barrel, if one of these
types of produce is no longer available in
the field, that type of produce should be
removed from the barrel.
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