The Torah is sensitive to the fact that in an agrarian society, the Mitzvah of Shmita, which requires us to allow our fields to remain fallow for seven years could lead to a great deal of anxiety:  וְכִ֣י תֹאמְר֔וּ מַה־נֹּאכַ֤֖ל בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑ת הֵ֚ן לֹ֣א נִזְרָ֔ע וְלֹ֥א נֶאֱסֹ֖ף אֶת־תְּבוּאָתֵֽנוּ׃  And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?”  To this question, Hashem replies:  וְצִוִּ֤יתִי אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ לָכֶ֔ם בַּשָּׁנָ֖ה הַשִּׁשִּׁ֑ית וְעָשָׂת֙ אֶת־הַתְּבוּאָ֔ה לִשְׁלֹ֖שׁ הַשָּׁנִֽים׃  I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years.  The simple meaning of this response is that Hashem will miraculously cause the earth to produce an abundance of crops in the sixth year, so that there will be sufficient food for three years: The sixth, in which the produce of that year is eaten, the seventh, which is the Shmita year, and the eighth, when there will be a need for food between the time that the new seeds are planted in autumn and when they actually ripen in the spring.  Sefat Emet adds another dimension: The word “bracha-blessing” implies that the abundant growth of the crops will not be overtly miraculous, but will take place through seemingly natural means. The challenge is to maintain the correct perspective on nature itself:

 אך באמת צריכין בנ"י לידע כי הנסים והטבעים הכל אחד ובאמת אין נס גדול ונפלא כמו הטבע שהוא הגדול שבנפלאות המושגים לנו.

In truth, Bnei Yisrael must know that miracles and nature are all one, and there is no greater miracle and wonder than nature-the greatest wonder that we can attain.  True emunah is not to dismiss the ordinary and natural phenomena-it is to perceive the G-dliness within them.  This week we will celebrate 50 years since the Six Day War and the unification of Yerushalayim. For us-as religious Jews- this was not just a step in the realization of hopes and dreams-of return to the Har Habayit, and other holy sites-it was seen as a component of the Geulah-the redemption of the Jewish people. But how do we experience redemption when there is no Beit Hamikdash, no Kingdom of David-when life in our Holy City seems so ordinary?  The answer is given by the Navi Zechariah:

כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה שַׁ֚בְתִּי אֶל־צִיּ֔וֹן וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּת֣וֹךְ יְרֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְנִקְרְאָ֤ה יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ עִ֣יר־הָֽאֱמֶ֔ת וְהַר־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת הַ֥ר הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃

Thus said the LORD: I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Faithfulness, and the mount of the LORD of Hosts the Holy Mount.  כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת עֹ֤ד יֵֽשְׁבוּ֙ זְקֵנִ֣ים וּזְקֵנ֔וֹת בִּרְחֹב֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְאִ֧ישׁ מִשְׁעַנְתּ֛וֹ בְּיָד֖וֹ מֵרֹ֥ב יָמִֽים׃  Thus said the LORD of Hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.  וּרְחֹב֤וֹת הָעִיר֙ יִמָּ֣לְא֔וּ יְלָדִ֖ים וִֽילָד֑וֹת מְשַׂחֲקִ֖ים בִּרְחֹֽבֹתֶֽיהָ׃  And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares.  How will we know that Hashem has returned to Zion? When will Jerusalem be “Ir HaEemet” and “Har HaKodesh”? When we see old people sitting to rest in the streets while small children run and play. When Yerushalayim is a city in which normal life prevails, we will know it is a redeemed city.  Our emunah allows us to see the miraculous facet of nature- both in the crops that Hashem has given us in the Shemita year, and in the day to day life of modern Yerushalayim.