Torch, Spring/Summer 2011

Spring–Summer 2011 | TORCH 25 Keeping the Sabbath means honoring God by resting. It is also the first commandment to address relationships among humankind and with creation. In Exodus 23, the command for Sabbath rest is extended from being one day in seven (Shabbat) to one year in seven (Shmita). While the practice of Shabbat was established for the people of Israel, Shmita was for the land. This sabbatical year has theological, historical, and socio-ecological implications, and it is important to understand and consider its significance today. Promised Land Rest The intention of the sabbatical year, or Shmita, was to reflect the principles of rest implied with Shabbat. Leviticus 25:5 says, “It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.” The command comes with the vital promise that “the Sabbath of the land” will still produce enough food for its steward, the poor (slaves, servants, and sojourners), livestock, and wild animals. The Creator established Shmita for the implied purpose of sustaining the land, the poor, and biodiversity. From a scientific perspective, we know that giving land regular rest has long-term benefits. There is no technological alternative for the ecological services God’s creation provides — plants producing oxygen, the ozone layer protecting us from ultraviolet rays, wetlands purifying water, atmospheric climate regulation, food production, water supply, nutrient recycling, and soil formation, to name a few. We give very little thought to the numerous ways creation sustains human life independent of human action. The sabbatical year is also necessary as a balance for Shabbat because rested people (and rested domestic animals) could feasibly maintain crop production indefinitely. In His foreknowledge, God established clear guidelines for stewarding the Promised Land.