When Eating is a Mitzvah! |
In Parshat Behar, we learn about the Shmita (Sabbatical)
year. We are told that when the Jewish people arrive in the In Vayikra 25:6 it says “The Sabbath produce of the Land shall be yours to eat, for you, your slave and for your maidservant; and for your laborer and for your resident who dwell with you.” In Ramban’s (Nachmanides) addendum to Rambam’s (Maimonides) list of the 613 Mitzvot, Ramban counts eating the fruit of the Shmita year as a mitzvat aseh (positive commandment) even though Ramban does not. Ramban says that it is a mitzvah to eat these fruits and one who sells them transgresses. Living in What a great honor it is to live in the Land where we can simply fulfill a mitzvah by simply eating a piece of fruit! |