I don’t know about you, but for me it’s been a long week. A long year even. As the saying goes, there’s always something. And stressful situations do not always wait for the previous ones to resolve themselves before showing up, uninvited. If we are lucky enough to have put out all the metaphorical fires, we might be tempted to sit back and pat ourselves on the back for a moment, but the feeling that we must be forgetting something can be hard to shake.
Interestingly, this week’s Torah portion, Behar, is all about taking a break – and giving one to others while we’re at it. Work the land for six years, then let it rest for one. Worried about what to eat in the meantime? “I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year,” God proclaims, “so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years.” After seven of these cycles, celebrate a jubilee: don’t sow, reap, or harvest; just “eat the growth direct from the field.”
In layperson’s terms, it seems like this portion is telling us to relax already! No matter how big the crisis, no matter how hopeless the situation, there needs to come a time when we give the cortisol production a rest, take a deep breath, and trust (even if just a little!) that, while many things are out of our control, we are still breathing, there is still sun in the sky, and photosynthesis is still working its magic.
All of this is to take nothing away from how amazing our efforts are. Because, whether or not we realize it, the world needs each and every one of us, and our work to make it a better place has probably had more of an impact than we realize. But if your daily agenda has tikkun olam on it from sunrise to sunset, it might be time for you to give the depleted fields of your soul some time to replenish. Personally, I plan to be adding some minerals of the kiddush cup variety this evening, and I hope that each of you will find ways to let go, relax, and replenish in the days ahead.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rebecca Abbate
