Do you trust me? I would understand if you may be a little hesitant because, honestly, how well do you know me?

In America, the phrase “In God we trust” is written on the currency. It is also hung up on the walls of the court houses. What does it mean to trust in someone? Can we really put our faith in anyone other than ourselves?

We like to think of ourselves as independent, but the truth is that we are dependent upon so many different people and appliances. We rely on our doctors to diagnose our health issues, we rely on our phones to keep us connected and we rely on our cars to take us to our destinations. Does this mean we trust them?

In this week's parashah, we read about the mitzvah of shmittah. It always amazes me to see how there are people, living in Israel, in this day and age, who truly trust in Hashem. Their trust is so strong that they are willing to leave their land fallow and their livelihood at risk for a whole year. These people don’t just say “we trust”, they live with that trust every single day as they watch their crops wither.

For those of us living outside Israel, we cannot show that level of faith on such a grand scale but we can demonstrate our belief in Hashem by refraining from work one day a week, on Shabbat.

When we take a break from business, turn off our phones and lean back on Hashem’s “shoulders”, we remind ourselves that we cannot control everything. We try our best to make ends meet and to earn a living all week, but we recognise that it is not all in our hands.

Our rabbis say that Shabbat is the source of blessings. All the work of the week is blessed by Hashem, when we stop and show that we know Hashem holds the key to our success.

Have you ever played a game where a person leans back and trusts that the person behind will catch them? It can be scary to let go, but the more one practises, the easier it becomes.

Although it is hard to stop working on Shabbat and trust that Hashem will provide, taking steps towards letting go can help us to fall into the safe and secure hands of our Creator who gave us Shabbat with love.