Rav Hirsch: Shevat II

On the Jewish field, no seed ripens for the owner alone, no Jewish tree blossoms for the proprietor alone. How to achieve spiritual ends with human means, how to ennoble and dedicate natural enjoyments themselves in a way worthy of human beings – this lesson is taught to the Jewish landowner with every grain of corn, every bit of produce that he obtains from his harvest.

It is for the spirit, for the elevated life of contemplation, for the broadest love of humanity, that everything buds and blossoms and ripens on Jewish soil.

At every stage of man’s labor in the conquest of nature, and most of all where possessions and enjoyment, and with them selfish and sensuous desires, those enemies of man’s divine mission, begin to come into play, there the holy and sanctifying word of God affixes its label with some instructive lesson.