Positive Commandment 140 (Digest)
Counting Down the Years to the Jubilee
"And you shall count seven Sabbatical years"—Leviticus 25:8.
Starting when the Jews conquered Israel and settled therein, the high court is commanded to count down the years to the Jubilee Year. They count seven cycles of seven years [and then sanctify the fiftieth one as the Jubilee].
The
140th mitzvah is that we are
commanded to count the years, beginning with the time we ruled over Eretz
Yisrael and took possession of it.
This
mitzvah of counting the shemittah years is to be fulfilled by
the beth din, i.e., the Great
Sanhedrin. They have the responsibility of counting each of the 50 years, just
as each of us is required to count the days of the omer.
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "You shall count seven Sabbatical years."
The
Sifra says: "One might think that
they count seven consecutive Sabbatical years and then make a jubilee year.
Therefore the verse continues, 'seven years, seven times.' If not for these two
phrases, we would not know the law."
This
means that without both phrases we would not understand how to perform this mitzvah, i.e., to count just the years
and to count the appropriate shemittah
cycle together with it.
Their statement that the law could not be derived
without both passages definitely implies that they comprise one mitzvah. If they were two mitzvos — one to count the years and one to count the shemittah cycles — our Sages would not have used the expression
"If not for these two phrases, we would not know the law"; because any two mitzvos are derived from two verses — each from its own verse. One can only say, "If
not for these two phrases, we would not know the law" regarding one single mitzvah the laws of which can only be
fully understood through two phrases.
An
example of this is the b'chor
(first-born animal). One verse, "The first-born initiating every womb is Mine"
implies that both males and females are included. Another verse, "[every animal that your cattle shall issue]
which is male shall be the L‑rd's" implies both first-born animals and those
which are born later. Only with both verses do we fully understand the mitzvah — that it applies only to first-born male
animals, as explained in the Mechilta.
Positive Commandment 136 (Digest)
Sanctifying the Jubilee Year
"And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year"—Leviticus 25:10.
We are commanded to sanctify the fiftieth year, the Jubilee Year, by abstaining from agricultural work and rendering all the land's produce ownerless and free for all to take—just as we are commanded to do during the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year.
This mitzvah is only practiced in the Land of Israel, and only when all of the tribes are settled therein, each in their ancestral portion of the Land.
The
136th mitzvah is that we are
commanded to sanctify the 50th year, i.e., to refrain from working the land as
in the shemittah year.
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "You shall sanctify the 50th year." Our Sages explained that, "As it is with shemittah, so too with the jubilee."
This means that just as Scripture equates them in the prohibition, so too they
are equated in the positive commandment, as I will explain.
The
jubilee year and the shemittah year
are the same in that one must stop working the land and must renounce ownership
of all produce. Both of these are included in the statement, "You shall
sanctify the 50th year." Scripture itself explicitly states that this
"sanctity" includes renouncing ownership of all produce. This is in the verse, "The jubilee shall thus be holy to you; you
shall eat the crops from the field."
The
jubilee year is only in effect in Eretz Yisrael, and only when each tribe is in
its proper place, i.e., in its portion in Eretz Yisrael rather than mixed among
other tribes.
Positive Commandment 137 (Digest)
Emancipation of Slaves during the Jubilee Year
"You shall sound the shofar [ram's horn] on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom Kippur you shall sound the shofar throughout your land"—Leviticus 25:9.
We are commanded to blow the shofar (ram's horn) on the tenth of Tishrei of the Jubilee Year—announcing the emancipation (without compensation) of all Hebrew slaves.
These shofar blasts parallel the annual sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, both with regard to the actual blasts as well as the blessings that accompany them (though the purpose of the sounding of the shofar is different, the Jubilee blasts serving as an announcement regarding the liberation of the slaves).
The
137th mitzvah is that we are
commanded to blow shofar on the 10th of Tishrei of this [jubilee] year, and to
declare throughout the land the emancipation of slaves and that each eved Ivri goes free on this day, the 10th of Tishrei,
without payment.
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "On the 10th day, Yom Kippur, of the seventh
month, you shall make a proclamation with the ram's horn throughout your land"
and "You shall declare the emancipation [of
slaves] in the land to all its inhabitants."
It
is explained that, "the jubilee is identical to Rosh
Hashanah regarding blowing the shofar and the blessings." The laws of blowing
the shofar on Rosh Hashanah are explained in tractate Rosh Hashanah.
It
is well-known that this shofar blowing on the jubilee is
only to publicize the emancipation, and is part of the proclamation mandated by
the verse "You shall declare the emancipation [of slaves] in the land." It is
not like the shofar blowing of Rosh Hashanah, which is "a remembrance before G‑d,"
unlike this which is to designate the freeing of slaves, as explained above.
Negative Commandment 224 (Digest)
Planting during the Jubilee Year
"You shall not sow"—Leviticus 25:11.
It is forbidden to sow the fields or do agricultural work on fruit trees during the Jubilee Year (similar to the Sabbatical Year).
The
224th prohibition is that we are forbidden from working the land during the
jubilee year.
The
source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement, "[The 50th year shall be a jubilee to you in
that] you may not plant," as commanded regarding the shemittah year, "you may not plant your fields."
Just
as during the shemittah year one is
prohibited from both working the land and the trees, so too during the jubilee.
Therefore the general statement "you may not plant" is used, to include both
the land and trees.
The
punishment for transgressing this prohibition is also lashes.
Negative Commandment 225 (Digest)
Harvesting Field Crops during the Jubilee Year
"Nor shall you reap that which grows of itself in it"—Leviticus 25:11.
It is forbidden to harvest – in normal fashion – that which grows wild in the fields during the Jubilee Year.
(As with the Sabbatical Year, one may only harvest them as if they were ownerless, i.e., without extensive preparation or arrangement, and not in bulk.)
The
225th prohibition is that we are forbidden from harvesting s'fichim [uncultivated crops] which grow during the jubilee year in
the same way we harvest in a regular year, as we explained regarding the shemittah year.
The
source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement, "[The 50th year shall be a jubilee to you in
that you may not plant;] you may not harvest crops which grow of their own
accord."
Negative Commandment 226 (Digest)
Harvesting Fruit during the Jubilee Year
"Nor shall you gather in it the grapes from your un-pruned vine"—Leviticus 25:11.
It is forbidden to harvest – in normal fashion – the fruit that grows during the Jubilee Year.
(As with the Sabbatical Year, one may only harvest them as if they were ownerless, i.e., without extensive preparation or arrangement, and not in bulk.)
The
226th prohibition is that we are also forbidden from gathering fruit of the
jubilee year in the same way we gather in a regular year.
The
source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement, "[The 50th year shall be a jubilee to you in
that you may not plant; you may not harvest crops which grow of their own
accord;] you may not gather grapes from unpruned vines," similar to what was
explained above regarding the shemittah year. The Sifra
says: "The phrases 'you may not harvest...you may not gather' teach us that it
is the same during the jubilee year as during the shemittah year." This means that they are identical regarding all
these prohibitions.
All
the laws of shemittah and yovel are obligatory only in Eretz
Yisrael.
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