(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) And a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. (10) And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the increase thereof; (11) but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
According to this text, what is the main intention and purpose of this time period?
Who benefits from Shmita?
What is happening in our fields during this year of Shmita?
(א) וַיְדַבֵּר יקוק אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר. (ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיקוק. (ג) שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְרַע שָׂדֶךָ וְשֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים תִּזְמֹר כַּרְמֶךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ. (ד) וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַיקוק 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 unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying: (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. (3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof. (4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto the LORD; thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. (5) That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather; 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 thee, and for thy servant and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant and for the settler by thy side that sojourn with thee; (7) and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be for food.
How does this text add to our understanding of Shmita from the previous source?
What are the agricultural activities that are not practiced in the seventh year?
Does there seem to be something potentially conflicting about the instructions given in this text?
It is a commandment to divest one’s self from everything that the land produces in the seventh year, as Exodus 23.11 states: “In the seventh year, you shall leave it untended and unharvested.” Anyone who locks his vineyard or fences off his agricultural field in the Sabbatical year has nullified a positive commandment. This also holds true if he gathered all of his produce into his home. Instead, he should leave everything ownerless [hefker]. Thus everyone, [rich and poor], have equal rights in every place, as Exodus 23.11 states: “And the poor of your people shall partake of it.” One may only bring a small amount of produce into one’s home, just as one brings from ownerless property.
– Rambam, Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shmita v’Yovel, 4.24
According to the Rambam, what is the landowner allowed to do and not allowed to do with his/her produce during the Shmittah year?
How does the concept of "hefker" add to our understanding of the land and its bounty during the Shmittah year?
Who benefits from Shmittah? What questions are you left with?
The matter of Shmita and Yovel correspond to the way of acting, mentioned in the Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Fathers, 5:10]: 'One who says "What's mine is yours, and what's yours is yours," this is a righteous person'.
- Mea Shiloach (19th Century)
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 [for Shmita]: 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. Those who are not students 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 Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, Sefer Habrit, Behar (19th Century)
What impact does taking a sabbatical year have on the individual and the community as a whole?
Terminology:
Hefker: ownerless
Mea Shiloach: a two volume work written by Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, 1801-1854. Rabbi Leiner was a famous chasidic rabbi who remains influential even today through his impact on the teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. The book is a compilation of his teachings.
Rambam: Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon, 1135-1204. He is famous for his commentaries on Jewish law, the Torah as well as his philosophical teachings.