The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Behar Bechukosai – Faith Vs. Anxiety

If you will say: “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we may not sow nor gather-in our produce.” (Leviticus 25:20)

Two men in the same town came into sudden wealth. They both decided to bury their treasure in their backyards. Each picked a landmark on their respective properties and paced 20 steps and dug a hole.

Chaim the more anxious of the two kept making sure that there was no one watching as he placed the treasure in the ground. Berel who was by nature more trusting, didn’t bother taking the same precautions. Unbeknownst to him, he was spotted by a dishonest neighbor who eventually stole the treasure.

Chaim the worrier, whose fortune was actually intact, decided the next week to check on his gold. Accidentally he counted the wrong amount of paces from the landmark and dug into the ground. Imagine his horror when he realized that there was nothing there. Under the impression that someone stole his fortune he could find no peace. Eventually the stress got the better of him and he died – his fortune safely in tact.

Berel on the other hand, whose fortune was actually missing, never thought of checking on it. Poor as a church mouse, he lived a long happy life believing that he was the wealthiest man in the world.

In the first of this week’s double Torah reading, the laws of Shmittah (the seventh year) are presented. The Torah instructs that every seventh year the land of Israel must lie fallow – no harvesting or planting is permitted.

The Torah proceeds to reassure the residents of the land that if they keep the Divine directives of the Shmittah and the Jubilee years, “The land will yield its fruit and you will eat your fill and you will dwell securely upon it.”

In light of this resolute Divine pledge, the immediately following verse seems exceedingly curious: “If you will say, ‘What will I eat in the seventh year? Behold! We will not sow and not gather-in our crops!’”

Why would the Torah anticipate this type of question, when it has already guaranteed the Almighty’s intention and ability to sustain and provide-for the inhabitants, despite (and because of) their observance the laws of Shmittah?

Even more curious is the fact that in presenting the question, the Torah makes reference to the seventh year. This is troublesome because normally the harvest of the previous year serves as provisions for the following year. Accordingly, in the seventh year there should be abundant supplies from the sixth year’s harvest. If at all, it is with regards the eighth year to which the concern should apply.

As is often the case, the Torah alludes here to a profound psychological phenomenon – the ever-common travail known as anxiety.

Mental health experts will all agree that there is a fundamental difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is a normal emotion that occurs when a person is confronted by an actual threat. Anxiety is a pathologic emotion that appears even when there is no real danger or legitimate cause for worry.

Sometimes anxiety is due to chemical imbalance and can be classified as an illness. In that case it may require medical attention. More often, however, the anxiety we experience in life is the result of insecurity as a result of lack of faith in G-d.

A person of faith trusts that the Creator of all beings will take care of him, as is so poignantly declared in the first chapter of the Grace After Meals: “Blessed are you . . . who, in His goodness, provides sustenance for the entire world with grace, kindness, and mercy. He gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting . . .”

A person who trusts in the Al-mighty is certainly confident that no harm will become him as a result of his fulfillment of His explicit commandments – the laws of Shmittah included.

On the other hand, the one who lacks faith, not only worries about the results of the Shmittah, i.e. the eighth year, but is concerned with the seventh year as well.

In other words, the Torah, in using the seventh year as the object of possible apprehension, is relating a powerful message: If you are a person of faith then you will know real peace of mind – you will be as secure about the tomorrow as you are of the today. If, however, you lack faith in G-d, you will likely be as worried of the today – as you are of the tomorrow. You will be as anxious of the present – despite the full granary or bank account, as you are of the unforeseen future.

A study of people will confirm this intuitive Torah prediction. Many people of limited means are contented with what they have and live relatively tranquil lives. On the other hand, many in our society who are in possession of considerable wealth are paralyzed by fear and anxiety. What they need is a good dose of true faith.