Moses’s Farewell Speech (Sarah Zell Young)
Moses’s Farewell Speech through the Lens of Shmita
By Sarah Zell Young
Commonly translated as the “Sabbatical Year,” shmita means “release.” Of biblical origin, shmita is the final year of a cycle of seven years, when land is left to rest, debts are forgiven, and many other agricultural and economic adjustments are made to ensure the maintenance of a sustainable, just, and equitable society. While shmita is only one year in a seven-year cycle, its values present the core of the Torah's vision of a society that opposes the concentration of wealth and power and promotes justice, equity, and loving kindness for people and the earth. Below I look at one of the famous speeches from one of the most famous characters in the Hebrew Bible through the lens of shmita.
At the end of his life, Moses gives a speech to the people of Israel in the desert before they have reached the promised land. He addresses every Israelite, young and old, poor and rich. Moses includes everybody, both past and future generations, who are not present.
“It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and oath, but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today.” (Deut. 29:13-14).
Moses lays out two choices: light or darkness, blessings or curses, life or death, and urges the Israelites to choose life.
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil … I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you and your children may live.” (Deut. 30:15, 19)
What does Moses’s farewell speech teach us about shmita?
Moses speaks to everyone no matter their socioeconomic or societal status.
“You stand this day, all of you, before the LORD your God—your tribal heads, your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, your children, your wives, even the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water drawer—” (Deut. 29:9-10)
Shmita is the great equalizer. It asks us to forgive all debts and let the land rest so everyone can come and partake in its bounty, the same way all were invited to listen to Moses.
Moses speaks to generations past, present, and future. In the same way, shmita makes us think in broader time horizons in cycles of seven, the shmita cycle, and 50, the Yovel (Jubilee) cycle.
Near the end of Leviticus, there is a list of blessings and curses the Jewish people will experience based on their observance of Shabbat, shmita, and Yovel. So too, in shmita, we are given choices to observe the shmita and be blessed or to receive curses. This mirrors the choice Moses gave to the Jewish people.
Shmita is not only about the seventh year; shmita is a cycle preceded by six other years. It invites us to inventory ourselves, our choices, and our character traits in the previous cycle and envisions how we want to relate to ourselves and others in the coming seven years to co-create a better world.
Moses gives an example of this and lays out a path that is simultaneously concerning self, g-d, and community. You too can be inspired by Moses’s directive and by shmita values and continue to choose life throughout the shmita year and beyond.
###
Sarah Zell Young is Associate Director of National Programs for Hazon. She is also an award-winning visual artist. While living In Israel, she earned a certificate in educational and spiritual leadership at the Claudia Cohen Women’s Educators Institute and was an inaugural art fellow at Pardes and a Dorot Fellow. This article is part of our Winter 2021 collection, Shmita Now, guest-edited by Yaira Robinson.
