Rashi on 25:1: What is the connection of shemita to Har Sinai?

Chazal ask what is the reason that Har Sinai is mentioned in regard to the mitzvah of shemita. They answer that just as the Mitzva of shemita was given at Sinai, with all of its details, so too were all of the mitzvos. Yet, it still needs to be explained why shemita was selected to accentuate this idea?

I found a question asked by the Imrei Emes, and his thought brings to mind one of the challenges we face today. We know that one of the big challenges of being an upright Jew is that a person may work and be successful, which causes him to believe “it is my hard work that brought about my success.” Yet even that person, when success was not clear, would daven to Hashem saying, “I know it all depends upon you!” Only with success, does he sometimes forget about giving credit where credit is due.

There is a famous story told of a miracle that happened to a tank brigade in the Six Day War: A grenade entered into a tank and didn’t explode. The soldier whose lap the grenade landed on, became religious. The soldier next to him did not. When asked why he didn’t become religious, the soldier answered, “It didn’t fall on my lap!” We may look at this as amusing, but in reality some of us look for excuses to not see hashgacha pratis because if we are intellectually honest we would have to upgrade our service of Hashem.

This kind of challenge can happen in the shemita year, too. Hashem blesses us “v’tzivisi es birkasi” – “I will command that there be a blessing” in the sixth year, which will bring with it prosperity and produce to supply us for three years. I am sure that if one would have looked in the newspapers there would be scientific explanations as to why that sixth year was particularly successful, all devoid of Hashem’s name. To me this challenge is obvious, as we see in this what Chazal tell us, that people had a test to observe shemita – every shemita. Those who observed shemita saw miracles, and yet six years later at the next shemita – perhaps after reading all the articles which proved that the abundance of produce 7 years ago was totally natural – they had a test again.

Says the Imrei Emes, “Just as at Har Sinai we had to have an ostentatious event to make it clear that Torah is from G‑d, so too after shemita we have a commandment of “Hakel” – everyone coming together in Jerusalem to learn Torah on Sukkos after shemita,  reaffirming that the success that has happened is the Hand of G-d. This is the parallel between shemita and Har Sinai.

I believe that here in the Land of Israel we face a similar test in today’s situation. I believe that there are those who will say that the numbers and statistics (for COVID-19) in the State of Israel are due to our astuteness and medical prowess. Yet deep down we all understand that it is the Hand of G-d which has protected us until now and can change things in a millisecond with one small microbe.

Let us reaffirm our faith in Hashem that success is dependent upon his blessing, and we too should merit the blessing “that you will live with security in your land”.