Release

Behar, meaning “On Mount Sinai,” is the next Torah Portion we will glean from. Leviticus 25:1-26:2 is where we read about the Shemitah, the year of release, and the Jubilee, also known as the Yovel. The word Sh’mitah means “suspension” and has the root letters shin mem tov (tet) which can translate into “to drop” or “let go.” It is almost as if on mount Sinai, the Israelites learn to release. Release what? Control. After working and connecting to the land in the physical realm for six years, God asked the Israelites to fully depend on Him for their sustenance for the entire seventh or Sh’mitah year. This is counterintuitive, as we are conditioned to believe that continuous work and effort will bring fulfillment, just as the Israelites most likely believed the same as freshly redeemed slaves who never rested. On the contrary, it is our separation from the daily routine that makes the holiness of Shabbat a time of refreshing. The concept of release leading to freedom is a revelation that can inspire us in our daily lives. There is a commandment to count the omer, which simply means we count down the days past Passover until we reach 49. On the fiftieth day, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, during which the Israelites received the written Word of God, as contained in the Torah, as well as the Spirit of God spoken about in Acts chapter 2. Tying it all together, the giving of holy instructions on Mt. Sinai is connected to entering a Garden of Eden state on the seventh day, year, and seven times seven days and years. 

Leviticus 25:4: But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

Leviticus 25:10-11: That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it, you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.

Leviticus 25:20-21: 20 And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years

We just reached the Appointed Time of Shavuot on Monday, June 1st, which is 49 days past Passover. The Torah Portion we are reviewing is similar to the counting of the omer, but it now requires a release of debts, slaves, and ownership after 49 years instead of days. The fiftieth year is called the Yovel, which means “ram’s horn” or “trumpet” and refers to the blowing of the trumpet to herald the fiftieth year. During the Yovel, all debts are forgiven, land returns to its original owner, and enslaved people are freed. The whole land of Israel returns to a state of Divine sovereignty where everything belongs to God. It is another call for a  Shabbat rest where God calls us back to our natural state. We can find the natural state of humanity in the Garden of Eden. God created order out of the world and asked Adam and Chavah to maintain that order, while the Holy One provided sustenance for them without their having to work for it. We can see this because when Adam and Chavah ruled over the Earth based on their perceptions rather than the Holy Spirit, the curse Adam incurred stated that the Earth would no longer produce for them without labor. The cycle of Shabbat, therefore, is to take us back to the Garden, where we trust entirely on the Holy One and we are sustained without having to work for it. Shabbat is all about the freedom we attain when we trust and release.

When we control things and people, we are acting out of fear, which is a lack of trust. ‘Yuval’ is a Hebrew word sharing the same root with Yovel and means ‘stream’ or ‘river.’ In the context of trust and freedom, ‘Yuval’ represents the provision that comes when we are grounded or planted in the living waters of God’s word. The Yuval produces the Yovel, meaning the stream of living waters of God’s word allows for the trust needed to release control during the Yovel. 

Jeremiah 17:7-8: For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river (yuval) and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

The Yuval or stream that feeds this human tree is the word of the Holy One, complete with promises, stories of faithfulness, and wisdom for an abundant life. God promises that if we trust Him and refrain from the insatiable pursuit of monetary gain, control, and power during these appointed times, He will command the Earth to bring forth its produce for our sustenance, which is a powerful demonstration of the Holy One’s provision and care. This assurance of God’s provision is a comforting reminder of His faithfulness. When we trust God and He proves Himself faithful, good, and true to His promises, those around us see that it is safe to trust in Him too. The above verse describes a human who trusts in the Holy One but verses five and six describe a person who fully relies on their humanity or on other humans, such as governments, political systems, education systems, monetary markets, and money, only to find that it ultimately leaves them parched and in need. 

The calling of this Torah Portion is for us to trust in God. Release the need for control out of fear or anxiety about the future. The Earth obeys the word and will of the Holy One, meaning that when we keep order in our little worlds by obeying God’s insturctions, the Earth responds in kind, providing for our needs. We are the ingredients necessary for the Earth to produce what we need. We give the Earth rest by ceasing to work it during the seventh day, and year, the 49th day after Passover, and the 49th year. The Yovel is a commandment given to the Israelites in the land of Israel, but it would benefit all the land if we gave it rest, no matter where we live. Consider the overfishing occurring in the oceans and its impact on the ecosystem, as well as the overproduction of the Earth’s minerals, which depletes natural resources. Consider the overworking of humans, which can lead to exhaustion and disease. What the Shabbat encourages is for us to consume, produce, and labor for six days a week or six years, then to enter the sovereignty of the Holy One on the Shabbat of the Sh’mitah and Yovel. The year of release is a call to return to the shelter of the Most High, where there is safety, provision, equality, peace, love, and rest for the weary. We enter a state of rest that is mental, spiritual, and physical.

On the Shabbat, God provided the Israelites with enough manna for the sixth and seventh day. During the Yovel, God commands the Earth to produce food for the 49th, 50th, and 51st years; all we have to do is be still. The enemy entailed in this Appointed Time would be control. If we cannot give up our power, our need for more, our work, our pursuit, our oppression of others, we think belong to us (Lv 25.17). We become tyrants. We end up ruling over whatever God has entrusted to us fearfully and harshly. We end up anxious and depleted because our resources are only sustained by our efforts, and without rest, those do not replenish. The self-sustaining tree in Jeremiah ends up dry and fearful of the future. Let’s learn the art of release because we trust in the faithfulness and goodness of the Yuval, the stream of living waters, which contains thousands of promises for us to drink from.

Jeremiah 2:13: “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Isaiah 58:11: The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

John 4:14: But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty. The water that I give him will become a fountain of water within him, springing up to eternal life!