Source 1: Gen 2:5-17- Translation by Rabbi David Seidenberg
Every growth of the field would yet be in the land and every plant of the field would yet grow, for YHVH Elohim had not caused rain on the land, and an adam to serve la`avod the ground was not… YHVH Elohim [ff]orm-ed vayyitzer the human ha’adam, dirt from the ground/earth `afar min ha’adamah and blew in his nostrils a living breath nishmat chayyim, and the adam became a living soul nefesh chayah. YHVH Elohim planted a garden gan in Eden eastward and put there the adam which god formed, and caused to grow from the land every tree pleasurable nechmad for seeing and good for eating, and the life-tree in the middle of the gan and the tree of knowing good and bad/evil… YHVH Elohim took the adam and placed/rested him in gan Eden to work her/to serve her and to watch over her l`ovdah ul’shomrah. And YHVH Elohim commanded over the adam, saying: From every tree in the garden eating you will eat; and from the tree of knowing good and bad, you will not eat from him, for in the day of your eating from him dying you will die.
Every growth of the field would yet be in the land and every plant of the field would yet grow, for YHVH Elohim had not caused rain on the land, and an adam to serve la`avod the ground was not… YHVH Elohim [ff]orm-ed vayyitzer the human ha’adam, dirt from the ground/earth `afar min ha’adamah and blew in his nostrils a living breath nishmat chayyim, and the adam became a living soul nefesh chayah. YHVH Elohim planted a garden gan in Eden eastward and put there the adam which god formed, and caused to grow from the land every tree pleasurable nechmad for seeing and good for eating, and the life-tree in the middle of the gan and the tree of knowing good and bad/evil… YHVH Elohim took the adam and placed/rested him in gan Eden to work her/to serve her and to watch over her l`ovdah ul’shomrah. And YHVH Elohim commanded over the adam, saying: From every tree in the garden eating you will eat; and from the tree of knowing good and bad, you will not eat from him, for in the day of your eating from him dying you will die.
Source 2: Gen 6:3-13- Translation by Rabbi David Seidenberg
YHVH said: My spirit will not strain in humanity ba’adam for all-time by reason that he is (they are) flesh…YHVH saw, that the human’s evil ra`at ha’adam in the land was tremendous, and every leaning of his (their) heart’s thought was only evil/bad all day. And YHVH drew-in vayinachem, for god made the adam within the land, and god was pained unto god’s heart. And YHVH said: I will blot out the human adam I created from off the face of the land, from human to beast to crawler to bird of the skies, for I am withdrawn against nichamti my making them…And the land was ruined before the Elohim and the land was filled up with violence. And Elohim saw the land and here, her ruin, for all flesh ruined his way on the land. And Elohim said to Noach: The end of all flesh comes before me, for the land is filled with violence from before them. Here am I going to ruin them with the land.
YHVH said: My spirit will not strain in humanity ba’adam for all-time by reason that he is (they are) flesh…YHVH saw, that the human’s evil ra`at ha’adam in the land was tremendous, and every leaning of his (their) heart’s thought was only evil/bad all day. And YHVH drew-in vayinachem, for god made the adam within the land, and god was pained unto god’s heart. And YHVH said: I will blot out the human adam I created from off the face of the land, from human to beast to crawler to bird of the skies, for I am withdrawn against nichamti my making them…And the land was ruined before the Elohim and the land was filled up with violence. And Elohim saw the land and here, her ruin, for all flesh ruined his way on the land. And Elohim said to Noach: The end of all flesh comes before me, for the land is filled with violence from before them. Here am I going to ruin them with the land.
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Source 3: Tzedakah: The Untranslatable Virtue - Rabbi Jonathan Sacks |
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Mishpat (law) alone cannot create a good society. To it must be added tzedakah, distributive justice. One can imagine a society which fastidiously observes the rule of law, and yet contains so much inequality that wealth is concentrated into the hands of the few, and many are left without the most basic requirements of a dignified existence. There may be high unemployment and widespread poverty. Some may live in palaces while others go homeless. That is not the kind of order that the Torah contemplates. There must be justice not only in how the law is applied, but also in how the means of existence – wealth as God’s blessing – are distributed. That is tzedakah. Tzedakah cannot be translated because it joins together two concepts that in other languages are opposites, namely charity and justice. Suppose, for example, that I give someone $100. Either he is entitled to it, or he is not. If he is, then my act is a form of justice. If he is not, it is an act of charity. In English… a gesture of charity cannot be an act of justice, nor can an act of justice be described as charity. Tzedakah is therefore an unusual term, because it means both. It arises from the theology of Judaism, which insists on the difference between possession and ownership. Ultimately, all things are owned by God, creator of the world. What we possess, we do not own – we merely hold it in trust for God. The clearest example is the provision in Leviticus: “The land must not be sold permanently because the land is Mine; you are merely strangers and temporary residents in relation to Me” (Leviticus 25:23). |
Source 4: Ex. 23:10-11- Translation by Rabbi David Seidenberg
Six years you will sow your land and gather your produce. And the seventh you will release tish’m’tenah and forswear, and the poor of your people will eat and their remainder the animal of the field chayat hasadeh will eat. So you will do to your vineyard and olive orchard. Six days you will do your works and in the seventh day you will stop, for the sake of your ox and your donkey resting l’ma`an yanuach and your female servant’s child and the stranger re-souling vayinafeish.
Six years you will sow your land and gather your produce. And the seventh you will release tish’m’tenah and forswear, and the poor of your people will eat and their remainder the animal of the field chayat hasadeh will eat. So you will do to your vineyard and olive orchard. Six days you will do your works and in the seventh day you will stop, for the sake of your ox and your donkey resting l’ma`an yanuach and your female servant’s child and the stranger re-souling vayinafeish.
Source 5: Lev 25:1-24 - Translation by Rabbi David Seidenberg
YHVH spoke to Moshe in Mount Sinai saying: Speak to Yisrael’s children and say unto them: For you will come to the land which I give you and the land will rest/stop shavtah, YHVH’s shabbat/Sabbath-rest…In the seventh year the Sabbath’s sabbath shabbat shabbaton will it be for the land, a Sabbath for YHVH. Don’t sow your field and don’t prune your vineyard…And the shabbat of the land will be for you for eating: for you and for your male servant and for your female servant and for your hired-worker and for your settler living-as-a-stranger with you toshav’kha hagarim imakh; and for your beast b’hemtekha and for the animal which is in your land chayah asher b’artzekha, all of her produce t’vu’atah will be to eat. You will count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven years seven times…on Yom Hakipurim you will make the shofar pass through all your land. And you will make holy the fifty-year year, and call out liberty/release d’ror in the land, to all those inhabiting her. It will be a Jubilee Yovel for you – you will return each man/person to his (their) tribe-possession, and each person will return to his (their) family…You will do my statutes, and you will watch over my judgments…and settle on the land securely lavetach. And the land will give her fruit and you will eat to be satisfied and you will settle securely on her…And the land you may not sell permanently latz’mitut, for the land is mine ki li ha’aretz, for you are strangers and settlers by/with me ki gerim v’toshavim atem `imadi. So in all the land of your tribe-possessions, redemption g’ulah you-all will give to the land.
YHVH spoke to Moshe in Mount Sinai saying: Speak to Yisrael’s children and say unto them: For you will come to the land which I give you and the land will rest/stop shavtah, YHVH’s shabbat/Sabbath-rest…In the seventh year the Sabbath’s sabbath shabbat shabbaton will it be for the land, a Sabbath for YHVH. Don’t sow your field and don’t prune your vineyard…And the shabbat of the land will be for you for eating: for you and for your male servant and for your female servant and for your hired-worker and for your settler living-as-a-stranger with you toshav’kha hagarim imakh; and for your beast b’hemtekha and for the animal which is in your land chayah asher b’artzekha, all of her produce t’vu’atah will be to eat. You will count for yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven years seven times…on Yom Hakipurim you will make the shofar pass through all your land. And you will make holy the fifty-year year, and call out liberty/release d’ror in the land, to all those inhabiting her. It will be a Jubilee Yovel for you – you will return each man/person to his (their) tribe-possession, and each person will return to his (their) family…You will do my statutes, and you will watch over my judgments…and settle on the land securely lavetach. And the land will give her fruit and you will eat to be satisfied and you will settle securely on her…And the land you may not sell permanently latz’mitut, for the land is mine ki li ha’aretz, for you are strangers and settlers by/with me ki gerim v’toshavim atem `imadi. So in all the land of your tribe-possessions, redemption g’ulah you-all will give to the land.
(א) מִקֵּ֥ץ שֶֽׁבַע־שָׁנִ֖ים תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה שְׁמִטָּֽה׃ (ב) וְזֶה֮ דְּבַ֣ר הַשְּׁמִטָּה֒ שָׁמ֗וֹט כׇּל־בַּ֙עַל֙ מַשֵּׁ֣ה יָד֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַשֶּׁ֖ה בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ לֹֽא־יִגֹּ֤שׂ אֶת־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ וְאֶת־אָחִ֔יו כִּֽי־קָרָ֥א שְׁמִטָּ֖ה לַה'׃ (ג) אֶת־הַנׇּכְרִ֖י תִּגֹּ֑שׂ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה לְךָ֛ אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ תַּשְׁמֵ֥ט יָדֶֽךָ׃ (ד) אֶ֕פֶס כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יִֽהְיֶה־בְּךָ֖ אֶבְי֑וֹן כִּֽי־בָרֵ֤ךְ יְבָֽרֶכְךָ֙ ה' בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹֽתֵן־לְךָ֥ נַחֲלָ֖ה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ (ה) רַ֚ק אִם־שָׁמ֣וֹעַ תִּשְׁמַ֔ע בְּק֖וֹל ה' אֱלֹקֶ֑יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כׇּל־הַמִּצְוָ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּֽוֹם׃ (ו) כִּֽי־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ בֵּֽרַכְךָ֔ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּר־לָ֑ךְ וְהַֽעֲבַטְתָּ֞ גּוֹיִ֣ם רַבִּ֗ים וְאַתָּה֙ לֹ֣א תַעֲבֹ֔ט וּמָֽשַׁלְתָּ֙ בְּגוֹיִ֣ם רַבִּ֔ים וּבְךָ֖ לֹ֥א יִמְשֹֽׁלוּ׃ {ס} (ז) כִּֽי־יִהְיֶה֩ בְךָ֨ אֶבְי֜וֹן מֵאַחַ֤ד אַחֶ֙יךָ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּאַ֨רְצְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֣ן לָ֑ךְ לֹ֧א תְאַמֵּ֣ץ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ֗ וְלֹ֤א תִקְפֹּץ֙ אֶת־יָ֣דְךָ֔ מֵאָחִ֖יךָ הָאֶבְיֽוֹן׃ (ח) כִּֽי־פָתֹ֧חַ תִּפְתַּ֛ח אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ ל֑וֹ וְהַעֲבֵט֙ תַּעֲבִיטֶ֔נּוּ דֵּ֚י מַחְסֹר֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֶחְסַ֖ר לֽוֹ׃ (ט) הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֡ פֶּן־יִהְיֶ֣ה דָבָר֩ עִם־לְבָבְךָ֨ בְלִיַּ֜עַל לֵאמֹ֗ר קָֽרְבָ֣ה שְׁנַֽת־הַשֶּׁ֘בַע֮ שְׁנַ֣ת הַשְּׁמִטָּה֒ וְרָעָ֣ה עֵֽינְךָ֗ בְּאָחִ֙יךָ֙ הָֽאֶבְי֔וֹן וְלֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן ל֑וֹ וְקָרָ֤א עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ אֶל־ה' וְהָיָ֥ה בְךָ֖ חֵֽטְא׃ (י) נָת֤וֹן תִּתֵּן֙ ל֔וֹ וְלֹא־יֵרַ֥ע לְבָבְךָ֖ בְּתִתְּךָ֣ ל֑וֹ כִּ֞י בִּגְלַ֣ל ׀ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה יְבָרֶכְךָ֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ בְּכׇֽל־מַעֲשֶׂ֔ךָ וּבְכֹ֖ל מִשְׁלַ֥ח יָדֶֽךָ׃ (יא) כִּ֛י לֹא־יֶחְדַּ֥ל אֶבְי֖וֹן מִקֶּ֣רֶב הָאָ֑רֶץ עַל־כֵּ֞ן אָנֹכִ֤י מְצַוְּךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר פָּ֠תֹ֠חַ תִּפְתַּ֨ח אֶת־יָדְךָ֜ לְאָחִ֧יךָ לַעֲנִיֶּ֛ךָ וּלְאֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּאַרְצֶֽךָ׃ {ס}
(1) Every seventh year you shall practice remission of debts. (2) This shall be the nature of the remission: all creditors shall remit the due that they claim from their fellow [Israelites]; they shall not dun their fellow [Israelites] or kin, for the remission proclaimed is of ה'. (3) You may dun the foreigner; but you must remit whatever is due you from your kin. (4) There shall be no needy among you—since your God ה' will bless you in the land that your God ה' is giving you as a hereditary portion— (5) if only you heed your God ה' and take care to keep all this Instruction that I enjoin upon you this day. (6) For your God ה' will bless you as promised: you will extend loans to many nations, but require none yourself; you will dominate many nations, but they will not dominate you. (7) If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kin in any of your settlements in the land that your God ה' is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin. (8) Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient to meet the need. (9) Beware lest you harbor the base thought, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is approaching,” so that you are mean and give nothing to your needy kin—who will cry out to ה' against you, and you will incur guilt. (10) Give readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return your God ה' will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. (11) For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kin in your land.
Additional Resources on Shemita:
https://shmitaproject.org/resources/
http://www.neohasid.org/pdf/Genesis-Shmitah-covenant8.pdf
https://shmitaproject.org/resources/
http://www.neohasid.org/pdf/Genesis-Shmitah-covenant8.pdf