A Vort From the Rebbe Parshas Behar, Rabbi Leibel Schapiro - 5786

A word from the Rebbe on this week's parsha, parshas Behar Bechukotai, but we're going to discuss a possuk in parshas Behar. Parshas Behar talks about shmita. That the seventh year, you have to keep shmita, which means that the you can't work in the field, as the possuk says, "The shabbos of the shabbos l'Hashem." The land should rest, a resting to Hashem. On this possuk, "The shabbos of the shabbos l'Hashem," Rashi says, "What does that mean? It means l'shem Hashem. You should rest for the sake of Hashem." But then Rashi adds, "K'shem she ne'emar b'shabbos bereishis." That here it says it's a shabbos to Hashem, the same way it says by the regular shabbos, shabbos of the week, it says it's shabbos l'Hashem, so by shmita it's the same way, it's a shabbos l'Hashem. But the question is, what does Rashi mean? What does it mean that this is the same way it says by shabbos? Rashi is trying to tell us something. So, the Rebbe explains it all p'nimiyus. The possuk uses the word Havaya. "The shabbos of the shabbos l'Hashem," but the Hashem Havaya is written there, yud kei vov kei. We know there's a difference between the shem Havaya and shem Elokim. Shem Elokim is also teiva, b'shteim v'elokim is b'gematria teiva. The numerical value of the shem Elokim is the same as hateiva, which is the nature. So, shem Elokim represents Hashem the way he is put into nature. Nature is also from Hashem, but we can't see it. We see it superficially, it looks like it's nature. In truth, it's Hashem, but it's Hashem is hidden, it's not biguly, it's not revealed. Actually, that's the meaning of the word teiva. Teiva means nature, but teiva also means sunk in. Some like something is sunk into the water, it's there, but you just can't see it. Same thing, Hashem runs the world, runs the teiva, but you can't see it. That's shem Elokim. Shem Havaya represents beyond nature, because shem Havaya is made up of three words, haya, hoveh, v'yihiyeh, and they're all together, past, present, and future in one word. Now, with naturally, in nature, there's no such thing as past, present, and future together. That's the whole idea of time. But, when it's together, it's because it's the might of it's beyond nature. So, Shem Havaya represents the way Hashem is revealed, not hidden in nature, and Shem Elokim is the way Hashem is in teva. That's usually the difference between Shabbos and the weekday. In the weekday, you are involved in work, doing natural things. It's also from Hashem, but Hashem is not revealed. Hashem is hidden. Come Shabbos, a Yid is in the level of gili Shem Havaya. Shabbos, you don't work, you don't do anything, you're not involved in gashmius'dike things, you're involved in ruchnius'dike things. So, godliness is more revealed. So, the weekday is usually connected to Shem Elokim, and Shabbos is connected to Shem Havaya. That you're completely separated from the nature of the world, you're involved in higher things and godly things. When it comes to shmita, shmita is similar to Shabbos to a certain degree. You don't work in the field, so you don't really work, and you rely on Hashem that he will provide, etc., etc. But, nevertheless, it's not really the same, because Shabbos, you can't do any melacha, you can't do any work. While shmita, you could do all kinds of works, you could do everything besides working in the field. So, one might think that shmita is not the same like Shabbos. It's not the same gili of Shem Havaya. It's not the same same the time you really have the revelation of Hashem in a gili'dike revealed form. Comes Rashi here and says that the pasuk is telling you the shof shor at Shabbos Havaya, k'shem she'ne'emar b'Shabbos Bereishis, that it's not so. In shmita, you could also feel the gili of Hashem. A Yid is supposed to in shmita feel also the revelation of Hashem, and by not working in the field, and relying that Hashem will provide your parnassah without you working, it's supposed to bring you to the same feeling of Gila Shem Havaya like Shabbos. And that's the meaning of Rashi where he says that the possuk says shofet Shabbos lavaya, the way it says b'shabbos bereishis to tell you you could have the Gila Shem Havaya. And the truth is Chassidus says that sometimes there's a greater Gila Shem Havaya in Shmitta than in Shabbos. How is it? Shabbos when you're completely separated from worldly matters, then they have Gila Shem Havaya. But at that point it seems like if you're not connected to teva, when you're out of the natural things, then you could feel the godliness. But what happens if you're connected to teva? Not necessarily will you feel godliness. Shmitta is a combination of both. Shmitta is a time when you are involved in gashmius. Nevertheless, it's Shmitta and the Shabbos lavaya, you could feel that the gashmius, which is the teva, which is usually Elokim, in there you see the Shem Havaya. So that's even a higher madreiga that not only is Havaya, you feel Havaya as higher than teva, but within the teva you're able to feel it even though you're involved in teva, but nevertheless at the same time you have the feeling that everything comes from Hashem. And you do that by not working in the field. So that's definitely like Shabbos, but to a certain degree it's even higher than Shabbos. And that's what Rashi means to say up to Chassidus that shofet Shabbos lavaya, that's Rashi Shabbos lavaya, l'shem Havaya k'shem she'ne'emar that you could have the same way. And as I said, and Chassidus says there's a ma'ala in the way it's in Shmitta that at the same time when you have teva, you could feel the Shem Havaya.