[Avodah] Mechallel Shemitah beFarhesia

[Arie Folger]

On Sunday, 13. May 2007 04:48:40 avodah-request at lists.aishdas.org wrote:
> A mechalel Shabbos befarhesia is equal to a mumar lekhol haTorah
> kulah. However, I do not know of a parallel for a mechallel shemitah
> befarhesia.
>
> Assuming this isn't just a gap in my knowledge, I was wondering why.

I assume that the unwritten argument is that those who speculated on ta'amei 
hamitzvot, the 'Hinukh, for instance, give the necessity to inculcate us with 
the fact the the world was created in six days, to the exclusion of qadmut, 
as a reason for shemittah. Thus, transgressing shemittah should be equated 
with transgressing Shabbat, i.e. qofer bema'aseh vereishit.

This perhaps shows the problem with relying too much on ta'amei hamitzvot. In 
the case of Shabbat, the Torah explicitly makes that link (Shemot 20:11), in 
the case of shemittah, I can't recall such a link.

KT,
-- 
Arie Folger
http://www.ariefolger.googlepages.com