Shemittah Year and Divine Promises: How the Torah Predicted Miracles of Harvest and Protection

Every seven years, the Torah commands that the land of Israel rest during the Shemittah (Sabbatical) year. In this seventh year, the fields are to be left fallow — no planting, pruning, or harvesting for profit, except for minimal work necessary to prevent permanent damage.

God promises those who observe Shemittah, that in the sixth year, the land will yield a threefold harvest — enough to sustain the people for the sixth year itself, the seventh year when the land lies fallow, and the eighth year when planting resumes but crops are not yet ready.

As the Torah states: “The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land which I give you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its crop. But in the seventh year the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. The aftergrowth of your harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your untrimmed vines you shall not gather; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land… And if you ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year, if we do not sow and gather our crops?’ I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield a crop sufficient for three years” (Vayikra 25:1–21).

This is a remarkable claim. If someone tried to invent a book and claim it came from God, would they dare include such a prophecy? All it would take is for the promise of a triple harvest to fail once, and the entire claim would collapse. Only the One who controls creation and nature could confidently declare such a guarantee.

Unlike other religions, which often confine promises to the afterlife — beyond human verification, the Torah makes bold promises within this world, testable in real time.

Modern-Day Farmers and Miracles of Shemittah

Today, because not all of Israel is settled by the Jewish people and according to most rabbinic authorities the Shemittah is not biblically binding, the original Torah promise is not considered applicable. Even so, countless testimonies from farmers who observe Shemittah speak of extraordinary providence and miracles.

Rabbi David Kleiner collected these accounts in his book “Vetziviti Et Birchati” (I Will Command My Blessing), documenting modern-day farmers who witnessed yields and protections far beyond natural expectation during the Shemittah year.

A Divine Security Guarantee

The Torah also contains other commandments accompanied by promises no human would make.

One striking example is the commandment of pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year — on Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. At these times, all the men of Israel were required to leave their homes and ascend to Jerusalem for several days. Naturally, this left their homes and land vulnerable to enemies and thieves.

Yet the Torah explicitly promises that no nation will threaten or invade during these festivals, and no one will covet or steal the property left behind: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord, the God of Israel… No man shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year” (Shemot 34:23–24).

The sages explain that not only did foreign armies refrain from attacking, but thieves and burglars also never robbed the homes of those who went up to Jerusalem.

Could any human author have written such a sweeping promise, one that could be disproven the very first time an enemy invaded or a thief broke into an empty house? Only the One who rules the world could give such a guarantee — and for centuries, as long as the Temple stood, the promise held true.