I imagine we have all felt the feeling, after a long day of work, school, or caring for others or ourselves, of needing to be prone. The first moment of contact with your bed, couch, or favorite chair feels magical. We need rest. But did you know that not only are we commanded to keep a day of rest for ourselves, but we also are commanded to let our land rest. This week, in B’har-B’chukotai, we read the instruction of Shmitah. Every seven years the Torah forbids planting fields and working the land. Just like people, the land needs to rest. For an agrarian society, this was an onerous restriction. Yet, it was essential.
What in our society today could use a periodic rest? What in your life could use a rest? How will you rest this Shabbat?