When a Field Tells Its Story: The Rainy Trails of Faith

In the Torah portion of Behar, the Israelites are commanded to observe the Sabbatical year, or Shmita. Working the land is prohibited: plowing, harvesting, sowing, pruning, and so on are all off-limits.

On the other hand, some tasks must be carried out to prevent irreversible damage, ensuring that orchards or fields are not ruined beyond just one year of rest. The Torah mandates a rest in the seventh year—not the destruction of trees for future years.

Thus, the Oral Torah establishes guidelines for permissible work during the Shmita. The central criterion is whether an action is necessary to save the field or orchard from destruction, not to enhance the fruit for that specific year. This is known in Aramaic as “Okumei Ilana,” meaning to sustain the tree and keep it alive. The prohibited labor is referred to as “Abruyei,” meaning to renovate or nurture it. The goal is to preserve the trees, not pamper them. Pampering can come in the eighth year, with Hashem's help.

One of the Mishnah's rules is that you may irrigate a Beit HaShlachin, but not a Beit HaBaal.

What are Shlachin and Baal fields?

There are various linguistic interpretations. According to most opinions, "Shlachin" comes from the Aramaic word "Shalhei," meaning tired—an exhausted land lacking water sources where trees would die without irrigation over a year.

On the other hand, a Baal field is blessed with natural water sources, receiving rain (thanks to its location and soil type). It can easily manage a year without irrigation thanks to underground springs in the area.

Decades ago, as secular ideas spread, some German scholars launched a campaign claiming Jewish traditions borrowed from Canaanite idol worship, specifically involving Baal, the rain deity. However, Jewish sages also spoke of "Baal fields," referring to lands blessed with rain!

At that time, many Israeli scholars, though not necessarily observant, still revered tradition. Among them was Meir Weiss, who wrote extensively on the topic. In one of his books, Weiss described this issue as laughable. He noted how even today Americans call their first weekday "Sunday," named for the sun, stemming from Roman pantheon worship—and yet, no one considers that idolatrous.

Weiss also shared an anecdote: about sixty years ago, Yigal Yadin, an IDF Chief of Staff turned archaeologist, met Yehuda Elitzur, a religious scholar. Yadin confidently insisted that the name Samson was tied to sun worship, implying our ancestors practiced idolatry. To which Elitzur humorously responded: Do you think Rabbi Sonnenfeld (a leader of Jerusalem's orthodox community) was named because of sun worship? After all, in Yiddish, Sonnenfeld means 'field of sun.'