V'haysa shabas ha'aretz lachem l'ochlah..
"And the resting of the land shall be for you for food.."

The Mai Hashiloach comments on this passsuk that through the mitzvah of Shemitah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu teaches us how Am Yisrael's existence is supernatural.  In the natural order of things, a person toils, and according to his efforts, he sees desired results.  This is the way of the world, this is the ways of the nations of the world.
It is not so with Am Yisrael.  The sustenance of Am Yisrael is not through free unchecked action and efforts.  THE BASIC SUSTENANCE of Am Yisrael is through TZIMTZUM, that is the restraint and self control with which they act in the Shemitah year by not working the land, on Shabbos by  refraining from doing melachah, that is the 39 types of work forbidden on Shabbos.  When we add on to the Shabbos from Erev Shabbos, this also brings great bracha.  In contrast to the nations of the world who receive their sustenance through their human endeavour, the bracha comes to Am Yisrael via the Tzimtzum or restraint with which we act.

Is there not a rule, one might ask, that bracha is contingent on our acting and not on our sitting idle?  Is this not a contradiction to what was just stated above?

Let us explain.

Firstly, there is the rule of Hishtadlus, that is we are required in many cases to make some sort of effort in order that we see results.  The results, however, have nothing to do with our efforts.  Man does not succeed because of his brain power,  nor through his the power of his muscles or fists or through any other type human talent or strength.  Success and blessing come from Above.

The Mai Hashloach is  stressing a different aspect of human functioning. .
We said that the restraint we show on Shabbos and on Shemitah is a direct cause of blessing.
Let us elaborate.
There is an aspect of Shabbos in every Mitzvah that is done. (see Parashas Vayakhel).  And every act that we do has the potential to be a mitzvah.  It follows, then, that there is a certain type of restraint possible in every single mitzvah-act, and that this can be a source of great bracha.  What is this??

It is the restraint of the nefesh habehemis, the vital soul of man.
This rule manifests itself differently in every person and constantly appears in different guises.

For the very ambitious person who is driven to occupy himself heavily for example, in business, and he is motivated by appetite for wealth and power, self control means holding himself back, and seeing that he seeks only earn what is necessary for his and his family's true needs, or for Tzedakah, or for supporting Torah.

For parents, self control can mean to resist the urge to over-protect their offspring  or to excessively intervene in their child's development.

And obviously, it is self-control is the key to eating properly, healthfully, l'shaim shamayim.

Restraint, in our context, however, does not always defined by holding back.  Let us examine the following:

In Megillas Rus, we find Naomi trying to dissuade Rus from following her to Eretz Yisrael, from undergoing Gairus, conversion.  At a certain point she stops:
Vateireh ki misametzes hee laleches itah, batechdal l'daber eilehah.
And she [Naomi] saw that she [Rus] was exerting herself to go with her, and she [Naomi] stopped talking to her.

The Gaon mi'Vilnah teaches that the Yetzer HaRah, the evil inclination does not always succeed in persuading a person to commit an aveirah, a transgression.  If unsuccessful, it will try to act under the disguise of a Mitzvah.  How, then, can a person discern whether the act he is about to perform is sincerely  motivated or a plan of his Yetzer HaRah, evil inclination, in disguise?

How can I tell if I am going to a wedding in order to fulfil a mitzvah, or rather to socialize?

Am I disciplining my child out of love and concern or chas veshalom out of anger and impatience?

Am I planning a Tzedakah event for idealistic reasons or in order to get exposure and limelight?

etc..

There is a way to check.  If a person finds himself automatically running to do the deed with his heartbeat increased, his hands and feet automatically jumping to go, the words jumping out of his mouth, and his adrenaline level up, he should stop and check himself.  For the person's physical body was created from earth and only becomes excited by the prospect of earthly and physical benefit and pleasure.

If, however, the person sets out to do something and finds that he has to exert himself and to make an effort, this is a good, sure sign that his motivation is pure.  The physical opposition of his body is simply a sign that the Yetzer Harah is trying to intercept, for he has decided to do something good, for the right reasons..

Rus was younger than Naomi.  She easily, effortlessly could have overtaken the pace of her elderly companion Naomi.  The fact that she had to exert herself to continue on the journey to Eretz Yisrael was the best sign that her motivation for wanting to become a Geras Tzedek was  altruistic and pure. She was seeking to come under the wings of the Shechina at whatever cost, and nothing else.  At that point, Naomi stopped trying to dissuade Rus, and became silent.

Tzimtzum, thus, is not always holding oneself back from whatever act; be it running to the wrong places, eating the wrong foods, speaking inappropriately, gazing where one should not, or any other out of place actions.

Tzimtzum, in some situations, can mean suppressing the urge not to act, the urge to look away, to walk away, to sit back, to sleep another hour,  to procrastinate...

So let us not become confused.  This rule of Am Yisrael, Tzimtzum , and bracha sometimes calls for passivity, and sometimes for non passivity, for clarification and elevating the motivation of our actions and functioning, all depending on the situation, on what the nefesh habehemis is trying to dictate to us, and what response is called for.

We see this same idea expressed in the passuk in Mishlei:
..v'es tznuim chochmah
and with the modest, is wisdom.

Why is wisdom associated with modesty?  Are there no wise but immodest persons to be found?
Shlomo HaMelech is communicating to us a principle basic to the acquisition and retention of the great gift of wisdom.  The more we strive not to allow expression of our egos, the more capable we make ourselves of acquiring wisdom.  This is very foreign to contemporary ideas that circulate and chas veshalom attempt to infiltrate our value system.  Today, the urge is not to conceal but as much as possible to reveal, to show off, to flaunt and to impress others with whatever resources, acquisitions or accomplishments one has.  Alas!  The rule is so simple, if only we would muster the courage to implement it.  The more one reveals, chas veshalom, the more is concealed, the more the allusive true goal remains.  The more we conceal and restrain egotistical expression of the nefesh habehemis, the more we arm ourselves with the capacity of revealing wisdom and all forms of bracha.

Am Yisrael is sustained in a supernatural manner, lemala min hatevah, through Shmitah, through Shabbos, and through the Shabbos that is to be found in every single act that we do.

KI li'yeshusacha kivinu kol hayom.
May HaKadosh Baruch Hu open our eyes and reveal to us His Torah, for we wait for this every day, all day long.
 
 

A gutten Erev Shabbos
from Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh