Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

151
בלה תובשחמ
on Hashem for sustenance in the desert, so too they would never be able to rely
on themselves even when they would be in their own land, each man under his
vine and under his fig.
To encourage us, Hashem addresses our concerns for the “reality” of such an
economic system (25:18-23). Such a system would naturally fall apart, but
bitachon in Hashem is the great correction for the gaps in this system. If you
“shall perform my decrees, and observe my ordinances and perform them; then
you will live securely in the land. The land will give its fruit and you will eat your
fill … And if you will say; ‘what will we eat in the seventh year? Behold we will
not sow and gather our crops!’ I will ordain my blessing for you in the sixth year
and it will yield a crop sufficient for a three year period…” The system, Hashem
says, works when we work within the rules of the system. It’s not capitalism,
socialism or communism. But because of Hashem’s intervention the system will
succeed. And the great advantage in this is, “I will be for you a G-d” (25:38).
We will develop a close relationship with Hashem and see that He is constantly
involved in our lives.
One possible solution to bypass Hashem’s system is to simply leave Eretz Yisrael.
In chutz la-aretz there are no shemitos or yovelos. There are gentiles everywhere.
We could charge interest, inflate prices and sell lands and houses without any
restrictions. Instead of relying on Hashem we could be successful directly in
proportion to our labor. But Rashi (25:38) says, “whoever lives in Eretz Yisrael I
am a G-d for him, and whoever leaves is like an idol worshipper.” At first glance this
comment seems completely out of context. There is no place in the pesukim here
that discusses leaving Eretz Yisrael. Furthermore, the Gemara in Kesuvos (110b)
says that whoever lives in chutz la-aretz is like an idol worshipper, not whoever
leaves Eretz Yisrael. According to the analysis that was presented here, Rashi is
showing that it might be a natural conclusion that we should want to leave Eretz
Yisrael because of the difficulty of the economic system. But choosing to bypass
the system for an alternative system by leaving the land and ultimately relying on
ourselves is akin to idol worship. We would be rejecting an opportunity to come
close to Hashem in favor of wealth. (See Rav Elchanan in Kovetz Ma’amarim
where he writes that relying on the various systems, communism, socialism,
liberalism etc., is the modern day equivalent of idol worship).