(ג) ואלו הן הפסולין, המשחק בקביא, והמלוה ברבית, ומפריחי יונים, וסוחרי שביעית.
(3) These are invalid: dice-players, usurers, pigeon-flyers, and sellers of Sabbatical goods.
R' Shawn Israel Zevit, The Offerings of the Heart, 12.
The Divine ownership of wealth is central to the principles of traditional Jewish economic philosophy at the personal, communal, national, and universal levels. First fruits are given to the Temple, thanking God for bountiful produce. The land is in the hands of the Divine and must rest every seven years and lie fallow. Our entire material world is on loan, and all goods must be returned to their original owners every fiftieth year for the Jubilee. Material and spiritual freedom are intimately linked, and the basis of all is not financial equity, but the pursuit of justice.
(ט) וְגֵר לֹא תִלְחָץ וְאַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. (י) וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע אֶת אַרְצֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ. (יא) וְהַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ וְאָכְלוּ אֶבְיֹנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְיִתְרָם תֹּאכַל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה כֵּן תַּעֲשֶׂה לְכַרְמְךָ לְזֵיתֶךָ.
(9) Do not oppress a stranger; for you know the heart of a stranger, as you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (10) And six years you shall sow your land, and gather in the abundance of it; (11) but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beast of the field shall eat. Similarly you shall deal with your vineyard, and with your olive grove.
(א) וַיְדַבֵּר יי אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר. (ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיי. (ג) שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ. (ד) וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיי שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרָע וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר. (ה) אֵת סְפִיחַ קְצִירְךָ לֹא תִקְצוֹר וְאֶת עִנְּבֵי נְזִירֶךָ לֹא תִבְצֹר שְׁנַת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ. (ו) וְהָיְתָה שַׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה לְךָ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ וְלַאֲמָתֶךָ וְלִשְׂכִירְךָ וּלְתוֹשָׁבְךָ הַגָּרִים עִמָּךְ. (ז) וְלִבְהֶמְתְּךָ וְלַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצֶךָ תִּהְיֶה כָל תְּבוּאָתָהּ לֶאֱכֹל.
(1) And the LORD spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying: (2) Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath for the LORD. (3) Six years shall you sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its produce. (4) But the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath for the LORD; you shall not sow your field, nor prune your vineyard. (5) That which grows by itself from your harvest, you shalt not reap, and the grapes of your untended vine, you shall not gather [in quantity, as if to sell]; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. (6) And the sabbath-produce of the land shall be for food for you: for you, and for your servant and for your maid, and for your hired servant and for the traveler who sojourns with you; (7) and for your cattle, and for the wild beasts that are in your land, shall all the abundance be for food.
(א) מִקֵּץ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים תַּעֲשֶׂה שְׁמִטָּה. (ב) וְזֶה דְּבַר הַשְּׁמִטָּה שָׁמוֹט כָּל בַּעַל מַשֵּׁה יָדוֹ אֲשֶׁר יַשֶּׁה בְּרֵעֵהוּ לֹא יִגֹּשׂ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְאֶת אָחִיו כִּי קָרָא שְׁמִטָּה לַיי. (ג) אֶת הַנָּכְרִי תִּגֹּשׂ וַאֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֶת אָחִיךָ תַּשְׁמֵט יָדֶךָ. (ד) אֶפֶס כִּי לֹא יִהְיֶה בְּךָ אֶבְיוֹן כִּי בָרֵךְ יְבָרֶכְךָ יי בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ. (ה) רַק אִם שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם. (ו) כִּי יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ בֵּרַכְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְהַעֲבַטְתָּ גּוֹיִם רַבִּים וְאַתָּה לֹא תַעֲבֹט וּמָשַׁלְתָּ בְּגוֹיִם רַבִּים וּבְךָ לֹא יִמְשֹׁלוּ. (ז) כִּי יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ בְּאַרְצְךָ אֲשֶׁר יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ מֵאָחִיךָ הָאֶבְיוֹן. (ח) כִּי פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לוֹ וְהַעֲבֵט תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ אֲשֶׁר יֶחְסַר לוֹ. (ט) הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן יִהְיֶה דָבָר עִם לְבָבְךָ בְלִיַּעַל לֵאמֹר קָרְבָה שְׁנַת הַשֶּׁבַע שְׁנַת הַשְּׁמִטָּה וְרָעָה עֵינְךָ בְּאָחִיךָ הָאֶבְיוֹן וְלֹא תִתֵּן לוֹ וְקָרָא עָלֶיךָ אֶל יי וְהָיָה בְךָ חֵטְא. (י) נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן לוֹ וְלֹא יֵרַע לְבָבְךָ בְּתִתְּךָ לוֹ כִּי בִּגְלַל הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה יְבָרֶכְךָ יי אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל מַעֲשֶׂךָ וּבְכֹל מִשְׁלַח יָדֶךָ. (יא) כִּי לֹא יֶחְדַּל אֶבְיוֹן מִקֶּרֶב הָאָרֶץ עַל כֵּן אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ לֵאמֹר פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לְאָחִיךָ לַעֲנִיֶּךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹנְךָ בְּאַרְצֶךָ.
(1) At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. (2) And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which they lent to their neighbor; they shall not exact it of their neighbor and their kindred; because the LORD’S release hath been proclaimed. (3) Of a foreigner thou may exact it; but whatever was yours and is now with your kindred, your hand shall release it. (4) There shall be no needy among you—for the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives your for an inheritance to possess it— (5) if only you diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you this day. (6) For the LORD your God will bless you, as God promised you; and you shalt lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. (7) If there be among you a needy person, one of your kindred, within any of your gates, in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy kindred; (8) but you shall surely open your hand to them, and shall surely lend them sufficient for their need. (9) Beware that there be not a base thought in your heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and your eye be evil against your needy kindred, and you do not give to them; and they cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin in you. (10) You shall surely give to them, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to them; because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work, and in all of the works of your hands. (11) For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, saying: ‘You shall surely open your hand unto your poor and needy fellows, in your land.’
This passage continues [paraphrasing]: After seven years of service, a slave must be freed. Do not send them away empty-handed, rather you must give them from the bounty with which God has blessed you: livestock, grain, and wine; remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and were redeemed by God.
(י) אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בָּאָדָם. הָאוֹמֵר שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, זוֹ מִדָּה בֵינוֹנִית. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, זוֹ מִדַּת סְדוֹם. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, עַם הָאָרֶץ. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, חָסִיד. שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, רָשָׁע:
(10) There are four temperaments among people: the one who says "what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- that's an [average] temperament. And there are some who say that is the temperament of Sodom. [A second type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" -- [that's an] am ha'arets (uneducated person). [A third type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" -- [that's a] pious person. [A final type is one who says] "what is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine" -- [that's a] wicked person.
המאירי על מסכת אבות ה:יב
...שתיהן אמת. והוא, שאם במה שאינו
רוצה שיהנו אחרים ממנו הוא דבר שאלו היה מהנה אותם בכך לא היה אצלו או אצל ממונו שום חסרון זו היא מידת סדום שכל מעכב הנאת חבירו במה שנהנה ממנו והוא אינו חסר כלום מדת סדום היא. אבל הראשונה היא שאלו מהנהו יש אצלו או אצל ממונו קצת חסרון...הואיל ויש בה חסרון אינה מדת סדום שאינו רוצה לחסר בשל אחרים ולא להתחסר ע"י אחרים [אלא היא] מדה בינונית.
Meiri on Avot 5:12
(1249-1319, Provence)
…Both are true. That is, if when one doesn’t want others to benefit them, it’s in a situation when if one did give them benefit this way, neither they nor their money would experience any loss – this is a trait of Sedom. But the first is where if they gave them benefit, they or their money would experience some loss, since they have a loss, it’s not a trait of Sedom, for they wish neither to cause others loss, nor experience loss on their account. Rather, this is an average trait.
(כ) לֹא־תַשִּׁ֣יךְ לְאָחִ֔יךָ נֶ֥שֶׁךְ כֶּ֖סֶף נֶ֣שֶׁךְ אֹ֑כֶל נֶ֕שֶׁךְ כָּל־דָּבָ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִשָּֽׁךְ׃
(20) You shall not deduct interest from loans to your fellow Israelites, whether in money or food or anything else that can be deducted as interest;
20. Deduct interest. נשך is relation to the word for "bite," the interest being seen as taking a bite out of the capital. Leviticus 25:36-37 introduced the additional terms tarbit (increase) and marbit, translated as "accrued interest," to be paid at the time of the loan's repayment; neshech is rendered as "advance interest."
20-21. As Israelites must not sexually exploit one another (vv. 18-19), so must they avoid economic exploitation. This law builds on Exodus 22:25, which clarifies that, in this economy, lending served primarily as a means of social support for "the poor among you" (similarly Lev. 25:36-37). Charging interest would amount to profiteering from the misfortunes of others.
״אִם כֶּסֶף תַּלְוֶה אֶת עַמִּי אֶת הֶעָנִי עִמָּךְ...״ (שמות כב, כד) עַמִּי וְנָכְרִי - עַמִּי קוֹדֵם, עָנִי וְעָשִׁיר - עָנִי קוֹדֵם, עֲנִיֶּיךָ וְעֲנִיֵי עִירְךָ - עֲנִיֶּיךָ קוֹדְמִין, עֲנִיֵּי עִירְךָ וְעֲנִיֵי עִיר אַחֶרֶת - עֲנִיֵּי עִירְךָ קוֹדְמִין.
"If you lend my people money, even the poor with you..." (Exodus 22:24) My people and strangers - my people have precedence, a poor person and a rich one - the poor have precedence. Your poor and the poor of your city - your poor have precedence, the poor of your city and the poor of another city - the poor of your city have precedence.
(א) שביעית, משמטת את המלוה בשטר ושלא בשטר. הקפת החנות, אינה משמטת. ואם עשאה מלוה, הרי זו משמטת. רבי יהודה אומר, הראשון הראשון משמט. שכר שכיר, אינו משמט. ואם עשאו מלוה, הרי זה משמט. רבי יוסי אומר, כל מלאכה שפוסקת בשביעית, משמטת. ושאינה פוסקת בשביעית, אינה משמטת. (ב) השוחט את הפרה וחלקה בראש השנה, אם היה החדש מעבר, משמט. אם לאו, אינו משמט. האונס, והמפתה, והמוציא שם רע, וכל מעשה בית דין, אינן משמטין. המלוה על המשכון, והמוסר שטרותיו לבית דין, אינן משמטין. (ג) פרזבול, אינו משמט. זה אחד מן הדברים שהתקין הלל הזקן, כשראה שנמנעו העם מלהלוות זה את זה ועוברין על מה שכתוב בתורה (דברים טו) השמר לך פן יהיה דבר עם לבבך בליעל וגו', התקין הלל פרזבול. (ד) זהו גופו שלפרזבול, מוסר אני לכם איש פלוני ופלוני הדינים שבמקום פלוני, שכל חוב שיש לי, שאגבנו כל זמן שארצה. והדינים חותמין למטה, או העדים.
(1) The Sabbatical year cancels a loan [that was made] with a contract and [a loan that was made] without a contract. Store credit is not cancelled, but if it was made into a loan, it is canceled. Rabbi Yehudah says, the earlier [of multiple purchases on credit] is cancelled. Wages owed to a worker are not canceled, but if it was made into a loan, it is canceled. Rabbi Yossi says, any type of work which must pause during the Sabbatical year, [wages owed for that work] are cancelled. But any work which need not pause during the Sabbatical year, [wages owed for that work] are not canceled. (2) If one slaughters a cow and distributes it [to others] on Rosh Hashanah [New Year's festival], if the [previous] month was full then [the loan is] canceled. [The fines for] rape, seduction, Motzi Shem Ra [husband who falsely accuses his bride of not having been a virgin], and any judicial court matter are not canceled. One who lends on collateral, and one who entrusts his contracts to the judicial court, [those loans] are not canceled. (3) [Any loan made with a] Pruzbul [court exemption from the Sabbatical year expiration of a loan] is not canceled. This is one of the matters that Hillel the elder instituted. When he observed that the nation withheld from lending to each other and were transgressing what is written in the Torah: "Beware lest there be in your mind a base thought," he instituted the Pruzbul. (4) This is the body of the Pruzbul: "I entrust to you, so-and-so and so-and-so, who judge in such-and-such place, that any loan that I have, I may collect it any time that I wish." And the judges affix their signatures below, or the witnesses.
Vayikra Rabbah 1:1
“The mighty in strength that fulfill God's word” (Psalms 103:20). To whom does
the Scripture refer? R. Isaac said, “To those who are willing to observe the
Sabbatical Year. In the way of the world, a person may be willing to observe a
commandment for a day, a week, a month, but are they likely to continue to do so
through the remaining days of the year? But throughout that year this mighty
person sees their field declared ownerless, their fences broken down, and their produce consumed by others, yet they continues to give up their produce without saying a word. Can you conceive a person mightier than such as them?”
Kli Yakar on Devarim 31:12
The year of Shmita...promotes a sense of fellowship and peace through the suspension of cultivation, even for the needy of your people, for one is not allowed to exercise private ownership over any of the seventh year produce. And this is undoubtedly a primary factor in promoting peace since most dissension originates from the attitudes of 'mine is mine,' one person claiming 'it is all mine' and the other also claiming 'it is all mine.' But in the seventh year all are equal, and this is the real essence of peace.
Rabbi Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550-1619) was a rabbi, poet and Torah commentator. He is best known for his Torah commentary, Kli Yakar.
Question: According to the Kli Yakar, what is the purpose or consequence of Shmita? Can you imagine it playing out in this way?
Rabbi Zvi Hirscher, Sefer Habrit, Parshat Behar
[The Shmita year] teaches us further that the rich should not lord it over the poor. Accordingly, the Torah ordained that all should be equal during the seventh year, both the rich and the needy having access to the gardens and fields to eat their fill...Yet another reason: in order that they should not always be preoccupied with working the soil to provide for their material needs. for in this one year, they would be completely free. The liberation from the yoke of work would give them the opportunity for studying Torah and wisdom. The unlettered (illiterate) will be occupied with crafts and building and supplying these needs in Eretz Yisrael. Those endowed with special skills will invent new methods in this free time for the benefit of the world.
Rabbi Kalischer (1795-1874) was an Orthodox German rabbi and one of Zionism's early pioneers in Germany.
Question: What additional reasons are given here for Shmita observance? Which of the reasons given so far are most compelling to you personally?
Rav Kook, Introduction to "Sabbath of the Land"
The treasure of the nation, the Divine blessing that is implanted in it, the order of the world, the righteous and good life, lived in harmony with justice and honesty, peace and tranquility, grace and courage, permeated by the all-embracing contemplation of the Divine purpose, as it exists in the national soul -- none call be activated in the day-to-day life. The very nature of this life obfuscates the spiritual majesty of the Divine soul (which dwells in the nation) and prevents its bright and shining light from penetrating the profane reality.
Life can only be perfected through the affording of a breathing space from the bustle of everyday life. The individual shakes himself free from ordinary weekday life at short and regular intervals -- every Sabbath... What the Sabbath achieves regarding the individual, the Shmita achieves with regard to the nation as a whole.
A year of solemn rest is essential for both the nation and the land, a year of peace and quiet without oppressor and tyrant...It is a year of equality and rest, in which the soul reaches out towards Divine justice, towards God who sustains the living creatures with loving kindness. There is no private property and no punctilious privilege but the peace of God reigns over all in which there is the breath of life.
Sanctity is not profaned by the exercise of private acquisitiveness over all this year's produce and the covetousness of wealth stirred up by commerse is forgotten. for food -- but not for commerce.
Avraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenzi Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine. He was a kabbalist, poet, legalist, and hugely influential religious leader.
Questions:
- Based on all of the above descriptions of Shmita practice, what might it have looked like to live in an agricultural "Shmita society" for an entire year? How might Shmita practice affect years 1-6?
- What would you say are Shmita's key values or themes, based on these texts?
- What feels most challenging about Shmita practice? What feels most liberating?