Parashat Re'eh - Sixth Aliyah

The aliyah opens by rewriting the rules of the economic game: “Mikketz sheva shanim ta’aseh shemitah” (at the end of seven years you shall practice remission, 15:1). It is not only rest for the soil but a social reset: “shamot kol Ba’al masheh yado” (every creditor shall release the debt held in his hand, 15:2) - easing the pressure, giving breath back to the debtor and to society. The Torah dares to set a utopian goal: “Efes ki lo yihyeh becha evyon” (there shall be no needy among you, 15:4) - and immediately balances it with sober realism: “Ki lo yechdal evyon mikerev ha’aretz” (the needy will never cease from the midst of the land, 15:11). The tension between vision and reality produces an active commandment: do not wait for a perfect world; create it with open hands.

That is why the Torah warns against the sophisticated cynicism that hides behind shemitah arithmetic: “korvah shenat hasheva… vera’ah eincha” (the seventh year draws near… and your eye turns grudging toward your needy brother, 15:9) - do not switch off the heart because the numbers do not add up. The answer is a double movement of heart and hand: “Naton titen” (give, you shall surely give, 15:10) and “patoach tiftach et yadcha” (open, you shall surely open your hand, 15:11). The blessing, this aliyah teaches, does not come despite the giving - it comes because of it: “ki biglal hadavar hazeh Yevarechecha” (for because of this thing Adonai your God will bless you, 15:10).

The second part moves from debts to relationships: “Uvashanah hashevi’it teshalchenu chofshi” (and in the seventh year you shall set him free, 15:12). Freeing the slave is not merely a technical step - it is a collective rite of identity. He is not sent away “reikam” (empty-handed, 15:13); rather “Ha’anek ta’anik lo” (furnish him generously, 15:14) from the plenty of flock, threshing floor and winepress (15:13-14). Why? “ki eved hayita… vayifdecha Adonai Elohecha” (for you were a slave… and Adonai your God redeemed you, 15:15) - historical memory translated into generous social policy. And if the slave chooses to stay of his own will, the rite at the ear and the door frames the choice and its price - freedom is a value, and giving it up is a weighty act as well (15:16-17).

Three short readings from the aliyah:

1. Economy with memory - debts are measured in character too; sometimes remission mends the human fabric more than any collection effort.

2. Morality against cynicism - the Torah recognizes the economic calculation, yet demands an open heart precisely when the graph is inconvenient.

3. Freedom with responsibility - release comes with endowment; true freedom leaves no emptiness behind.

A short insight: vision without action remains a slogan; action without vision wears down into cynicism. Shemitah stitches the two together - a commandment that turns arithmetic into the building of a society.