An old adage from Jewish life in the Diaspora when Jews do something questionable, is ‘what will the goyim think’? This worry, however, is not merely a product of the present exile, but goes right back to the dawn of Jewish history. In this week’s Parshah, we find that the shepherds of Abraham and his nephew Lot, have an argument over grazing rights. The description of this intra-Jewish squabble is followed by the seemingly irrelevant statement that ‘the Canaanite and the Pezarite were then in the land. Yet on the basis of the above adage, we can understand the Torah’s point. The Jewish family are having an internecine argument, while the surrounding peoples look on. What must they think of the adherents of this new monotheistic ideology, when its adherents cannot even get on among themselves. Jewish internal warfare thus causes a profanation of G-d’s name, causing the true message of Abraham to be lost. It is thus to be greatly regretted that the important mitzvah of Shemitah, or the sabbatical year, has caused a virtual civil war to break out in Israel and indeed throughout the Jewish world. While each side of the argument certainly has merit, the manner in which the debate is being carried on is a disgrace. Rather, than everyone working together to ensure the adherents of each opinion can observe this Shemitah year in the manner they wish, we have instead, each group trying to impose, by force, their opinion on the rest of society. The result is an unholy mess, a profanation of G-d’s name and the complete loss of the true meaning of Shemitah, in a squabble over its observance. This is a double tragedy, as the idea of the sabbatical year has an important message for the whole world. The notion of a basic respect for nature contained in the concept of non-exploitation of the earth for a year, is vital and relevant to modern society. The notion of the earth and its resources belonging to everyone and the remission of debts at the end of the year, sketches a solution to many of the challenges facing our world today. So in this matter, ‘what the goyim think’ should be of great importance. Yet the message of Abraham is lost because of the squabbling among his children. How can we be a light to the nations if that light is obscured by the smoke of fighting among ourselves?!

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