Behar - Bechutosai 5786 – What’s gonna be?

A large part of the first section of this week’s Parsha deals with the mitzvos connected to Shmitta. All farmers are commanded to go a year without any planting or working of the land.

The Torah tells us that when the farmer asks, “What will we eat?” there will be a special blessing from Hashem—producing extra crops in the sixth year in preparation for Shmitta.

The Sforno comments that had the farmer not asked, “What will be?” he would have received an even greater blessing: the existing crop would have been more satiating and lasted longer. The very act of asking means he is now worthy only of a lesser blessing—one of visible crop abundance.

The Sfas Emes explains that the first type of miracle is actually the greater one, as it represents a deeper departure from the natural order. Grain behaving differently within our bodies constitutes a more profound transformation of nature than simply producing more of it. Only someone who lives on a level where miracles are readily accessible would merit such an outcome.

Through these mitzvos, the Torah firmly educates us to believe that all of our income ultimately comes from Hashem—whether through obvious channels or more subtle ones. The tax authorities, however, are less forgiving.

This week, there was a court case in which Mas Hachnasa flagged a 19-year-old girl who had somehow managed to purchase a 1.3 million shekel apartment, mortgage-free, with no reported source of income. Her claim that the money was a gift from her ex-boyfriend did not hold up, as he himself was not known to be a man of means. The court ruled that she must immediately pay full taxes on the entire 1.3 million, operating under the most aggressive assumption—that it was all earned in a single year.

Ultimately, there is only one true source of income. May we merit that it comes with abundant blessing.

For any income related or other financial issues you require assistance with please reach out at [email protected]. Good Shabbos.