"You must read from this Torah before all Israel" (Deut. 31:11)

The Sabbatical Year teaches us three primary lessons:

  • G‑d is master over us; this is expressed by His command that we refrain from certain types of work during the Sabbatical Year.
  • G‑d is master over nature; this is expressed by His command that the earth rest during the Sabbatical Year.
  • G‑d is master over our possessions; this is expressed by His command that the produce of the Sabbatical Year, even if it grows on our property, be ownerless and available to all equally.

The septennial assembly ceremony at the beginning of the following year is meant to carry the lessons from the Sabbatical Year into our mundane lives. The passages that the king reads during this ceremony reflect these specific lessons:

The septennial assembly ceremony...is meant to carry the lessons from the Sabbatical Year into our mundane lives...
  • The beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy serves as an introduction to the following passages, exhorting the listeners to internalize them properly.
  • The first paragraph of the Shema expresses G‑d’s mastery over us, which frees us from the world’s materiality, enabling us to devote ourselves to Him, His Torah, and His commandments.
  • The second paragraph of the Shema expresses G‑d’s mastery over nature, which He manipulates in accordance with our behavior (rewarding us with rain in the proper time if we fulfill His commandments, etc.), teaching us that our livelihood depends primarily on His blessing, and only secondarily on our own efforts.
  • The passages about tithes express G‑d’s mastery over our wealth; as its owner, He commands us to give part of it to the poor.
  • The passages containing the blessings and curses express our covenantal bond with G‑d, elevating the previous three notions from the components of a relationship between two entities (us and G‑d) to expressions of our inseparable oneness with G‑d.
  • Concluding with the passage about the king (and having these passages read by the king) emphasizes how we must subjugate ourselves and all aspects of our lives to G‑d, for the purpose of the king is to inspire and imbue us, his subjects, with true devotion to G‑d.

Adapted from Likutei Sichot, vol. 24. pp. 204-206
© 2001 Chabad of California/www.LAchumash.org