Every seventh year you shall cancel debts. This is how you shall cancel [them]: every creditor shall cancel what they claim their fellow [Israelites] owe them; they shall not demand payment of their fellow [Israelites] or kin, because God called out for debts to be cancelled. You may demand payment from the foreigner; but you must cancel whatever is due you from your kin.
- What is it like or might it be like to have a lot of debt to other people?
- If someone had a lot of debt, how would getting rid of it change their life?
- Why do you think that God wants to cancel all debts every seven years?
אֶ֕פֶס כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יִֽהְיֶה־בְּךָ֖ אֶבְי֑וֹן כִּֽי־בָרֵ֤ךְ יְבָֽרֶכְךָ֙ ה' בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹֽתֵן־לְךָ֥ נַחֲלָ֖ה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃
There shall be no needy people among you—since your God will bless you in the land that your God is giving you as an inheritance...
- Does this sound realistic? If you think it is not realistic, then why do you Moses says this? If you think it is realistic, how could Israel ensure that there are no needy people among them?
- What does Rashi (see below) think about this verse?
But later (in v. 11) it says, “For the needy shall never cease...”! But [there is a midrash that explains this]: When you do God's will, the needy will be amongst the others and not amongst you; if, however, you do not God's will, the needy will be amongst you.
If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kin in any of your settlements in the land that your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kin. You must surely open your hand and lend them whatever is sufficient to meet the need.
- What do the phrases "hardening one's heart" and "shutting one's hand" mean?
- What are some reasons people harden their heart and keep their hand shut?
- In what ways do people "open their hand"?
Give readily and don't worry when you give to them, for because of this your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never stop being needy people in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kin in your land.
- How would you explain the progression from "there will be no needy people" to "if there are needy people" to "there will always be needy people"?
- How do the comments below understand these verses about the needy?
...[I think] the promise in verse 4 was linked to the condition that the entire population observes the cancellation of debts (Sh'mita in Hebrew) and people being able to reclaim their ancestral land every fifty years (the Yovel in Hebrew).
ומשלת. ובהיותכם ישרים תהיו עוד מושלים על הנכרים רק המצוה כי יהיה בך אביון על כן אמר כי לא יחדל אביון כי יודע כי יבא דור שלא יהיה רובו זכאי:
Moses knew that a generation will [one day] arise that will not have enough good deeds and merit. That is why Moses said: For the poor shall never cease out of the land (v. 11).