פרשת משפטים תש"ל - שנת שמיטה

(After his bringing the words of Rashi above,) and it is not correct. For we were only forbidden by the Torah about plowing and sowing. But hoeing, manuring and even uprooting weeds, tilling, tearing weeds and all of the other types of work on the soil are not forbidden by the Torah. And so did they conclude in Tractate Moed Katan 2a-3b, that [the Torah] prohibited plowing and sowing. But [the Torah] did not forbid derivatives, and they are all rabbinic. And the verse is just a mnemonic....

And R. [Ibn Ezra] said, "'Let it rest,' [as in (Deuteronomy 15:2)], 'every creditor shall remit the due'; 'and lie fallow,' that you should not sow your land." And this is nothing. Rather the Scripture was speaking about the first [subject]. It said, "Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce. But in the seventh you shall let it rest" - such that you not sow your field; "and lie fallow" - that you not gather your produce, but rather leave it. And [so] the poor among your people and the animals of the field will eat the fruit of the trees and the produce of the vineyard. Likewise (in Nehemiah 10:32), "We will forgo the seventh year." (See there!)

"And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the increase thereof."

"In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard."

. ושש שנים תזרע את ארצך, “and for six successive years you will sow your land.” It would have seemed appropriate to phrase this in the third person, i.e. את הארץ, “the land,” instead of ארצך, “your land.” Similarly, in the reference to the vineyard and olive plantation we would have expected the words כן תעשה לכרמים ולזיתים instead of כן תעשה לכרמך ולזיתיך (verse 11). You will note that the Torah uses direct language when speaking about either the Sabbath (day) or the Sabbath (year), whereas when speaking of the Jubilee year יובל, it uses the third person, speaking in more general terms. Compare Leviticus 25,11: “you shall not sow, you shall not harvest its aftergrowth, and you shall not pick what was set aside of it.” And behold, this is the reason for the thing...

"Six years you shalt sow thy land"

(1) (Exodus 23:10) "Six years shall you sow your land": R. Eliezer says: When Israel does the L rd's will, they observe one shemitah (fallow year) in a seven-year period, as it is written "And six years shall you sow your land." And when they do not do His will, they observe four shemitoth in one seven-year period. How so? (The land is left) fallow one year and sown the next year, etc., so that they are found to observe four shemitoth in one seven-year period.

"Three times (regalim) thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year."

"Three times (paamim) in the year all thy males shall appear"

"he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments"

"he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil"

"The foot shall tread it down, Even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy."

"If thou turn away thy foot because of the sabbath"

"How beautiful are thy steps in sandals"

"that thou hast smitten me these three times"

"and put them in the four feet thereof"

"Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest"

"Three times in the year all thy males shall appear"

וביום השביעי תשבת [SIX DAYS SHALT THOU DO THY WORK] AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY THOU SHALT LEAVE OFF — Even in the Sabbatical year you shall not abrogate the weekly Sabbath: you shall not say, “Since the whole year bears the name of ‘Sabbath’, the weekly Sabbath (literally, the Sabbath of Creation) need not to be observed” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 23:12:1).