Here we are in the Jewish new year 5782. This is also a year in which the septennial Shmita, or sabbatical year, the lying fallow, of the agricultural land in Israel, occurs. For a modern and comprehensive explanation of the meaning of Shmita, I would like to suggest to my readers here beautiful article by Kolòt.
Being passionate about numerology and always keen on trying to interpret traditional concepts in order to possibly expand their meaning and enrich my life here and now, I, instead, have ventured into this parallelism between myself and the productive land, an element that I have loved so much since I was a child, and which still amazes me when I watch one of my plants grow.
I was born on the 5th of Tevet 5725 of the Jewish calendar. From there, counting 7-year cycles, in which the seventh is a sabbatical, I find that the 5th of Tevet 5781, or 20 December 2020, corresponds to my eighth year of rest. My whole creative, working life has taken place away from my Modena roots. I surely have had short periods of inactivity, but life in Milan, as if in a diaspora, has always inspired me to continuously search for new resources, knowledge, as in a formidable vortex of action, both in work and in human relations.
Coming to live in Modena, five years ago, the backlash was strong: imagine a plant that has grown in hydroponics system, being transplanted into the soil after a long time. Previously, the nourishment was a substrate created by experts, which provided the plant with almost all the natural elements it needed. Now the roots are in direct contact with a natural, varied terrain, composed of many substances, beneficial or harmful, and the plant has to acclimatise and obtain the sustenance it needs. But above all, the earth works continuously to give each one its own.
What a coincidence that it was in December 2020 that I felt the need to stop, because almost everything activity I was doing was strenuous and exhausting. I did not listen to this. However, where our will and intentionality will not do, our soul and mind will, sending signals to the body. Indeed, in June 2021 my body stopped and I was forced to rest. (here you can also read a further interpretation by Shmita)
Thus I savoured Rosh Hashanah with particular joy, celebrating the divine Creation in a vision truly inspired by the concept of Shmita: it is healthy, right, respectful of ourselves, our family and our "ground" to rest now and then, without the constant claim of results, without feeling all-powerful. Living "in diaspora" I had an occasional and indirect perception of the damaging elements of my native soil: physical, mental and emotional fatigue taken to extremes is destructive and causes social injustice. Judaism made me also appreciate how, to be a value that makes us live better, these breaks must be regular, holy, that is why they are "commanded" like Shabbat and Shemitah and the jubilees of freedom. Since taking a step back I feel I have given more space and listened to the people dearest to me, and I can now see and appreciate the nourishing benefits of this land.
At Sukkot, the festival of the Booths (here I am a guest in the Sukkah of the Jewish Community of Modena - photo Ariel J Friedlander), oh if I finally, totally, felt a sense of fragility! 
That is, not to take security for granted, especially material security, but... life is never just a materialistic matter, isn't it? and at the same time to trust that Hashem trusts me and, thanks to the people I love, grants me possibilities. During Sukkot I also realised that when I was young I should have believed less in the judgement of others and more in my own instinct, my passions and abilities that are my reason to be here and which, in my small way, can certainly provide me with material stability.
Back to my own sabbatical year, it is supposed to end on the 9th December 2021, the day before my next secular birthday. I still have some way to go to fully recover, especially in terms of Ayurvedic Bodywork, but my Shiatsu therapist is by my side!
I pray for 5782 to be a good year, and that we all will be able to protect natural resources, as it is never too late to reverse a direction and start sowing good seeds in our minds.