Parshat Behar: What Shemittah Teaches Us About Letting Go

Parshat Behar teaches a deep and comforting lesson about trust, surrender, and what it truly means to rely on Hashem.

The parsha opens with the mitzvah of shemittah, the sabbatical year during which the land rests. Later, the Torah connects this idea to Shabbat:

“You shall keep My Sabbaths and revere My Sanctuary; I am Hashem.”

Rashi explains the words “I am Hashem” to mean: faithful to reward. In other words, our lives are ultimately in Hashem’s hands.

There is something deeply powerful about shemittah. The land itself pauses. It releases, breathes, and lets go. And through that release comes blessing.

When Life Feels Out of Control

Many women know the feeling of trying to hold everything together, only to discover how little is actually under their control.

You raise children with beautiful values, and suddenly one of them speaks disrespectfully or chooses a path completely different from the one you hoped for. You carefully plan out your day, determined to accomplish everything, and then unexpected situations overturn all your plans.

These moments can bring frustration, pain, disappointment, and sometimes even anger.

But perhaps part of the struggle comes from believing we were ever fully in control to begin with.

The Torah teaches that true strength is not found in controlling everything. Sometimes it is found in learning how to let go.

The Soul’s Version of Shemittah

Shemittah is not only about farmland.

On a deeper level, shemittah teaches the soul how to release what it cannot carry forever.

Just as the earth rests and lets go, a person must sometimes loosen their grip on worry, pressure, fear, and the constant need to manage every outcome.

The Torah teaches us to place things back into the hands of the Creator.

That does not mean giving up responsibility. It means understanding that not everything depends solely on us.

Especially during the week of Yesod in Sefirat HaOmer, a time connected to foundations and inner strength, we are reminded that real stability often comes through patience, trust, and steady faith even while waiting.

The Highest Level of Faith

The Netivot Shalom explains that the mitzvah of shemittah represents one of the highest expressions of emunah.

A farmer leaves his field untouched for an entire year, despite not knowing how he will provide for his family. The ability to release control in that way reflects profound trust in Hashem.

When a person lets go, they are essentially saying:

“This does not come from me alone. Everything ultimately comes from Hashem.”

Shabbat as a Mini Shemittah

The Torah compares shemittah to Shabbat. Rashi explains that just as Shabbat reminds us that Hashem created the world, shemittah carries the same message on a larger scale.

Shabbat is like a weekly shemittah.

For one day, we step away from work, productivity, pressure, and control. We stop chasing, fixing, producing, and striving. In that pause, we reconnect to the truth that the world continues because Hashem sustains it, not because we are endlessly pushing ourselves.

And from that rest comes blessing.

As the prophet Yeshayahu says:

“Then you shall delight yourself in Hashem.”

Trust Creates Abundance

Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk brings a teaching from his brother, Rabbi Zusha, that offers a remarkable perspective on trust and abundance.

Hashem created channels of blessing and abundance that constantly flow into the world. But when a person lives with fear and a lack of trust, they spiritually block those channels.

Rabbi Zusha taught that trust in Hashem allows blessing to continue flowing freely and steadily into a person’s life.

He himself lived with this kind of simplicity and surrender, fully believing that everything came from Hashem.

Learning to Walk With Trust

These parshiyot prepare us for Sefer Bamidbar, the Torah’s book of journeys.

Life itself is a journey of learning how to walk with faith. Halacha is called “walking” because spiritual growth happens step by step, through movement, trust, and daily choices.

Sometimes the deepest spiritual growth comes not through gripping tighter, but through loosening our hold and allowing ourselves to be led.

When It Feels Hard to Let Go

Letting go is not easy.

But when life feels overwhelming, the Torah reminds us to lift our eyes upward and remember where our help truly comes from.

Sometimes the most healing thing a person can do is step outside, speak honestly to Hashem, and pray simply:

“Give me the courage to change what I can, the humility to accept what I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Shemittah teaches us that release is not weakness.

Sometimes, letting go is itself an act of faith.