Special Declaration

There was a special declaration made twice during the seven year Shmitta cycle. It was done on Pesach on the fourth and seventh year.
This was known as Viduy Ma’asrot, the confession of the tithes. Every Jew needed to make this confession after the third and sixth year, because it was only at that point, that all the tithes were separated. This was because the Ma’aser Ani, designated for the poor, was separated during year three and six.
It was quite a statement to stand before Hashem and say, לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי, “I have not transgressed your commandments, and I have not forgotten.”
This is quite a statement because the details of Terumot and Maasrot are many. For example, part of the declaration states that “I did not from these while I was an Onen.” An “Onen” is one who is exempt from doing Mitzvot because he is preoccupied with burying his loved ones. He may not eat Maaser Sheni in this state, but a Kohein can eat Bikkurim in this state.
It is quite a statement to declare emphatically that he has not transgressed any of Hashem’s commandments and he has not forgotten.
This verse is a kind of wake up call to the Jewish people everywhere. There has never been a time where Torah studies are as available as they are today. The internet is filled with Torah classes if one only would seek them out. Despite the mistakes that AI sometimes make, a great deal of information can be gleaned through it.
The ignorance of the majority of the fifteen million Jews of the world is astounding. Jews must return to become “the people of the book.” It is only after intense Torah study and observance that one will be able to declare that “he has not transgressed and he has not forgotten.”