Perhaps we can take the Chasam Sofer’s idea one step further. Which fool, we might similarly wonder, would listen to a command that might lead to his starvation, based solely on a vague promise? Only a person who has seen with his own eyes how the omnipotent Guarantor of that promise is none other than the Creator Himself; only the members of the Jewish Nation.
Indeed, from the dawn of the very first Shmittah to the arrival of Shmittah 5782, the unshakeable faith of of K’lal Yisrael has not deviated by even one iota from the time of Ma’amad Har Sinai itself!
Just as the Shabbos day brings with it the blessing of success through the six weekdays, the year of Shmittah brings the blessing of success to the other six years for those who observe its mitzvos. This was a fundamental principle of the people’s existence in Eretz Yisrael. Their ability to survive in the land, to till it and harvest its bounty, is inextricably bound to their ceasing all such activity during the seventh year. Because the nation failed to observe Shmittah properly, they were subsequently exiled from the Land.
Harav Meir Dan Plotzky, Kli Chemdah, Parashas Behar 25:1
What can possibly be the connection between Shmittah and Har Sinai? Why does the Torah single out Shmittah from among all other mitzvos as being given to Moshe at Har Sinai?
The answers offered are many. But our starting point must be the answer given by Chazal in Toras Kohanim. The Torah seeks to teach us that just like the Mitzvah of Shmittah was given with all its myriad details clearly enumerated at Har Sinai, so too were all the other mitzvos given at Har Sinai. They were relayed to K’lal Yisrael in a clear and direct manner - not merely in vague or general terms.
And yet, while this answer is readily understandable, an essential question still remains: Why does the Torah specifically choose Shmittah to impart this significant message? It could have theoretically used any other mitzvah to emphasize the same point, simply by listing the details and saying “B’Har Sinai?”
The Chasam Sofer offers an illuminating explanation. In using Shmittah to bolster our faith in Ma’aamad Har Sinai, the Torah is alluding to a clear proof of Torah Min Hashamayim from the words of Moshe Rabbeinu, in response to the rhetorical question of “Vechi Tomru Mah Nochal Ba’Shana Ha’Shviis.” His response is swift. “Don’t worry about the seventh year,” says Moshe in the name of Hashem, “because I will command My blessing in the sixth year, and it will produce grain for three years.”
Let us think for a moment.
“Which fool would jeopardize the success of an entire religion he created by offering a promise he cannot possibly fulfill?” asks the Chasam Sofer incredulously. “After just one Shmittah passes, the entire world would realize he’s a sham, having failed to deliver on his promise and causing his constituents to starve based on this bizarre command. It is only because He who controls heaven and earth gave us the Torah, that issuing such a promise makes perfect and absolute sense.”
