Freedom from Earthly Bondage

Rabbi Eliezer opened his discourse as follows:

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh year he shall be released free, for no payment. (Ex. 27:1)

Because every son of Israel has been circumcised, he has a holy mark, and he has rest on the sabbatical year. That year is given over to him, and he rests in that year.

Being the seventh year, it is parallel to the seventh sefira, which corresponds to malchut when counted from chesed.

This is also called the sabbatical year of the Land of Israel, and it certainly contains freedom [as a King is free to do as He pleases and stops all negative, opposing forces from causing harm]. It contains rest and, like Shabbat, the seventh day of the week, is a rest from everything - so the sabbatical year is a rest from all, rest for the spirit and the body.

Come and visualize; the letter hei [of the name Havayah] represents rest in both the spiritual and physical worlds. This is the reason there is a higher hei [the sefira of bina] and a lower hei [the second hei in the name Havayah,representing malchut]. The higher hei is rest in the higher worlds and the lower hei is rest in the lower world. The higher hei is the secret of the cycle of seven times seven years, while the lower hei represents the simple cycle of seven years called "Shmita", the Sabbatical Year.

The higher hei is called "Jubilee" - the 50^th year at the end of the cycle of seven times seven years. When we look deeply into these concepts we see that they are all one [because the Wisdom of the higher cycle of Jubilee shines within the lower cycle of the Sabbatical Year].

This is the reason it is written: "When you come into the Land, which I shall give you, then shall the Land keep a Shabbat to G-d." (Lev. 25:2) When the Land rests, the servants have to rest from agricultural labor. This is the reason that in the seventh year the servants are "released free, for no payment". The additional words "no payment" signify that the servant owes nothing more to his master. The lack of payment is the secret we have learned from the verse "We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing" (Num. 11:5), that is, without making the blessing over the food. In Egypt, since we were slaves, we didn't have the higher yoke of the mitzvot. Slaves are free of the yoke of the commandments of Heaven. This is like an ox that is yoked to the plow to work, and if it doesn't accept the yoke it doesn't do anything. This is the manner that a person has to take upon himself the yoke of the awe of Heaven as the first step, and afterwards he works as is required. If he doesn't accept this yoke as the first step then he simply can't do the work.

This is the meaning of the verse "Serve the Lord in awe, rejoice with trembling." (Psalms 2:11) The meaning of "awe" is what is written in the verse - "The beginning of wisdom is to be in awe of the Lord." (Psalms 111:10) This awe is required to understand the Kingdom and Rulership of Heaven. Hence the phrase "The Yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven" and that is the reason it is the beginning of all understanding. The proof of this is in the performance of the mitzvah of tefillin. First we put on the hand tefillin and only afterwards do we put the tefillin on the head. This symbolizes first acting and only then understanding. Through acting in the awe of Heaven we come to appreciate holiness. If the person doesn't do the action first, then the holiness can't dwell within him. Thus it is written, "With this [action] Aaron will come into the Sanctuary." (Lev. 16:3)

Translation and commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister

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