Why the Seventh Is Beloved - From Enoch to David to Tishrei

"And the sabbath of the land shall be [food for you]" (Leviticus 25:6) — that there shall be one of rest for every seven, for on account of the sabbatical [release] the earth brings forth seeds and all good things, and it belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Psalms 24:1). Come and see that every seventh is beloved before the Holy One, blessed be He: among generations, among the patriarchs, among sons, among the firmaments, among the lands, among years, among months, and among days. Among generations: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch — and of them all He chose none but Enoch, as it is said, "And Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:24). Among the patriarchs [forebears]: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, [Levi], and Kohath, Amram, and Moses — and of them all none was chosen to speak with Him mouth to mouth like Moses, as it is said, "With him I speak mouth to mouth" (Numbers 12:8). Among the sons that Jesse had: "And Jesse begot his firstborn Eliab," and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third, Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh (1 Chronicles 2:13-15). Among the firmaments: Raki'a (firmament), Shamayim (heavens), Sheḥakim, Zevul, Ma'on, Makhon, Aravot — and of them all He chose Aravot, as it is said, "Extol Him who rides upon the heavens (aravot), whose name is Yah" (Psalms 68:5). Among the lands: Eretz, Adamah, Arka, Ḥaravah, Yabashah, Neshiyah, Tevel — and of them all He chose none but Tevel, as it is said, "And He shall judge the world (tevel) in righteousness" (Psalms 9:9). Among years: "Six years you shall sow your land, but the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow" (Exodus 23:11). Among months: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei — and of them all He chose Tishrei, which is the seventh month, as it is said, "And in the seventh month, on the first of the month" (Leviticus 23:24), and it is for the shofar-blast and for atonement and for rejoicing. Among days: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:9-10). "When you come into the land which I give you" (Leviticus 25:2) — this is what Scripture says, "What profit has a man of all his labor wherein he labors under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:3) — and there is a treasure above the heavens; yet it says "under the sun." Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Come and see the goodness of the Holy One, blessed be He, that creatures sleep upon their beds, and the Name causes the winds to return, and raises clouds, and brings down rains, and makes the dews to fly, and grows plants, and fattens fruits — and you give Him nothing but the omer. Rabbi Levi said: Suppose you labored, and plowed, and sowed, and weeded, and pruned, and bound sheaves, and threshed, and made it a heap — if the Holy One, blessed be He, does not bring forth a little wind to winnow it, from what would you live? You do not even give Him the wage of the wind. See: when the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to Israel, He gives a thing without measure, but when He asks of them, He asks only a little of the little. Do you not see that when He gave them in Egypt a thing that has no measure — He gave them money and garments and ornaments and gold in abundance, and flocks and herds — yet when He asked of them, He asked only the half-shekel; and of the flock He asked only "the one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second lamb you shall offer at dusk" (Exodus 29:39). He gave them fowl according to His power, as it is said, "And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quails" (Numbers 11:31), and when He sought of them, He sought only according to their power, "two turtledoves or two young pigeons" (Leviticus 5:7). And He gave light according to His power, as it is said, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud" (Exodus 13:21), and when He sought of them, He sought according to their power, as it is said, "And they shall take to you pure olive oil" (Exodus 27:20). When He gave them the manna, He gave according to His power, and when He asked of them, according to their power, as it is said, "And put there a full omer of manna" (Exodus 16:33). When He gave them produce according to His power, as it is said, "And you shall eat old store long kept, and you shall bring forth the old because of the new" (Leviticus 26:10), and when He asked of them according to their power, as it is said, "And you shall reap its harvest and bring the omer of the first of your harvest to the priest" (Leviticus 23:10).