In this week's Torah portion of Behar, we read, "Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest to the land, a Shabbat for the L-rd." The year of shemita is a "Shabbat for the L-rd." Commenting on this verse, Rashi explains that "Shabbat for the L-rd" means "for the sake of G-d." In other words, the practice of allowing the land to lie fallow in the seventh year must be done solely because it is a Divinely-ordained mitzva.

At first glance, allowing the land a periodical rest appears to be a natural means of rejuvenating the earth. It is a well-known fact that not cultivating the land for an entire year serves to enrich its soil and improve the quality of its future yield. Nonetheless, the Torah demands that we not keep shemita for the purpose of land improvement. The only reason we allow the land to rest is "for the sake of the L-rd," for G-d has so commanded us. When Jews refrain from working the land in the seventh year, they thereby attest to G-d's mastery over the world. Observing shemita demonstrates openly that our involvement in the pursuit of a livelihood has not caused us to forget the Creator.

"Six years you shall sow your field... and harvest your crops, but the seventh year shall be a sabbath of strict rest for the land: you must not sow your field... " (Lev. 25:1.)

"If you wonder, `What will we eat in the seventh year...,' I shall command My blessing upon you in the sixth year to yield crops for three years..." (Lev. 25:20-22) Parshat Behar begins with the mitzvah of shemitah - the Sabbatical year for the Land of Israel. These passages and principles may also be interpreted in context of the world at large and the redemption. The six years of working the land are analogous to the first six millennia of the world's existence when everything is prepared for the seventh millennium by means of Torah and mitzvot.

At present we are near the end of the sixth millennium, which raises an obvious question: Why should our generation, which is qualitatively so much lower than all our predecessors, merit to experience the Messianic redemption? What makes us more worthy than the spiritual giants of the past to usher in the "seventh year," the "day that is entirely Shabbat and repose for life everlasting"? In other words, "What will we eat in the seventh year...?" The Divine response is, "I shall command My blessing upon you in the sixth year." The stature and deeds of the earlier generations were indeed

much greater than those of now.

On the other hand, the present state of moral corruption throughout the world requires an unprecedented amount of fortitude and self-sacrifice to carry out even our minimal obligations. This lends our continued observance of Torah and mitzvot a quality and blessing superseding that of our predecessors, making us more than worthy to experience the redemption. Thus we shall merit the "crops for three years," i.e., of the three stages in the

This coming Tuesday we will celebrate the special day of Lag B'Omer. One of the events commemorated on Lag B'Omer is the suspension of a plague which had been afflicting the students of Rabbi Akiva. The plague, we are told, was caused by the students not displaying enough respect for one another. A disciple is one who follows in the ways of his teacher. Is it possible that disciples of one whose entire life was consumed by the axiom, "Love your fellow as yourself" -- so much so that this teaching is synonymous with the name "Rabbi Akiva "-- did not display enough respect for each other?

An amazing insight of the Rebbe on this question is as follows: Each of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students was so infused with love for his fellow that this love was all-consuming. He was not able to give his colleague "space." He loved his friend so much that he wanted to not only share his insights, opinions and interpretations but to convince his peer of their validity until the peer adopted them as his own.

Remember, we're not talking about a person who is opinionated, arrogant, narcissistic, or condescending. We are talking about someone who loves the other person so much that he wants the other person to share his Truth (with a capital "t"). And this is where the hint of a suggestion of a lack of respect comes in. Respect includes giving another person space. It means allowing for divergent opinions. It acknowledges that G-d created every person differently for a reason. Yes, we can learn to harmonize, modify, accommodate, adapt, perfect. But we cannot expect to become the same, otherwise G-d would have created us that way.

Faucets with strainer: Faucets with screen filters (aerators) screwed at the opening are usually permitted to be used in most cities because the water is drinkable without any filtering. However, in an area where the water contains particles and impurities that must be filtered out to make it drinkable, using the faucet is questionable.