Shemitta - lands

Found 9 Search results

  1. Shemitta of Loans and Shemitta of the Land

    Rabbi Elchanan Samet

    What is the relationship between the two commandments of Shemitta - allowing the lands rest and the settling of debt? Does settling debt necessarily mean an annulment, or merely a postponement?

  2. You Shall Dwell in the Land in Security

    Rabbi Yair Kahn

    The Torah begins the parsha with the laws of Shmitta, noting that they were given at Har Sinai. This prompts the commentators to ask the famous question: “Mah inyan shemitta etzel Har Sinai?” Why is shemitta found alongside Har Sinai? By examining the nature of the laws of shemitta and yovel, we can understand that they describe a religious ideal of human faith reciprocated by divine providence. They contain a promise of a relationship between God and Am Yisrael. Shemitta and yovel are more than just commandments – they are a context for attaining the blessings of the covenant of Sinai. 

  3. You Shall Dwell in the Land in Security (Audio)

    Rabbi Yair Kahn | 11 minutes

    The Torah begins the parsha with the laws of Shmitta, noting that they were given at Har Sinai. This prompts the commentators to ask the famous question: “Mah inyan shemitta etzel Har Sinai?” Why is shemitta found alongside Har Sinai? By examining the nature of the laws of shemitta and yovel, we can understand that they describe a religious ideal of human faith reciprocated by divine providence. They contain a promise of a relationship between God and Am Yisrael. Shemitta and yovel are more than just commandments – they are a context for attaining the blessings of the covenant of Sinai. 

  4. Exile, the Land in Desolation and the Land Lying Fallow

    Rabbanit Sharon Rimon

    The description of exile in the curses section of Parshat Bechukotai emphasizes the desolation of the land of Israel. We can understand that the desolation of the land is part of the punishment for the nation, but possibly also contains within it a promise to the nation - that the Land of Israel is destined specifically for them. Additionally, there seems to be a strong correlation between the desolation of the land during the years of exile and the laws of the Shmitta year. 

  5. Mishpatim: Shemitta and Modernity

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 19 minutes

    We take two pesukim as jumping off points for discussion. We look at the verse introducing the concept of Shemitta (the Sabbatical Year) and ask - how do we relate to Shemitta today? We also examine the verse promising that there will eventually be no more widowhood or sickness in the Land. How do we relate to this statement? How can we look at these concepts in the light of modern technology in a way that elevates our relationship with God?

     

  6. The Covenant of Bechukotai and the Mitzva of Shemitta

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    Why does the Torah depart from the chronological sequence, and suddenly introduce at the end of Sefer Vayikra commandments (specifically Shemitta and Yovel), and a covenant which had been communicated to the Jewish people much earlier? Perhaps this odd placement allows us to view these laws through the prism of the Temple and its sanctity, emphasizing that the three central elements of place, time and the individual are meaningful not only in the Temple, but everywhere.

  7. Erev Shabbat Behar-Behukkotai: The Sabbatical Year and Social Justice

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 minutes

    What is the 50-year Yovel counting cycle about? The commandment of counting the 50 yeras helps guide us toward the implementation of freedom and equality for all - not only in the Sabbatical (Seventh "Shemitta" year) and Yovel (Jubilee) year, when the Torah commands that land and people shall be released, but that throughout the cycle, we should be helping people to stand on their own two feet.  

    What is important about he Shemitta and Yovel cycle is not only whether the land lies fallow, but whether the social justice system behind the "Shabbat of the years" is being fulfilled. If that system is failing to be fulfilled, mass exile will be the consequence (as detailed in Yirmiahu's castigating those who freed the slaves -but then immediately forced them to return).

    It is only on the basis of social justice that the Mikdash and its significance can survive - and we can dream of the restoration of Jerusalem's former glory only if we build a just and kind society.

  8. Shemitta, Shabbat, and the Land of Israel

    Rabbi Aytan Kadden

  9. Parshat Behar

    Dr. Yael Ziegler | 5 minutes

    Why do the mitzvot of Shmitta and Yovel appear at the end of Sefer Vayikra? What is the significance of their placement? By exploring this question we can gain a deeper understanding into the nature of Sefer Vayikra.