Submitted by Comment by Avi Shafran, Oct 15, 2007 03:41

I too believe in the Torah. The Torah indeed states that security will come if we keep Shemittah properly. Apparently, Israel is not keeping Shemita properly because of all the security threats we are facing. Rather than focus on outer threats of security it seems to me that focusing on our observance of Shemittah is the key to fight off outside dangers.

But Shemita is a year of Shabbat, the Sabbath for the Land and the people of Israel. It is a year of sharing and equality. A year where there is no poor and no rich and all belongs to G-d. It is a year of eating and holiness. Unfortunately, keeping the laws of Shemittah have resulted in higher prices and shortage of food. Where is the intended spirit. Perhaps the time has come to reexamine the letter of the law regarding Shemita so that it is more reflective of the intended goal of the Torah. Why not organize shemita picking outings to all the farms that are open for the taking. Lets then cook up a storm and party. Let's ask the farmers what they need and try to help them. After all the food is free. When 1/3 of the country was displaced after the war in Lebanon, there was a tremendous outpouring of loving kindness. Let's take that as our model and share collectively what we have. My guess is that not only won't we starve we'll gain lots of weight.

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