וְשָׁבְתָׁה הָׁאָׁרֶץ שַׁבָׁת לַׁה‘ (parshas Behar, Vayikra 25:5). An organization Zo Artzeinu has planted over 60,000 fruit trees in Yitzhar, which overlooks the city of Shechem where Yosef Hatzadik is buried. The man who runs these fields is Ariel ben Sheitreet, and he told the following story to Zo Artzeinu.
"7 years ago, before Shmittah began, I informed the wine experts – who were helping me harvest the grapes and produce grape juice and wine – that I would not be touching my fields during Shmittah. They told me that this was a death sentence to my young, vineyard. They said that since my vineyard was relatively new, it had to be pruned and well-cared for throughout the year and if not, the young grapevines would simply die. I answered them that I believed in Hashem who promised the vines would be safe and that they would produce 3 times as much produce in the year prior to Shmittah.
“These guys had a good laugh and said that it simply wasn't possible. Well, here's what happened. Normally, my vineyard produces 4 tons of grapes each year. In the year prior to Shmittah – with the exact same work on my part – my vineyard produced 14.5 tons of grapes! That is actually even more than 3 times the amount.
“I immediately called the wine experts who told me that while they were very impressed, these grapes were undoubtedly of low quality and that I would have to throw them out. Once again, I did not listen to them and, instead of throwing them out, I made them into wine. What was the result? This wine won 1st place and was awarded the gold medal in Israel's national wine competition! By the way, during the entire year of Shmittah I sat and learned in Kollel in the "Od Yosef Chai" Yeshiva of Yitzhar. My vineyard continues to thrive! I am looking forward to this coming Shmittah when I will, once again, sit and study – with no worries at all about my field.”
Special thanks to Zo Artzeinu for the story
