Hazon Shmita Sourcebook September 2021 / Tishrei 5782 Copyright © 2021 by Hazon, Inc. This sourcebook is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. To view a copy of this license, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Any third party use of materials attributed in our work cited section is prohibited. As this book contains the name of God, please treat these pages with the respect due to holy texts. For further information and contact details: Hazon.org Shmitaproject.org shmitaproject@hazon.org
Hazon Shmita Sourcebook 3rd Edition
Creative Commons Licensing At its core, Shmita presents a paradigm that is rooted in fair share, equal access, resource distribution, a gift economy, and the collective commons. Therefore, the original material in this sourcebook is licensed within the framework of the Creative Commons, which is a licensing mechanism that applies copyright law to allow users to easily and legally share this content. For more about Creative Commons, visit creativecommons.org. The legal code for the specific copyright we have chosen is “Attribution-Noncommercial ShareAlike”, which can be viewed at: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Under the terms of this license, you are free to copy, share, and distribute this sourcebook as it is, and you are free to adapt the original content of this sourcebook to meet your own specific needs. This comes along with three conditions: 1. Attribution: If you do copy, share, or adapt this, please credit Shmita Project, Hazon, and the authors. 2. Noncommercial: If you do wish to share this, do not charge for it.
3. Share Alike: If you do adapt or transform this work, please distribute the resulting work under the same license as this one. Teaching about Shmita in our local communities also offers an opportunity to educate about Creative Commons licensing.
We’ve chosen this license for a few reasons: • We believe this information is valuable and want it to be widely shared, so that more and more people can come to realize the value and priceless gifts of the Shmita tradition. Some who might deeply appreciate this content may not be able to afford it if we put a price on it. If you do greatly enjoy this work and you feel so moved, be in touch and we would gladly accept a financial donation or some other contribution. • Many of these sources come from the Torah and from Rabbis who are no longer living. Does anyone own the Torah? Can the Torah be copyrighted? We recognize the Torah as a collective commons of humanity, and as a free gift for all Jewish people.
• We hope that the content, as we have organized it, will work very well for you…but we also realize it may not fully work for you, for whatever reason. You might not want to use the entire booklet as it is. Perhaps you would like to do a teaching and use a few sources from each section? The invitation is to take the core material (the sources) and make it work for you, to best suit you and your community’s needs. No reason to reinvent the wheel each time we begin teaching about Shmita.
In general, we’d like you to know that in creating the Shmita Project, our most clear intention has been to support the general process of reimagining Shmita across the wider Jewish community. In that way, we are here to be of service and support. And we hope this sourcebook will do just that.
Credits & Gratitude from the 3rd Edition We are incredibly grateful to the Covenant Foundation for their generous support of this project as well as the Hazon staff and lay leaders who brought this 3rd edition to life. We stand on the shoulders of those who wrote before us and it is with immense gratitude that we thank: Anna Hanau, Yigal Deutscher, and Nigel Savage who authored the previous edition of the sourcebook, many of whose words still remain in this edition. Editorial Vision:
Nigel Savage, Hannah Knibb Henza, and Sarah Zell Young
Project Direction:
Hannah Knibb Henza and Sarah Zell Young
Creative Direction:
Sarah Zell Young
Project Design:
Dylan Wells, Relic Studio and David Rendsburg
3rd Edition Authors: Hannah Knibb Henza, Sarah Zell Young, Bruce Spierer, and Yoni Brander Contributors:
Nigel Savage, Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair, Becky O’Brien, Eliezer Weinbach, David Rendsburg, Michael Fox Smart, Myriam Angel, and Hadassah Penn
Thematic Design and Implementation: Bruce Spierer Lead Editors:
Sarah Wolk and David Rendsburg
Content Editors:
Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi, Rabbi Yehuda Witt, Eliezer Weinbach, and Hadassah Penn
Copy Editors:
Hadassah Penn and Lily Fryburg
Additionally, we wish to thank the following individuals for their helpful insights, support and other contributions to this edition of the sourcebook: Jakir Manela, Psachyah Lichtenstein, Shuli Karkowsky, Rachel Miller, Rabbi Dr. Nina Beth Cardin, Anna Hanau, and Yigal Deutscher. We also want to thank the funding partners of the previous editions of the sourcebook whose without their support the project would never have come to fruition: UJA-Federation of New York; San Francisco Jewish Community Federation; Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund; and the Opaline Fund.
About Hazon
About the Shmita Project
Hazon, Hebrew for “vision,” began in 2000 with a 12-person cross-country bike ride for Jewish environmental awareness. Today we’re the largest faithbased environmental organization in North America. We effect change through immersive programs, capable of providing a deeply transformative experience; through thought-leadership, ideas that help change the world; and through capacity-building, working to support other organizations, projects, and leaders whose vision we share.
The Shmita Project is an initiative of Hazon working to expand awareness about the biblical Sabbatical tradition, and to bring the values of this practice to life today to support healthier, more sustainable Jewish communities. The Shmita Project works across the Jewish landscape to elevate the role that Shmita- the year of rest in a sevenyear cycle of Jewish life- plays in today’s society.
We’ve been working steadily on Shmita since 2007, and you can find more information about our Shmita resources and those of our partners at shmitaproject.org. Addressing Shmita in thoughtful ways engenders a deeper understanding of the nature of Jewish tradition; and it can and should inspire each of us to bring the values of Shmita to fruition in the world we live in today. Our work is based at Pearlstone (in Reisterstown, MD) and Isabella Freedman (Falls Village, CT), and we have a wide range of programs and resources for people of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit hazon.org
We don’t want to simply raise awareness of Shmita. We also want to explore the ways that traditional teachings about Shmita shed light on a significant range of contemporary issues that are directly or indirectly referenced in the concept of “Shmita,” including rest and work, relationship to land, relationship to community, relationship to debt and debt relief, definitions of community, and the issue of consumption itself. We believe that raising awareness about Shmita is important in deepening our understanding of Jewish tradition, and in helping us to think through critical issues in the world today. Specifically, the aims of the Shmita Project are to: •
Create an entryway into exploring the primary sources, rich commentary, and history surrounding this integrative and holistic cultural tradition.
•
Establish the understanding that Shmita exists within a cycle. It is not an isolated calendar year but a cycle that can be viewed as a vision for holistic cultural design, with guiding values that can enrich society as a whole, in all years.
•
Translate Shmita into a modern context by providing resources and tools to use in your community leading up to and during the Shmita Year.
•
Connect a worldwide network of individuals and organizations who are interested in exploring the possibility of infusing all aspects of the Jewish community with the values and ideals found in Shmita.
It is an honor and a joy to engage in this work. This sourcebook is one our flagship projects. Our intention for the sourcebook is to offer an educational background so that as many people as possible can participate in this conversation together. This is just a beginning. There is much more to explore. However, we hope this will serve in establishing a shared, common ground. From this place, we can continue the work, expanding our own curiosities and understanding of Shmita, and creatively apply the values of this tradition to our own lives in all the diverse ways that are possible. We hope you enjoy the sourcebook, and that it finds good use in your hands and in your community. Learn more at shmitaproject.org
Artists’ Statement Hazon means Vision. In this edition, we wanted to raise the visual profile to create an immersive learning experience. Many of the design elements have a deeper intention. Beautifying the commandments, hiddur mitzvah, is also a core tenet of Jewish tradition. The design is intended to make this a hybrid sourcebook and art book that is both beautiful to look at and layered with meaning which is outlined below: The shmita cycle has seven years, and seven is a recurring theme of the Jewish calendar. There is also a connection between the rainbow covenant that God made with Noah after the flood and the Shmita covenant to let the land rest. In this spirit, we decided to use the seven colors of the rainbow to demarcate the seven sections in the sourcebook. The rainbow theme is revisited on the cover, but it is abstracted into a circle to represent the cyclical nature of the Shmita cycle. It is also rendered with depth to show shmita’s connection to the soil, and the earth. There are ten themes identified in the book, which we represent graphically. The graphics appear throughout to visually indicate to readers when each theme emerges. Each icon has a visual meaning to represent that theme. Some are more literal, such as a hoof to represent lessons on improving animal welfare. Others are more abstract. For example, the transition from enslavement to freedom was represented with a dual chainlink + rainbow motif. Each section ends with a visual representation of nature at rest to allow space for reflection on the material and Shmita’s regard for honoring the Earth. Though many illustrations focus solely on the natural world, the sourcebook is intentionally mostly graphic to allow both sides of shmita; the environmental and the economic. The minimalist design is also intended to evoke the core tenants of Shmita: rest, release, and letting go. We hope the elevation of the visual elements in this volume will bring beauty and Joy to your learning and practice.
-Sarah Zell Young, Hazon and Dylan Wells, Relic Studio
Table of Contents Overview of the Book............................................... x
Key Hebrew Terms................................................. xiv
Themes of the Shmita Cycle................................... xii
Foreward to the 3rd Edition.................................... xvi
Section I: Biblical Foundations of Shmita_____________ 22 1. Vision for a Just Society...................................... 23
7. The Jubilee.......................................................... 30
2. The Sabbath of the Land..................................... 24
8. Personal Freedom: Emancipation of the Enslaved Hebrew People in the Yovel.............. 31
3. The Weekly Shabbat............................................ 26 4. Remission of Debt............................................... 27 5. Shmita and Faith.................................................. 28 6. Hakhel: Community Gathering........................... 29
9. An Economic Reset: The Reversion of Land in Yovel....................... 33 10. The Divine Blessings and Warnings of Shabbat/Shmita/Yovel.................................. 34
Section II: Recalling Ancient Memory_______________ 38 1. Shmita During the First Temple Period............... 39
6. Shmita as a Time of Plenty.................................. 46
2. Neglect of Shmita, Exile, and Return.................. 41
7. Shmita Year Shortages and Sacrifices................. 47
3. The Mitzvah to Keep the Count of the Shmita and Yovel Cycles.................................. 43
8. Empathy and Addressing the Challenges of Shmita in the Classical Period...................... 50
4. Shmita as a Marker of Time in Judicial Processes............................................. 44
9. Shmita, Empire, and Taxes in the Second Temple & Post-Second Temple Periods........... 52
5. Shmita as a Reference Point for Terumot and Ma’aserot..................................... 45
Section III: Codifying Shmita: Rabbinic Laws of Shmitat Ha’aretz (Land Release)___________________ 56 1. Forbidden Agricultural Practices of the Shmita Year............................................. 58
7. Shmita & Animals............................................... 69
2. Harvesting During Shmita................................... 62
8. The Sanctity of Shmita Produce & Not Letting Food Go to Waste...................... 70
3. Hefker: Communal Access.................................. 63
9. Part II: Sale of Produce....................................... 72
4. Consuming Shmita Produce when it is Ripe....... 66
10. The Value of Money and Its Holiness............... 74
5. Biur: Seasonal Diet.............................................. 67
11. Buying and Selling Shmita Produce.................. 75
6. Eat Local.............................................................. 68
Section IV: Codifying Shmita: Rabbinic Laws of Shmitat Kesafim (Remission of Debts)_______________ 78 1. Debt Forgiveness: Automatic or a Commandment?....................... 79 2. Repayment of Debt After Shmitat Kesafim......... 80
3. The Encouragement to Lend Money................... 81 4. Prozbul................................................................. 82
Section V: Rabbinic Voices and Visioning of Shmita: From Exile to Return______________________ 86 1. The Centrality of Shmita in the Torah................. 87 2. The Challenges of Shmita and Personal Strength....................................... 88
6. Moving Away from Private Ownership and Promoting Peace............................................... 92 7. The Balancing of the Seventh Year..................... 93
3. Shmita, Shabbat, Ownership, Our Relationship to Land, and Our Relationship to God.............. 89
8. Shmita as a Sabbatical to Devote to Other Important Pursuits............................................. 94
4. Shmita as Environment Protection...................... 90
9. The Seventh Millennia........................................ 95
5. Shmita as a Return to Eden................................. 91
Section VI: Back to the Land: Shmita in Israel, from Early Pioneers to Modern Times_______________ 98 1. The Challenges of Observing Shmita in the late 1800s / Heter Mechira.......................... 99
4. The Heter Mechira as a Necessary Evil? .......... 108
2. Does Selling the Land to a Non-Jew Exempt it from the Obligations of Shmita (I)?............ 104
6. Matza Menutak: Hothouses, Hydroponics, and Other Solutions to Grow Produce............ 112
3. Does Selling the Land to a Non-Jew Exempt it from the Obligations of Shmita (II)?........... 106
5. Otzar Beit Din .................................................. 110
7. Modern Tensions and Applications................... 113
Section VII: An Ancient Aspiration for Modern Times: The Relationship between Shmita, Everyday Life, and the Pursuit of Justice_________________________ 117 Thematic Explorations:
Erosion of Workers’ Rights................................... 134
Work and Rest - Shabbat....................................... 119
Food Insecurity...................................................... 136
Caring for Those in Need - Tzedakah................... 120
Animal Treatment in Agriculture.......................... 138
Between Dominion and Harmony - Yichud.......... 121
Access to Ancestral Lands..................................... 140
Responsible Stewardship - Shomrei Adamah....... 122
Land Degradation.................................................. 144
The Issues:
Loss of Biodiversity/Wildlife................................ 146
Patterns of Work and Burnout............................... 124
Poorly Managed Common Resources................... 148
Disproportionate Impact of Environmental and Climate Crises................................................. 126
Private Land Ownership & Inequity..................... 150
Rising Debt............................................................ 128
Overconsumption.................................................. 154
Slavery & Human Trafficking............................... 132 Additional Resources.......................................... 160
Food Waste............................................................ 152
Works Cited......................................................... 162
Overview of the Book Our goal was to create a resource that is at once accessible, comprehensive, and inspiring for a wide-spectrum of people: students and teachers, lay people and clergy, Jews and non-Jews, the learned and less-learned. In addition to providing source texts, we’ve updated the 3rd edition to include a summary and additional context for each source as well as an indication of how the themes and values of Shmita develop over history. The first section looks at the Biblical foundations of Shmita. It asks what does the Torah say about Shmita? What language does it use? What laws does it detail and where? What messages is it sending? The second section looks at sources about the Ancient and Classical periods of Jewish History. It looks at how Shmita was practiced and understood during the First Temple, Second Temple, and in the centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple. In order to do so, it uses both traditional Jewish sources and those that come from other works from that time. In sections three and four, we detail some of the legal aspects of the Shmita as they are presented in Rabbinic literature. The Torah’s account of Shmita is brief and leaves a lot open-ended. In the Mishnah and the Talmud, the Rabbis offer a much fuller picture of how Shmita was to be practiced. Many of the laws of Shmita are found in the tractate of Shevi’it in Seder Zeraim, the portion of the Mishnah devoted to agricultural laws. While there is no Babylonian Talmud on Shevi’it, there is a tractate of Shevi’it in the Jerusalem Talmud and rabbinic conversations about Shmita scattered across the Babylonian Talmud. The sections are largely structured around the rulings of Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. In that work, Rambam took the Talmudic discussions and condensed them into clear rulings of law. In his Book of Zeraim, we can find Hilchot Shmita v’Yovel, an entire section devoted to codifying the laws of Shmita and Yovel. Rambam’s rulings serve as the jumping-off point for many of our discussions. Section five presents the Rabbinic writings from Diaspora Jewish communities, where the spark of Shmita was kept alive within Rabbinic teaching. Rabbis wrote about Shmita as an ideal utopian vision, romantically celebrating the beauty that Shmita inspires.
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Next, in section six, we present the very real dilemma that arose as an increasing number of Jews returned to Israel, culminating with the First Aliyah in the 1880’s, the subsequent pioneers, and then the creation of the state in 1948. With significant portions of the Jewish people back in Israel, the provisions of Shmita became as real as those of Shabbat or any other Jewish practice. This created some big hurdles and questions for those early communities in Israel, trying on the one hand to keep true to the ancient law of the land, and, on the other hand, to meet the challenges of building a new country and maintain modern lifestyles. Finally, section seven looks at how Shmita can be applied as a framework to consider the most pressing environmental, social, economic, and spiritual challenges of the contemporary world. We consider: what do the values of Shmita mean for us now, in a society so vastly different from the early agrarian societies of the Israelites? We revisit the themes of Shmita as well as introduce contemporary interpretations of the Shmita tradition. This section closes with a discussion of contemporary issues within the framework of the Shmita tradition. Use this section as a model for how Shmita can spark new dimensions and ways of thinking about modern life. Shmita, as a cultural platform, exists within, and stands upon, the broader context of the Torah, as well as Jewish history, laws, tradition and thought. There are particular laws specific to the Shmita Year, and there may be very clear ways to prepare for this time. However, as students of Shmita, we invite you to explore the many ways Shmita is an extension of the rest of the Torah, both narrowly and broadly defined. As you study the specific agricultural laws of Shmita, consider the broader context of Jewish agricultural laws and how it have played a part in supporting a Sabbatical release. As you study the economics of Shmita, consider the broader context of Jewish economic values and how it might have laid the initial framework for a Sabbatical release. What might these ideas say about Jewish tradition as a whole, beyond Shmita itself? In this way, Shmita can be seen as a culmination of all Torah values in holistic practice, and it can also be seen as a portal through which to view the entire Torah. The questions that were raised go to the heart of contemporary conversations about Shmita, and in particular to the various compromises we might make between the ideal and the real.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Background on Sources This Sourcebook draws from texts spanning thousands of years and from across the globe. Here is a brief overview of the history of Jewish text and thought. When a major source is first mentioned, a sidebar will often provide some additional historical context. The earliest texts we have are from the Torah (The Five Books of Moses) and the Jewish Bible. Jewish tradition and modern scholarship disagree as to the authorship and age of the Torah, although the texts of the Prophets (Nevi’im) and later Writings (Ketuvim) span from the year 1000 BCE (the time of King David) through 500 BCE, roughly the timeframe of the First Temple Period. The final books of the Bible recount the return of the first exiles from Babylonia and the building of the Second Temple around 516 BCE. During the Second Temple period, additional works were authored, although they were excluded from the biblical canon. These include the Book of Maccabees, which describe the Hasmonean Revolt around 167 BCE, as well as additional works which survive as part of some Christian biblical canons. Additionally, other historical writings exist from the end of this time period, most notably from Josephus, a 1stcentury Jewish-Roman historian. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, which led to the rise of Rabbinic Judaism. With Jerusalem in ruins, the center for Jewish thought moved to northern Israel, where the early sages compiled the first Midrash commentaries on the Torah in the 1st and 2nd centuries. This was
followed by the Mishnah, a terse summary of Jewish law, written c. 200 CE by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Later generations of rabbis in both Israel and Babylonia expanded on the Mishnah, and their discussions were organized into the Jerusalem Talmud (c. 300) and the Babylonian Talmud (c. 500). After the Talmudic era, the main center of Jewish thought was Babylonia, where community leaders known as Geonim wrote letters and essays on religious law, and the first prayer books were compiled. By the Middle Ages major Jewish centers spanned from Western Europe to Northern Africa to Babylonia. The rabbis from this time period are known as Rishonim (lit. “early ones”), who penned commentaries on the Bible, Mishnah, and Talmud as well as essays on Jewish law. The most famous of them were Rashi (11th century France) and Rambam (Maimonidies, 12th century Egypt). Rambam wrote the first of the modern Jewish Law Codes, the Mishneh Torah, a new type of legal reference that codified rulings from earlier teachings. In the 16th century, Rabbi Yosef Karo, writing in Tzfat in northern Israel, wrote the Shulchan Arukh, a massive legal code that became the standard reference for Jewish legal writing from then on. Rabbis who wrote after its publication are known as Acharonim (lit. “later ones”). Textual commentaries, writings on legal rulings, and philosophical texts continue to be published by Jewish leaders to this day.
Learning with this Sourcebook Traditionally, Jewish texts are studied together in “chavruta”, which means “fellowship.” In a chavruta, two people sit together, read a text out loud, and ask questions of the text and each other to gain a deeper understanding of a source. The practice of chavruta is a core part of Jewish learning; it is an intense and provocative way to learn a text. It allows deep engagement with each small section of text, and your partner’s questions may be substantially different from your own. The combined exploration of the text can make for a rich discussion. The two partners do not have to have the same amount of knowledge, although they should be interested in each other’s questions, and in encouraging the other to ask their questions. We encourage you to adopt the spirit of chavruta, whether you are reading this on our own or as part of a regular study group. 1. First, take time to understand the text. Ask yourself, or your study partner, questions that emerge as you read each source. We’ve included guiding questions with the sources to help draw out some core concepts. Debating with each other and the texts are highly encouraged. Don’t expect answers to all of your
questions; you may find a kinship with an author who was plagued by the same questions as you hundreds of years ago! 2. Consider all of the sources, even if you find them challenging. Take time to understand why the author adopted their position. A summary for each source and information on most of the authors are included to contextualize each source. 3. Bring yourself, your experiences, and your ideas to the text! We often like to quote, “Torah is a commentary on the world. The world is a commentary on the Torah.” 4. Try other modalities of learning. Some examples are journaling, nature walks, meditation, prayer, or gardening. Your understanding of Shmita may change when incorporating studying in other ways. You can use the sections in this book to host a multi-week group study circle (or Beit Midrash), a one-day seminar, an evening lecture, or an informal group conversation around a dinner table or anywhere you’d like.
Introduction
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Themes of the Shmita Cycle Below are the ten core principles we have gathered from primary Shmita texts. Taken together, these principles illustrate four broader themes, which are drawn from the pedagogy of the JOFEE (Jewish Outdoor, Food, Farming, and Environmental Education) movement. These principle and broader themes woven throughout the sourcebook to help guide you through a comprehensive exploration of Shmita.
Work and Rest - Shabbat
Shabbat is the Jewish day of rest that celebrates God’s completion of the creation of the world, and is also connected with the Exodus from Egypt. It is the ritual anchor of the Jewish week.
1. Let Rest & Lie Fallow: During the Shmita year we are required to form a new relationship with work and rest. We allow land, body, colleagues, and habits around consumption and production to rest. In this pause, we reflect on the previous six years of work and look forward toward the coming six years. 2. Release With Faith: Shmita reminds us that we are part of a greater whole - connected to a truth that does not own our land, resources, or even time, but rather understands these are Divine gifts. To enter into Shmita is to embrace a sense of security that is beyond our control, to let go of the frameworks that bind us to the “right” path and experience life as it unfolds, in harmony with the cycles of nature.
Caring for Those in Need - Tzedakah
Related to the Hebrew word Tzedek, meaning Justice, Tzedakah is distributing resources to create justice. Justice is not achieved but rather is a process that we commit to through community action.
1. Freeing Those Who are Enslaved: The Torah teaches us that after six years, Hebrew slaves must be permitted to go free, and after seven cycles of seven, regardless of prior arrangements, all slaves must be released. Often, these slaves were indentured to pay off debts or as punishment for wrongdoing. Today people throughout the world are bound by unfair labor practices, imprisonment, and human trafficking. 2. Debt Release: In biblical times, all debts within the Isrelite nation were canceled at the conclusion of the Shmita year. We are invited to consider the implications of this practice in today’s ceaseless cycle of debt acquisition and the resulting generational wealth gap. 3. Generous Giving: Shmita teaches us that goods, services, and resources should be shared freely and without attachment during this period of rest, so that all who have need find enough.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Between Dominion and Harmony - Yichud
Translates to Oneness or Togetherness. Everything we experience has unfolded from one Creator and one source. With regular reminders of our unity and interconnectedness with all creation, we will thrive and grow as one.
1. Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution: During the Shmita year, harvested and stored food became communal property. All that had been saved in the preceding years and all that could be gathered from the perennial plants were shared freely and equally among the people. Today, millions go hungry in a world that has more than enough but few mechanisms for sharing those resources. 2. Land as an Ownerless Resource: Shmita asks us to rethink the modern view of ownership, reminding us that land isn’t ours to buy and sell permanently. Coming on the heels of seven Shmita (Sabbatical) cycles, Jubilee is the great letting go, as all ancestral lands purchased since the last Jubilee are returned to their original tribal landholders. Even when land is sold, the Torah reminds us that what’s being purchased is the number of harvests until the next Jubilee, not the land itself. We learn that individuals do not have absolute control over the land they steward but rather that every seven years, while the land rests, what is produced is commonly shared, and access is given freely. Every fifty years, land ownership reverts to its original state.
Responsible Stewardship - Shomrei Adamah
Meaning Guardians of the Earth. God instructed the Jewish people to be guardians for the earth in the garden of Eden. Ever since, we have been entrusted to care for all of God’s creation.
1. Waste Reduction: That which is harvested during the Shmita year cannot be wasted - it must be fully consumed in a manner that considers the needs of one’s neighbors and the importance of shared space and resources. Shmita reminds us that what is created is precious and should not be squandered or taken for granted. 2. Eat Locally and Seasonally: In keeping with our relationship to land and the rhythms of nature, we are invited to eat from the bounty that is available near us, enjoy what is seasonally available, and consume mindfully all that we have. In allowing the land to rest from intensive agriculture practices we are encouraged to live in harmony with what is available rather than what we can source through global trade. 3. Animal Welfare: During the Shmita year animals raised for consumption must be given access to pasture lands and allowed to behave as animals in their natural state. Today, animals are often confined to spaces that limit their ability to move, grow, and thrive without consideration for their welfare. Introduction
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Key Hebrew Terms While all Hebrew texts in this Sourcebook are translated, there are some Hebrew terms which are often simply written out in English characters - generally, because they have no exact translation or because they are a key concept being discussed. These terms are defined within the text, but also summarized here:
Hebrew
Transliteration
Translation
Explanation
שמיטה
Shmita
release
The sabbatical year. Every seventh year the Torah commands that the land rest and debts be released.
שביעית
shvi’it
seventh
Used in Rabbinic literature as a shorthand for “seventh year”. In this sourcebook, this term is translated as “shmita” rather than “seventh” for ease of understanding.
קדושת שביעית
kedushat shvi’it
holiness of the seventh
The inherent sanctity that exists for produce grown during Shmita.
יוֹבֵ ל
Yovel
Jubilee
The 50th or Jubilee year, coming after 7 Shmita cycles, when land reverts back to original tribal owners and all slaves are freed.
הקַ הֵ ל
Hakhel
gather
A commandment to gather the people of Israel every seven years and read various passages from the Torah aloud.
ביעור
biur
destruction
The point in time when Shmita produce cannot be stored unless it is through the Otzar Beit Din because it no longer grows in the field.
הפקר
hefker
ownerless
A legal status of property which allows it to be used by anyone.
שמיטת הארץ
shmitat ha’aretz
release of the land
The idea that the land is released and left to rest during the seventh year. The laws associated with it govern what agricultural labors may be performed, the status of the fruits grown during that year, and other related concepts.
שמיטת כספים
shmitat kesafim
monetary release/ remission of debts
The idea that debts are remitted at the end of the Shmita.
היתר מכירה
heter mechira
permit through sale
A legal mechanism where land is sold to a nonJew for the duration of Shmita, allowing it to be cultivated.
אוצר בית דין
otzer beit din
storehouse of the court
A legal mechanism where a rabbinical court takes control of the land during Shmita, allowing produce to be collected and distributed.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Etymology of the Seventh Year Below are the mentions of Shmita along with where they appear in the Torah. Take note that different words are used for Shmita.
Hebrew
Transliteration
Translation
ִ ְִּׁשב יעת
shvi’it
Seventh
ִּת ׁ ְש ְמטֶ ָנּה ּונ ְַט ׁ ְש ּ ָת ּה
tishm’tena u’nitashta
Release & Lie Fallow
ׁ ַש ָּבת לַיהוָה
shabbat l’Adonay
Shabbat for God
Leviticus 25:1
ׁ ַש ַּבת ׁ ַש ָּבתוֹן
shabbat shabbaton
Shabbat of Shabbats
Leviticus 25:4
ׁ ַש ַּבת הָ אָ ֶרץ
shabbat ha’aretz
Shabbat of the Land
Leviticus 25:6
ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ָטה
Shmita
Let It Go & Let It Be
Release Remission
Introduction
Location
Exodus 23:11, Leviticus 25:4
Exodus 23:11
Deuteronomy 15:1
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Foreword in Honor of Shmita 5782, 3rd Edition
In this foreword, I want to suggest why Shmita is so important. I want to sketch out some of the questions that you could think about as you learn some or all of these texts. And, of course, I want to end with hakarat hatov gratitude to the many people who have been involved in bringing this to you.
Why shmita is so important
Leviticus, 25: 3-7
ׁ֖ ֤ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנִים֙ ִּתזְ ַ֣רע ָש ֶ ׂ֔ד ָך וְ ׁ ֥ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָש ִנ֖ים ִּתזְ ֣מ ֹר ַּכ ְר ֑ ֶמ ָך וְ אָ סַ פְ ּ ָת ְּ ֶא ת־תבוּאָ ֽ ָת ּה׃ Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield.
It’s taken me some while to understand that Shmita is critical to understanding the nature of Jewishness and Jewish tradition. Let me say this quite plainly: if we haven’t deeply engaged with the topic of Shmita, I don’t think we can fully understand what Jewish tradition is about.That’s a strong claim. And it is surprising given that, (perhaps until fairly recently?) it has been easy to be a reasonably observant or knowledgeable Jew and not have given much thought to the topic of Shmita.
ָ ֔ יעת ׁ ַש ַּ֤בת ׁ ַש ָּבת ֹון֙ י ְִה ֶי֣ה ל ֗ ִ ִוּבַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁשב ָא ֶרץ ׁ ַש ָּב֖ת לַיה ֹ ָו֑ה ֽ ָש ְׂד ֙ ָך ֣ל ֹא ִתזְ ָ ֔רע וְ כַ ְר ְמ ָך֖ ֥ל ֹא ִתזְ ֽמ ֹר׃
But I make this claim because Shmita is a vital connecting link which helps us to understand parts of the tradition that we observe more frequently.
You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.
It’s the connecting link that helps us to understand Shabbat more deeply, which we observe every seven days; and Sefirat Ha’omer, the annual seven-week count from Pesach to Shavuot; and the whole period from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to Shmini Atzeret & Simchat Torah, which fall during Tishrei, the seventh month.
ָ֣ ְו֠הָ י ְָ֠תה ׁ ַש ַּ֨בת הָ ָ֤א ֶרץ לָכֶ ם֙ לְ אׇ כְ ָ֔לה לְ ָך֖ וּלְ עַ בְ ְד ּך וְ לַאֲ ָמ ֑ ֶת ָך ָ֣ ׁ וְ לִ ְש ִֽׂכ ְיר ֙ ָך וּלְ תו ֹשבְ ֔ ָך הַ ָג ִּר֖ים ִע ּֽ ָמ ְך׃
Consider these two texts. The first is from Exodus, and we say these words as part of our Shabbat morning kiddush. The second introduces shmita, in Leviticus.
ְּ וְ ִ֨לבְ הֶ ְמ ְּת ֔ ָך וְ ֽ ַלחַ ָיּ֖ה אֲ ׁ ֶ֣שר ְ ּבאַ ְר ֑ ֶצ ָך ִּת ְה ֶי֥ה כׇ ל־תבוּאָ ָת ּ֖ה לֶאֱ ֽכ ֹל׃
Exodus, 20:8-11
ָ ֖ש ׂ ֣ ִ ָזָכ֛ וֹר֩ אֶ ת־ ֨ ֥יוֹם הַ ׁ ּ ַש ֖֜ ָּבת לְ קַ ְּד ׁ ֽ ֗שוֹ׃ ׁ ֤֣ ֵש ׁ ֶשת י ִ ָ֣מים֙ ּֽ ַתעֲ ֔ב ֹד֮ וְ ע ית ְ ׇּכ ל־מלַאכְ ּֽ ֶת ֒ ָך׃ Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
ָ יעי ׁ ַש ָּ֖֣בת ׀ לַיה ֹ ָו֣ה אֱ ל ֶֹ֑֗ה ִ֔֜ ִוְ ֨יוֹם֙ הַ ְּׁשב ַ ֹ יך ֽ ֣ל ׂ ֶ֣֨ ֲא־תע שה כׇ ל־ ָּך וַאֲ ֽ ָמ ְת ֜ ֙ ָך וּבְ הֶ ְמ ּ֔ ֶ֗ת ָך וְ ג ְֵר ֖֙ך ָ֤ ֨ ָאכה אַ ּ ָ֣תה ׀ וּבִ נ ְָ֣ך־ ּו֠בִ ּ ֶ֗ת ָך עַ בְ ְד ָ֡ ֜ ְמל ָאֲ ׁ ֶ֥֣שר ִ ּב ׁ ְשעָ ֽ ֶ ֔ריך׃ But the seventh day is a sabbath of God, you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.
But in the seventh year the land shall have a shabbat of complete rest, a shabbat of God; you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
ִ ֶ֣ ֵאת ְס ִ ֤פיחַ ְק ִֽצ ְיר ֙ ָך ֣ל ֹא ִת ְק ֔צוֹר וְ א ת־ע ְנ ֥ ֵּבי נְזִ ֶיר ָ֖ך ֣ל ֹא ִתבְ ֑צ ֹר ָ ֽ ׁ ְש ַנ֥ת ׁ ַש ָּבת֖וֹן י ְִה ֶי֥ה ל ָא ֶרץ׃
But you may eat whatever the land during its shabbat will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you,
your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield. When you read these two texts together, the structural parallels, the repetition of words and concepts, is clear. We are meant to hear in each of these texts an echo of the other. And that means that we can’t properly understand shabbat, which is central to Jewish life, without in fact deeply connecting it to shmita. And not just to shmita. Because the Leviticus text continues: Leviticus, 25:8-10
וְ סָ פַ ְר ּ ָ֣ת לְ ֗ ָך ׁ ֶ֚שבַ ע ׁ ַש ְ ּב ֣ת ֹת ׁ ָש ִנ֔ים ׁ ֥ ֶשבַ ע ׁ ָש ִנ֖ים ׁ ֶ֣שבַ ע ּ ְפעָ ִ֑מים וְ הָ ֣י ּו לְ ֗ ָך י ְֵמ ֙י ׁ ֶ֚שבַ ע ׁ ַש ְ ּב ֣ת ֹת הַ ָּׁש ִנ֔ים ּ ֥ ֵת ׁ ַשע וְ אַ ְר ָּב ִע֖ים ׁ ָש ֽ ָנה׃ You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years.
ִּ֣כי ׁ ֽ ֵש ׁ ֶשת־י ִָמים֩ עָ ָ ׂ֨שה ְיה ֹ ֜ ָוה אֶ ת־הַ ָּׁש ַ֣מיִם וְ אֶ ת־הָ ָ֗א ֶרץ אֶ ת־ ֵ ּ֗ ַיעי ע ָּ ֔ ת־כל־אֲ ׁ ֶש הַ ָיּם֙ וְ אֶ ׇּ ִ֑ ִר־בם ַו ָיּ֖נַח ַּב ֣יּוֹם הַ ְּׁשב ל־כן ֵּב ֧ ַר ְך ֵ ֽ ׁ ְיה ֹ ָו֛ה אֶ ת־ ֥יוֹם הַ ַּׁש ָּב֖ת ֽ ַויְקַ ְד ּשהוּ׃
שוֹר ַל ֑ח ֹ ֶד ׁש ֖ ׂ ָוְ ֽ ַהעֲ בַ ְר ּ ָ֞ת ׁשו ַֹ֤פר ְּתרוּעָ ה֙ ַּב ֣ח ֹ ֶד ׁש הַ ְּׁשבִ ִ֔עי ֶּבע ְ ּביוֹם֙ הַ ִּכ ּ ֻפ ִ ֔רים ּ ַתעֲ ִ ֥ביר ּו ׁשוֹפָ ֖ר ְ ּבכׇ ל־אַ ְר ְצ ֽ ֶכם׃
For in six days God made the heavens and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and God rested on the seventh day; and so God blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Then you shall sound the horn loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month—the Day of Atonement— you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land
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The Shmita Sourcebook
ְ ׁ וְ ִק ַד ֶ֥ ּש ּ ֶ֗תם ֣ ֵאת ׁ ְש ַנ֤ת הַ חֲ ִמ ִּׁשים֙ ׁ ָש ָנ֔ה ו ְּק ָר אתם ְד ּ֛רוֹר ָּבאָ ֶ֖רץ לְ כׇ ל־י ׁ ְֹש ֑ ֶביהָ יו ֥ ֵֹבל ִהוא֙ ִּת ְה ֶי֣ה ל ֔ ֶָכם וְ ׁ ַשבְ ּ ֶ֗תם ִ ֚א ׁיש אֶ ל־ ִ ֶאֲ ֻח ָז ּ֔ת ֹו וְ ִ ֥א ׁיש א ל־מ ׁ ְש ּפַ ְח ּת֖ ֹו ּ ָת ׁ ֻֽשבוּ׃ and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release/liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family. We learn that Shabbat and Shmita are connected also to Yovel, the Jubilee, which is the final fractal in the series; and to Yom Kippur, which is described here as being in the seventh month. And the intertwining in fact goes even further. Both Yom Kippur and Shmita - one a single day; the other a full year - are described in the Torah as “Shabbat Shabbaton.” Which is to say: we can’t understand Yom Kippur without knowing that it is in some sense akin to Shmita, and that Shmita is sense akin to Yom Kippur. There’s one last question we have to address before we can put these jigsaw pieces together: What are the challenges that Shmita comes to address? We need to know this in order to understand not just that the words of the Shabbat kiddush are intended to remind us of the Shmita year but, more deeply, why we are meant to be thinking about Shmita as part of our sense of what Shabbat is about. This Shmita Sourcebook will let you read the primary and secondary texts carefully, and get a sense of the range of issues being addressed. But it is clear that central to them are two related ideas. First, we have an obligation to reduce inequality. The consequence of enacting any of the Shmita texts, certainly in the Second Temple period, was to cause those who had more to share their wealth - their land, their food, their money - with those who had less. And second, and a related idea: what we have, what we “own,” is not ours in an absolute sense. Jewish tradition understands the world as being the creation of God, and thus in some sense “owned” by God. What we have our land, our food, our property; nowadays our stuff, our electronica, our furniture and clothes and books and gizmos - is therefore a gift from God. These two ideas inform each other. It is because the tradition critiques our sense of absolute ownership that it is able to instruct us to share what we have with those who have less. So now we can put the pieces together. This is why Shmita is so important: it helps us to understand what Shabbat and Yom Kippur are about; why we have these regular observances; and the behaviors and attitudes and the larger vision of society that they are directing us towards.
Moving forwards with Shmita the next seven years Despite my own significant interest in Shmita, my own relationship to it has continued to evolve. In the last Shmita year, in 5775, I had decided not to buy books and liquor, both as a way to remind myself that it was the Shmita year, and as a way to let go, at least a little, of acquiring things. (Shmita, in the simplest sense, means to let go or release.) Doing this was worthwhile - it did remind me that it was the Shmita year, and it did also teach me that, indeed, I had enough. But it took me a few years to realize that, as good and worthwhile as this was, it omitted entirely the aspect of Shmita that is about sharing what one has with those who have less. So for 5782 I’ve decided again not to buy books or liquor, and clothes also; but this time I’ve also decided to give an equivalent amount of money to people who have less. As I write the year is yet young. But in the last week I gave gifts to a friend whose business was badly affected by covid, and to a young woman who has been on an 8-day hunger strike, opposite the President’s house, here in Jerusalem, from Tsom Gedalia to Yom Kippur, to call for public action on the climate crisis. Each of these gifts, for me, was a part of my observance of Shmita. Neither is hugely significant in itself. And yet Jewish tradition teaches, and I think rightly, that we weave community and a better shared society from a multitude of daily actions and inactions. Small acts of kindness are, as it were, not sufficient, but they are necessary. This commitment both to buying fewer things, and to giving an equivalent amount of money directly to others who have less - I would say, straightforwardly, that this is the heart of Jewish tradition. There is no point in learning texts or engaging Jewishly, if the act of doing so doesn’t push us, in our daily behaviors, to strive to be better people. This leads me to some of the questions we should be asking, and some of the territory that is as yet insufficiently explored. Because Shmita is not just about acquiring less, and giving to others; it is about envisioning and bringing to fruition the larger vision of Shmita. This vision is very clearly communal and societal at least as much as it is individual. All of this territory – we have barely scratched it. As more and more of us learn about Shmita, think about it, try to enact aspects of it individually – even as we do these things, the larger questions come more sharply into focus. How do we reduce inequality in a modern state? What different roles do institutions and religious communities play in that process? How does the wisdom of Shmita start to inform larger societal conversations about rest, work, debt, relationship to land, bounds of community, etc.
Introduction
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This is why it’s so fascinating for me to begin the Shmita year here in Israel. This is a country not only in which some farmers observe Shmita; it is also a country that, institutionally, and other than for very specific need, doesn’t plant trees during the Shmita year. Israel is far from having integrated the concept of Shmita into mainstream contemporary discourse. But the possibility of that happening is latent here. Seeds are being planted. Ideas are fruiting. And so for all of us: how can, could or should my synagogue observe Shmita? Or my JCC, my Jewish camp, Hillel, my place of work? Could we use the idea of Shmita to create a revolving bail fund, to loan money to people who need it to get out of jail - and to forgive that debt, if they can’t or don’t repay it? What would it be to convene a conversation in the Jewish world about applying the lessons of Shmita to Jewish life - and to the wider society? What would it mean for foundations to start to think about the values of Shmita as informing and inflecting their work? And: how does Shmita help shape the post-Covid conversation - about the nature of work, and work and overwork, and work and rest; and also about public health, and the need to slow down, not only as individuals but as a society; and yet ideally to do this without a global pandemic? So… I hope that you will read these texts, discuss them, learn them, apply them. Allow them to infuse your life, your teaching, your institution, your family. And be in touch if you have ideas, questions, suggestions. The Shmita Sourcebook is just part of Hazon’s work on shmita. It encompasses the Shmita Prizes, and the Shmita Project, and Maggid’s publication, later this year, of a second enlarged translated and annotated edition of Rav Kook’s Shabbat Ha’Aretz. And we see this as long-term work. The Shmita Project is open-source -- it is freely shared with and by many people and organizations, and we invite you to be part of it. In addition to the people thanked in the preface to the first edition, I want to thank Hannah Elovitz, Rabbi Sam Feinsmith, Michal Fox Smart, Hannah Knibb Henza, Jack Henza, Dr. Rani Jaeger, Shira Hecht Koller, Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi, Rabbi Dr. Adam Mintz, Irit Offer-Stark, Dayan Yehoshua Pfeffer, Dr. Renana Ravitzky Pilzer, Stefanie Raker, Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein, Eliot Sacks, Rabbi Lewis Warshauer, and Myriam Angel for help, advice, inspiration and ideas. I thank the growing number of organizations who have joined the Shmita Project. I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Covenant Foundation and the Jim Joseph Foundation in enabling us to do this work. Special thanks are due to Jakir Manela, my friend and colleague. When we started work on this new edition, he was the CEO of Pearlstone and I was CEO of Hazon. xviii
But in the year in which we have been working on this new Shmita Sourcebook, I have stepped down as CEO of Hazon; Pearlstone and Hazon have agreed to merge; and Jakir is now the CEO of the soon-to-be-merged Hazon. There are many reasons that I am delighted that he is succeeding me, but just one of them is that, like me, he has been at the forefront of thinking seriously about Shmita over the last two Shmita cycles. My greatest thanks go to Sarah Zell Young, Bruce Spierer, Hannah Henza, Yoni Brander, Eli Weinbach, Hadassah Penn, David Rendsburg, Sarah Wolk and Dylan Wells who have worked the hardest on this new edition. Each of you is kind, dedicated, thoughtful, and models in your own way an evolving commitment to observing Jewish tradition in the 21st century. Thank you for what you do, and for who you are. I’m finishing this preface a couple of hours after breaking fast, at the end of Yom Kippur. The woman I mentioned who was on hunger strike outside Beit Hanassi is called Michal Schwartz. I happened to meet her the day that she began her fast, and I visited her and spent some time with her every day that she was there. Yesterday morning I was on my way to shul for Yom Kippur and planned just to stop and be with her for a few minutes. But I ended up staying with her and her friends for five hours, sitting there in my tallit and with my machzor, partly davening, partly talking with people who came by. The night before, after Kol Nidrei, Bougie came over with his wife to say hello - the second time he had done so. You or I would know Bougie as President Herzog, the 11th, and current, President of the State of Israel. He asked her to write him a letter, explaining what she would like him to do. I was very moved by this. Israel is a small country. The conversation about the climate crisis connects here to conversations about Shmita, and vice versa. A year from now it will be hakhel – the biblical commemoration which marks the end of one Shmita cycle and the start of the next. The nasi, the president, comes to the temple to address all of the people – to read Torah to them, which is to say moral instruction about how we should be living. Will President Herzog convene a conversation, next Sukkot, to think about the new Shmita cycle, and the values of Shmita, and to connect them to the greatest challenges that Israel, the Jewish people and the world now faces? In learning from this Shmita Sourcebook, I hope that we will all start to engender this conversation, and that in doing so we will help to create a better world for all.
Nigel Savage
11th Tishrei 5782 / 16th September 2021
The Shmita Sourcebook
Preface to the 2nd Edition Cycles of time are central to Jewish life, and they are among the most significant of our contributions to the world around us. The modern weekend of western tradition is simply the extension of the Sabbath from one day to two; without the Sabbath there would be no weekend. And without the Torah, and the Shabbat of Jewish tradition, there would be no Sabbath. That indeed is why the word for “Saturday” in Italian is sabato – because the Sabbath, introduced into Italy in Roman days by the Jews, began on the Jewish Sabbath and not on the Christian Sunday that subsequently evolved from it. In practice, today, Shabbat remains central to Jewish life, though Jewish people observe Shabbat differently from each other – it’s different in a reform synagogue than an orthodox one, and it’s observed differently by a hiloni (secular) Israeli than by someone who’s observant. But it’s literally impossible to imagine Jewish life without Shabbat. And just as Shabbat punctuates the week, so too the chagim – the holidays – punctuate the year. Tu b’Shvat and Purim and Pesach herald the spring. Shavuot marks early summer. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provoke selfreflection as a new Jewish year begins. Sukkot celebrates the harvest and the end of summer. Chanukah offers light in the darkness and the knowledge that a new natural cycle will shortly begin. In recent years there’s been a flowering of interest and awareness in the rhythms of the calendar. The every-28years blessing of the sun was a big deal when it happened in 2009; I hope I’ll be around to celebrate the next one in 2037. This year we celebrated Chanukah and Thanksgiving together – the last time that will occur for about 75,000 years. More prosaically: more people probably count the omer, today, than did so a dozen years ago. New books have come out looking at the entire period from Rosh Chodesh Elul through to Simchat Torah as a single period of time, focused on teshuvah. More people each cycle seem to be learning daf yomi – a seven-and-a-half year cycle of Jewish life that is an early twentieth-century innovation, but one which shows signs of lasting for a long time to come. The one long cycle of Jewish life that remains relatively unexplored is the cycle of Shmita. The sabbatical year is no less central in the Torah than is Shabbat itself. Six days you should work, and on the seventh you should rest; six years you should work the land, and engage in commerce; in the seventh year (somehow) the land should rest, you should rest, and debts should be annulled. After 49 days, seven cycles of seven, the 50th day is Shavuot. And after 49 years, seven cycles of seven, the 50th is Yovel – the Jubilee year. In a formal halachic sense – in terms of Jewish law – most of the halachot of Shmita only apply in Israel. In practical terms, therefore, Shmita becomes headline news once every seven years when, invariably, there are arguments about how it should be observed in practice in the modern
land and state of Israel. There is a good deal of work in Hebrew about Shmita, what it means, how it can and should be observed, and so on. Even so, inside Israel Shmita is mostly the intellectual property of the orthodox and ultra-orthodox. Until very recently, few non-orthodox Israeli Jews had engaged much with Shmita, either as an ida or as a potential range of practices. Outside Israel, Shmita remains obscure. In the last two Shmita Years – in 2000-2001, and in 20072008 – I’m aware of a number of synagogues, mostly orthodox, which held study sessions on Shmita. Beyond a few one-off learning sessions: not much. It was in response to this, in December 2007, following a keynote given by Nati Passow of Jewish Farm School at Hazon’s second Food Conference at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, that I said that we would launch a Shmita Project. Its goal would be – and remains – simply to put Shmita back on the agenda of the Jewish people; and in due course, through us, to start to seed it as an idea in wider public awareness, beyond the bounds of Jewish life. There are, I think, two broad – and somewhat distinct, albeit overlapping – ways for us to engage with Shmita. One is, in a sense, instrumental; the second has a deeper kind of intellectual integrity, but may also be vaguer. The instrumental use is simply about putting Shmita literally back on the calendar. Even in non-halachic Jewish communities, Shabbat is still different from other days of the week. Jews go to a Seder, or eat matzah on Pesach, even if they don’t keep all of the halachot of Pesach. So Shmita ought, in the first instance, to come back into active Jewish life as a distinct time frame – regardless of the content with which we actually mark it. I mean by this, things like: • Using the time from now until the next Shmita Year (which starts at Rosh Hashanah 5775, that is, on September 24th, 2014) as a distinct timeperiod in relation to Shmita: learning about it, getting people excited about it, thinking about how the Shmita Year could be different; and doing this in advance of the year itself. This involves publicly framing the Shmita Year as a year distinct in the life of a particular Jewish institution. How could or should we be different, during this year, than during the other six years of the cycle? • Then using the Shmita Year itself not merely to be different, in some way, than in the previous years; but also – for the first time in modern Jewish history; perhaps for the first time since Second Temple times – using the Shmita Year itself partly to start a public conversation about the entire next seven-year Shmita Cycle;
Introduction
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• And then entering into a full seven-year cycle, from September 13th, 2015 to September 25th, 2022, with Shmita firmly on the calendar of Jewish life – with a sense of seven-year goals for institutions, being worked on through the full seven-year period, and with the seventh year itself being both a celebration, a culmination, and a period of rest and reflection, following the preceding six years. The second way for us to engage Shmita is indeed to engage intellectually (and indeed emotionally, creatively and spiritually) with the texts themselves: the primary, secondary and tertiary texts that introduce, explicate, and comment on the various ideas encompassed by the idea of “Shmita.” Most of the rest of this sourcebook is devoted to these texts. I’ve been learning them steadily for the last five and a half years. The longer I have learned them the more fascinated I have become by Shmita. The primary texts are models not only of brevity but also of unclarity and contradiction. What exactly were you meant to eat in the Shmita Year? How do the different aspects of Shmita stand in relation to each other? If the Jewish people bequeathed to human history only these primary texts, what theory of Jewish tradition – of our values and aspirations – might we derive from them? The prozbol and the heter mechira: are these in some sense regretful compromises, which dilute the pureness of the original biblical texts? Or are they vital innovations in Jewish life which should be celebrated because they are grounded in the reality of human behavior and the necessity to place central human needs (in the economies both of land and of money) above abstract aspiration? This collection is a first draft. Shmita is the public property of the Jewish people – and a gift from us to the whole world. So we hope that you will read them – learn them – and share them. Most of all we hope that you’ll get back to us with comments, emendations, suggestions and questions. We fully intend to publish a revised and expanded edition in a few months time. I want to express my own thanks to many people who have helped shape my thinking on Shmita: Yeshiva Chovevei Torah and Lincoln Square Synagogue did a superb daylong yom iyyun on Shmita, in December 2007, which was absolutely outstanding, which I still remember clearly, and which helped give me a sense of the range and complexity of rabbinic sources on Shmita. Adam Berman, Zelig Golden, Nati Passow, Dr. Shamu Sadeh and Nili Simhai have been the key influences on me amongst my organizational friends and peers in thinking about Jewish education and relationship to land. Shuli Passow shared with me a superb essay she wrote on Hakhel. Jakir Manela put together an absolutely phenomenal beit midrash retreat on Shmita at Pearlstone Center in early 2012. It had a huge impact on those present, and provided a model of
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what’s possible going forwards. Dr. Jeremy Benstein has been a significant influence in helping me think freshly about relationships between Jewish tradition and ecology. In May 2012 he and I taught a beit midrash on Shmita at our Siach retreat, in Israel, which was significant for me and I think influential for many of the people who were there. I’m grateful to Rabbi Ari Hart (and Kevah) for a superb multi-week learning series on Shmita that he has been teaching – and which we are continuing – for Hazon’s staff and some of our friends and colleagues in New York. I’m grateful to all of Hazon’s staff members and board members for indulging my wild enthusiasm for Shmita, even when they didn’t necessarily share it or fully understand it. Huge thanks to Nati Passow for helping to produce this sourcebook and for teaching about Shmita in inspiring ways. And special thanks to Anna Hanau, has played a unique role at Hazon – helping to marshal unwieldy forces (like Yigal and me) in ways practical and kind, and thus helping good ideas to get out into the world. I want to thank four funders who are supporting Hazon’s work on Shmita: UJA-Federation of New York; San Francisco Jewish Community Federation; Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund; and the Opaline Fund. It has been exciting and rewarding to see these funders begin to share our sense of excitement and possibility in relation to Shmita, and we hope that others will follow in their paths. A special thanks is due to the Peoplehood Commission of UJAFederation of New York, together with our lead partners in developing Siach: B’Maglei Tzedek and the Heschel Center in Israel, and the Jewish Social Action Forum in London. Siach has become an important platform both to think about Shmita and to start to disseminate ideas in lots of different ways. Dyonna Ginsburg –key instigator of Siach - continues to inspire and motivate people all over the Jewish world, and she is a key thought-partner to me in this work. Finally, a few words about Yigal Deutscher. Yigal is, variously, an employee, a colleague, a friend, a teacher, and someone I look up to enormously. We first met in 2003, when he was still in undergrad. He became an intern with us in preparation for Hazon’s second annual NY bike ride. After the ride, I suggested he go and see Adam Berman, and in due course he became the first Adamahnik. I’ve seen him grow and thrive in subsequent years. He was the founding director of the Shorashim/Eco-Israel organic farming apprenticeship, at the Chava v’Adam ecological center in Israel, and, more recently, he founded the 7Seeds Project. I love Yigal’s thoughtfulness, his passion, and his determination in very good ways to try to slow certain things down – to connect notions of permaculture to Jewish tradition, and to apply permaculture ideas metaphorically as well as literally. He has played a key role in leading Hazon’s work not only on the creation of this sourcebook but also, much more widely, on our work on Shmita overall. If you’re interested in developing the conversation on Shmita in your community, I hope you’ll think about reaching out to Yigal directly.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Organizationally, the Shmita ranks are growing. The Jewish Farm School and 7Seeds have been founding partners with Hazon in the Shmita Project. The Green Hevra, of which Hazon is a member, is working steadily to put the awareness of Shmita on the Jewish communal agenda. And precisely because Shmita is the shared intellectual property of the Jewish people, we fully expect and intend that many, many people and institutions will start to develop work around Shmita, and we’re happy and excited to partner with them, learn from them, or cheer them on from the sidelines. Already in this category I would add Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, at BJEN, and Rabbi Or Rose at Hebrew College, plus Einat Kramer at Teva Ivri in Israel. All three – together with Jeremy Benstein and the Heschel Center – are doing their own work on Shmita. We’re excited to partner with BJEN, Hebrew College and Heschel in their new Sova Project blog. Rabbis Jay Rosenstein, Jeremy Gerber and Eytan Hammerman, amongst others, have given me a platform and a warm reception to talk about Shmita in their communities. We’re grateful to Charlene Seidle, executive vice-president of the Leichtag Foundation, for her essay on Shmita for Funders, and to Daniel Taub, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, for his seminal essay on Shmita, written in 2000. Finally: we’ve been working on these texts for a long while. But we’re finishing this first draft during the counting of the omer. Jewish tradition is wise, and though I can’t prove this, I think it makes me a better person. The annual rhythm of counting the omer has enriched my life significantly. In sharing these texts with you, Yigal and Anna and I, and everyone at Hazon, hopes that they will enrich your life also; and in due course play some role in creating a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, and a healthier and more sustainable world for all. Nigel Savage
Berkeley, CA, 27th day of the omer 5773, 22nd April 2013
Introduction
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Section I: Biblical Foundations of Shmita Introduction: The Torah can be viewed as a collection of teachings and stories for a wandering people, a gift to a diverse collection of tribes as they were about to enter the land they would call home. From this perspective, it is easy to understand why many of the lessons of the Torah are actually instructions for how these people (our people) should behave once they arrive. These words guide us to build a society that is just, equitable, sustainable, and timeless. The words of the Torah are just as relevant today as they were 3,000 years ago; the values put forth, particularly in the Shmita texts offer a framework for building a world that honors the demands, contributions, and blessings of everyday life. Throughout Jewish tradition, we see recurring cycles of seven, particularly around time. On the seventh day of creation, God rested and so every seven days we also rest. Similarly, we are granted the gift of rest every seven years
- Shmita. In this year we are commanded to release, reset, and slow down as we collectively work to build a world that is sustainable. This is a personal rhythm, as well as a collective one, and from it we learn perhaps the greatest lesson - we are interconnected, one to another, in all that we do. Today, Shabbat and the weekly cycle of seven days is well-known and widely celebrated, however, the cycle of seven years and Shmita is far less familiar. This section highlights some of the Biblical sources that introduce us to a global rest. The themes presented here span various components of Shmita, each of which will be examined in depth throughout this sourcebook.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
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Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
The Shmita Sourcebook
1. Vision for a Just Society The first mention of Shmita in the Torah comes in Exodus 23. It contains a set of moral codes given to the Israelites after the revelation at Sinai. In this context of societal and moral laws, the Torah introduces the idea of letting our fields rest and temporarily releasing our control over the land during the seventh year, and every seven years thereafter.
Exodus 23:1-11
יא-א:שמות כג
(1) You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: (2) You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty— (3) nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute. (4) When you encounter your enemy’s ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him. (5) When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him. (6) You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes. (7) Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. (8) Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clear-sighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right. (9) You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. (10) Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; (11) but in the seventh you shall release it and let it lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves.
ָ ל־ת ׁ ֶשת ֽ ָי ְד ֙ ָך ִע ָ֤ ּ ַש֖א ׁ ֣ ֵש ַמע ׁ ָ֑שוְ א א ׂ ָּ (א) ֥ל ֹא ִת ם־ר ׁ ֔ ָשע לִ ְהי ֹ֖ת ַ א־ת ְה ֶי֥ה אַ חֲ ֽ ֵר ִ ֹ ֥ ֵעד חָ ֽ ָמס׃ (ס) (ב) ֽל י־ר ִ ּב֖ים לְ ָר ֑ע ֹת וְ ל ֹא־ ֽ ֗ ִ ַַתעֲ ֶנ֣ה ע ל־רב לִ ְנ ֛ט ֹת אַ חֲ ֥ ֵרי ַר ִ ּב֖ים לְ הַ ּט ֹת׃ (ג) וְ ָ ֕דל ֥ל ֹא ֽ ֶת ְה ַ ּד֖ר ְ ּב ִר יבוֹ׃ (ס) (ד) ִּ֣כי ִתפְ ַ ּג֞ע ׁ ֧שוֹר ֽא ֹיִבְ ָ֛ך ֥א ֹו חֲ מֹר֖ ֹו ָשנַאֲ ֗ך ִ ּת ֹ ֑ ֶעה הָ ׁ ֥ ֵשב ְּת ׁ ִשיבֶ ֖ ּנ ּו ֽלוֹ׃ (ס) (ה) ִּֽכ ֹׂ י־ת ְר ֶ֞אה חֲ ֣מוֹר ת ֵמעֲ ז ֹ֣ב ל֑ ֹו עָ ז ֹ֥ב ּ ַתעֲ זֹ֖ב ִע ּֽמוֹ׃ ֖ ָ ּ ְר ֹבֵ ץ֙ ּ ַ֣תחַ ת ַמ ָּש ׂ֔א ֹו וְ חָ ַדל ָ ֽ ֶ ׁ ְַך ְ ּב ִריבוֹ׃ (ז) ִמ ְדּב ר־ש֖קֶ ר ֖ (ס) (ו) ֥ל ֹא ַת ּ ֛טֶ ה ִמ ׁ ְש ּ ֥פַ ט אֶ בְ יֹנ ַ ּ ִּת ְר ָ֑חק וְ נ ִ ָ֤קי וְ צַ ִדּיק֙ ֽ ַא )ל־תהֲ ֔ר ֹג ִּ֥כי ל ֹא־אַ ְצ ִ ּד֖יק ָר ׁ ֽ ָשע׃ (ח וְ ׁש ֹ֖חַ ד ֣ל ֹא ִת ָּ֑קח ִּ֤כי הַ ּׁ ֙ש ֹחַ ד֙ יְעַ ֵ ּו֣ר ּ ִפ ְק ִ֔חים ִֽויסַ ֵּל֖ף ִדּבְ ֥ ֵרי ִֽ צַ ִד ׁ ּיקים׃ (ט) וְ ֵג֖ר ֣ל ֹא ִתלְ ָ֑חץ וְ אַ ּ ֶ֗תם י ְַד ְע ּ ֶתם֙ אֶ ת־ ֶנ ֣פֶש הַ ֔ ֵ ּגר ֽ ֶ ִּֽכי־ג ִ ֵ֥רים הֱ י ִית֖ם ְ ּב ֶ֥א ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ָריִם׃ (י) וְ ׁ ֥ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָש ִנ֖ים ִּתזְ ַ֣רע אֶ ת־ ְּ ֶאַ ְר ֑ ֶצ ָך וְ אָ סַ פְ ּ ָת֖ א ֞ ִ ִת־תבוּאָ ֽ ָת ּה׃ (יא) וְ הַ ְּׁשב יעת ִּת ׁ ְש ְמ ֣ ֶט ָנּה ָ ּונ ְַט ׁ ְש ּ ָ֗ת ּה וְ ֽ ָאכְ ל ֙ ּו אֶ בְ י ֹ ֵנ֣י עַ ּ֔ ֶמך וְ י ְִת ָ ֕רם ּת ֹאכַ ֖ל חַ ַיּ֣ת הַ ָּש ֑ ֶׂדה ֶ ֽ ן־תעֲ ֶׂ֥שה לְ כַ ְר ְמ ָ ֖ך לְ ז ַ ּ ֽ ּ ֵכ ֵית ָך׃
Questions for discussion: 1. What overarching theme links together all the laws listed prior to the mention of Shmita?
3. Who is supposed to benefit the most from the protocols of the Shmita year?
2. What message is communicated by placing Shmita in the context of laws that govern how people should operate within a just society?
4. According to this text what appears to be the main intention or objective of Shmita?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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2. The Sabbath of the Land Towards the end of Leviticus, the Torah returns to Shmita, with a lengthy discussion. The terminology now includes the phrase shabbat ha-aretz - “the sabbath of the land”. These verses from Leviticus focus on some agricultural dimensions of Shmita that help us understand the importance of land to our daily lives:
Leviticus 25:1-7
ז-א:ויקרא כה
(1) Adonai spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: (2) Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbathrest of Adonai. (3) Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. (4) But in the seventh year the land shall have an absolute sabbath-rest (shabbat shabbaton), a sabbath-rest of Adonai: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. (5) You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a sabbath-rest year for the land. (6) But you may eat whatever the land during its sabbath-rest will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you, (7) and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield.
(א) ַוי ְַד ֵּ֤בר יְהוָה֙ אֶ ל־מ ׁ ֔ ֶֹשה ְ ּב ַ֥הר ִסי ַנ֖י לֵא ֽמ ֹר׃ (ב) ַד ֵּּ֞בר ּ ְ ֶא ל־ב ֵנ֤י י ְִש ָׂראֵ ל֙ וְ אָ ַמ ְר ּ ָ֣ת אֲ ל ֔ ֵֶהם ִּ֤כי ָת ֙ב ֹא ֙ ּו אֶ ל־הָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ ֽ )אֲ ׁ ֥ ֶשר אֲ ִנ֖י נ ֣ ֵֹתן ל ֑ ֶָכם וְ ׁ ָשבְ ָ֣תה הָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ ׁ ַש ָּב֖ת לַיה ָוה׃ (ג ׁ֖ ֤ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנִים֙ ִּתזְ ַ֣רע ָש ֶ ׂ֔ד ָך וְ ׁ ֥ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָש ִנ֖ים ִּתזְ ֣מ ֹר ַּכ ְר ֑ ֶמ ָך וְ אָ סַ פְ ּ ָת ְּ ֶא ֗ ִ ִת־תבוּאָ ֽ ָת ּה׃ (ד) וּבַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁשב יעת ׁ ַש ַּ֤בת ׁ ַש ָּבת ֹון֙ י ְִה ֶי֣ה ָ ָ ָ֔ ל ָא ֶרץ ׁ ַש ָּב֖ת לַיה ָו֑ה ֽ ָש ְׂד ֙ך ֣ל ֹא ִתזְ ָ ֔רע וְ כַ ְר ְמ ֖ך ֥ל ֹא ִתזְ ֽמ ֹר׃ ָ ָ ֽ ִ ֶ(ה) ֣ ֵאת ְס ִ ֤פיחַ ְק ִצ ְיר ֙ך ֣ל ֹא ִת ְק ֔צוֹר וְ א ת־ע ְנ ֥ ֵּבי נְזִ ֶיר֖ך ֣ל ֹא ָ ֽ ִתבְ ֑צ ֹר ׁ ְש ַנ֥ת ׁ ַש ָּבת֖וֹן י ְִה ֶי֥ה ל ָא ֶרץ׃ (ו) ְו֠הָ י ְָתה ׁ ַש ַּ֨בת הָ ָ֤א ֶרץ ָֹשבְ ֔ך ָ ָ ָ֣ לָכֶ ם֙ לְ אָ כְ ָ֔לה לְ ָ ֖ך וּלְ עַ בְ ְד ָ֣ ׁ ּך וְ לַאֲ ָמ ֑ ֶתך וְ לִ ְש ִֽׂכ ְיר ֙ך וּלְ תו הַ ָג ִּר֖ים ִע ּֽ ָמ ְך׃ (ז) וְ ִ֨לבְ הֶ ְמ ְּת ֔ ָך וְ ֽ ַלחַ ָיּ֖ה אֲ ׁ ֶ֣שר ְ ּבאַ ְר ֑ ֶצ ָך ִּת ְה ֶי֥ה ְּ ָכ ל־תבוּאָ ָת ּ֖ה לֶאֱ ֽכ ֹל׃
“What does the matter of Shmita have to do with Mount Sinai?” This section in Leviticus goes out of the way to emphasize that the laws of Shmita were communicated to Moses at Mount Sinai (in fact, the Torah portion for this section is named Behar (“at the mountain”). Jewish tradition assumes that nearly all commanments were related ot Moses at Sinai, so why is this specified with regard to Shmita? Rashi*, the famed medeival commentator, asks this exact question:
Rashi’s Commentary on Leviticus 25:1
א:רש״י על ויקרא כה
On Mount Sinai — What does the matter of Shmita have to do with Mount Sinai? Were not all commandments given at Sinai? Rather, this statement is intended to suggest the following comparison: Just as the laws of Shmita were given with general rules, specific prescriptions, and minute details all at Mount Sinai, so too, were all commandments given with general rules and minute details at Mount Sinai.
ָמה ִע ְניַן ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ָטה אֵ צֶ ל הַ ר ִסינַי? וַהֲ ל ֹא כָ ל.בהר סיני הַ ּ ִמ ְצוֹת נֶאֶ ְמר ּו ִמ ִּסינַי? אֶ ָּלא ַמה ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה נֶאֶ ְמר ּו כְ לָלו ֶֹתיהָ וּפְ ָרטוֹתֶ יהָ וְ ִד ְק ּדוּקֶ יהָ ִמ ִּסינַי אַ ף ֻּכ ָּלן נֶאֶ ְמר ּו כְ לָלוֹתֵ יהֶ ן וְ ִד ְק ּדוּקֵ יהֶ ן ִמ ִּסינַי
*Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki (France, 1040-1105), known by the acronym Rashi, is the most famous of medieval rabbinic commentators. He wrote commentaries on the entirety of the Bible and the vast majority of the Babylonian Talmud. His commentaries are known for presenting the basic meaning of the texts, often drawing on earlier rabbinic sources.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Rabbi Haim Sabato, a leading modern Israeli rabbi and award-winning author, offers a different explanation for the relationship between Sinai and Shmita. He explains that Shmita is an extreme example of the Torah’s dual lessons to both put faith in God and pursue just societies. Citing a famous teaching that each of the tablets represented one of these facets of the Torah, Rabbi Sabato writes:
Rabbi Haim Sabato
הרב חיים סבתו
Whoever examines the commandment of Shmita will see that it contains the essence of all the principles of the Torah. At Sinai, the Ten Commandments were given on two tablets. And, it is well-known that on the first tablet were commandments that related to the relationship between people and God and on the second tablet were commandments that governed how people should behave towards others. The meaning of this was that the Torah stands on these two legs - faith and positive interactions amongst people. The commandment of Shmita encompasses the extremes of both these fundamentals. In the commandment, there are the societal and the faith-inspired elements. It has the faith-based aspect in which a person declares that the land is not theirs (by releasing it for a year)... And, in the societal element, the Torah tells us another purpose for Shmita is “in the seventh you shall release it and let it lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it.” The concern for society is taken to the extreme in this commandment. The owner of the field must relinquish ownership over the field and allow any person to use it. The property owner and poor person are on equal footing vis-a-vis the field and the produce. This is in contrast to other forms of charity in which the owners of the goods are giving of their own goods.
יראה שמתגלים בה,מי שיתבונן במצוות השמיטה בסיני נמסרו עשרת.במיצוי כל העקרונות של התורה וידוע שבלוח האחד מופיעים,הדברים בשני הלוחות ובלוח השני,מצוות של אמונה שבין אדם למקום פירוש הדבר שהתורה.מצוות של בין אדם לחברו . אמונה ובין אדם לחברו- עומדת על שתי רגליים מצוות השמיטה כוללת עד מיצוי קיצוני את שני במצווה מעורבים הצד החברתי והצד.היסודות הללו האדם מכריז שהארץ אינה,בפן האמוני...האמוני התורה אומרת גם מה מטרת,בפן החברתי...שלו ֞ ִ ִ "וְ הַ ְּׁשב- השמיטה יעת ִּת ׁ ְש ְמ ֶ֣ט ָנּה ּונ ְַט ׁ ְש ּ ָ֗ת ּה וְ ֽ ָאכְ ל ֙ ּו אֶ בְ י ֹ ֵנ֣י הדאגה החברתית מגיעה לקיצוניות במצווה...".עַ ּ֔ ֶמ ָך יד, בעל השדה צריך להפקיר את שדהו לכל אדם.זו בניגוד למתנות עניים.העני ויד בעל הבית שווה בו . שהוא נותן מתוך שלו, שיד בעל הבית עדיפה,אחרות
Questions for discussion: 1. What agricultural activities are not practiced in the seventh year? What types of food can be harvested and what cannot be harvested? How would this play out today? 2. What is the significance of labeling a period of “shabbat of the land” to be a period of “shabbat of Adonai?” 3. What is the answer given by the Sifra / Rashi to the question “What does the matter of Shmita have to do with Mount Sinai”?
4. Why would the Torah specifically use Shmita to prove this point, and not Shabbat, or dietary laws, or charity, or any other commandment? 5. What is Rabbi Sabato’s answer to the question of why Shmita is connected to the Sinai experience? How does this answer differ from Rashi’s? 6. How is Shmita an extreme example of putting faith in God? 7. How is Shmita an extreme example of the pursuit of a more just society?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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3. The Weekly Shabbat Exodus 31, which takes place shortly after leaving Egypt, is one of the places where the Torah talks about Shabbat. It describes the observance of the weekly day of rest as a covenant between God and the Jewish people that is intended as a memorial to creation. We include this text in our discussion of Shmita as a reminder of the similarities between these mitzvot.
Exodus 31:16-17
יז-טז:שמות לא
(16) The Israelite people shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time: (17) it shall be a sign for all time between me and the people of Israel. For in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day [Adonai] ceased from work and was refreshed.
(טז) וְ ׁ ָש ְמ ֥ר ּו בְ ֽ ֵני־י ְִש ָׂראֵ ֖ל אֶ ת־הַ ַּׁש ָּ֑בת לַעֲ ׂ֧שוֹת אֶ ת־הַ ַּׁש ָּ֛בת לְ דֹר ָֹת֖ם ְ ּב ִ ֥רית ע ֹו ֽ ָלם׃ (יז) ֵּבי ִנ֗י וּבֵ ין֙ ְ ּב ֵנ֣י י ְִש ָׂר ֔ ֵאל ֥אוֹת ִה֖וא ֵ ֣ ׁ לְ ע ֹ ָ֑לם ִּכ י־ש ׁ ֶשת י ִ ָ֗מים עָ ָׂ֤שה יְהוָה֙ אֶ ת־הַ ָּׁש ַ֣מיִם וְ אֶ ת־ ִ֔ ִהָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ וּבַ יּוֹם֙ הַ ְּׁשב יעי ׁ ָשבַ ֖ת ַו ִיּ ָנ ֽ ַּפ ׁש׃
Questions for discussion: 1. In what ways is Shmita an extension of the weekly Shabbat? How are they similar? How are they different? 2. How do cycles play a role in your own life? What is the value of using cycles to mark time?
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3. In Leviticus 25:4, shmita is also referred to as “shabbat shabbaton”, translated as sabbath of sabbaths, a term meant to imply a level of depth beyond the weekly Shabbat. This term is also used in the Torah to describe Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:31). How might Shmita be connected to Yom Kippur, and why might they both be considered shabbat shabbaton?
The Shmita Sourcebook
4. Remission of Debt In Deuteronomy 15 the Torah relays another component of Shmita in describing the forgiveness of debt (using the term shamut, meaning release). After introducing the Shmita rules of debt forgiveness, this section of Torah encourages us to not abstain from extending credit to the poor despite the possibility that the loan will eventually be forgiven. From this, we can learn a great deal about the intention behind this mitzvah and about Shmita more broadly.
Deuteronomy 15:1-11
יא-א:דברים טו
(1) At the end of every seventh year you shall practice release of debts. (2) This shall be the nature of the release: every creditor shall remit the due that he claims from his fellow; he shall not dun his fellow or kinsman, for it is proclaimed a release of Adonai. (7) If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that Adonai your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. (8) Rather, you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs. (9) Beware lest you harbor the wicked thought, “The seventh year, the year of release, is approaching,” so that you are mean to your needy kinsman and give him nothing. He will cry out to Adonai against you, and you will incur guilt. (10) Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return Adonai your God 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 kinsman in your land.
ָ ׁ ַ(א) ִמ ּ֥ ֵקץ ׁ ֽ ֶשב ע־ש ִנ֖ים ּ ַתעֲ ֶׂ֥שה ׁ ְש ִמ ּֽ ָטה׃ (ב) וְ זֶה֮ ְד ַּ֣בר ַּ֙ הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה֒ ׁ ָש ֗מוֹט ָּכ ל־בעַ ל֙ ַמ ֵּׁ ֣שה יָד֔ ֹו אֲ ׁ ֶ֥שר י ֶַּׁש֖ה ְ ּב ֵר ֑ ֵעה ּו ֽ ֽ ֽ ֵ ֶש א ׂ ֹ ֽל ֹא־ ִי ֤ ּג ת־ר ֵ֙עה ֙ ּו וְ אֶ ת־אָ ִ֔חיו ִּכי־קָ ָ֥רא ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ָט֖ה ַליה ָוה׃ ָ יך ְ ּבאַ ַ֣חד ׁ ְשעָ ֶ ֔ר ָ ֙ (ז) ִּֽכי־י ְִהיֶה֩ בְ ֨ ָך אֶ בְ י֜ וֹן ֵמאַ ַ֤חד אַ ֶ֙ח יך ָ ְֶ ּב ַ֨א ְר ְצ ֔ ָך אֲ ׁ ֶשר־יְה ָו֥ה אֱ ל ֹה ֖יך נ ֣ ֵֹתן ָ֑ל ְך ֧ל ֹא ְתאַ ּ ֣ ֵמץ אֶ ת־ ָ לְ בָ בְ ֗ ָך וְ ֤ל ֹא ִת ְק ּפ ֹץ֙ אֶ ת־ ָי ְ֣ד ֔ ָך ֵמאָ ִח ַ֖יך הָ אֶ בְ ֽיוֹן׃ (ח) ִּֽכי־פָ ֧ת ֹח ֶ ֔ ִִּתפְ ּ ַ֛תח אֶ ת־י ְָד ָ ֖ך ל֑ ֹו וְ הַ עֲ בֵ ֙ט ּ ַתעֲ ב יט ּנ ּו ּ֚ ֵדי ַמ ְחס ֹר֔ ֹו אֲ ׁ ֥ ֶשר י ְֶחסַ ֖ר ֽלוֹ׃ (ט) ִה ָּׁ ֣ש ֶמר לְ ֡ ָך ּפֶ ן־י ְִה ֶי֣ה ָדבָ ר֩ ִעם־לְ בָ בְ ֨ ָך בְ לִ ֜ ַיּעַ ל לֵא ֗מ ֹר ֽ ָק ְר ָ֣בה ׁ ְש ֽ ַנת־הַ ֶּׁשבַ ע֮ ׁ ְש ַנ֣ת הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה֒ וְ ָר ָ֣עה ֽ ֵעינ ֗ ְָך ָ ֙ יך ֽ ָהאֶ בְ י֔ וֹן וְ ֥ל ֹא ִת ּ ֵת֖ן ל֑ ֹו וְ קָ ָ֤רא עָ ֙ ֶל ָ ֙ ְ ּבאָ ִ ֙ח יך אֶ ל־יְה ֔ ָוה וְ הָ ָי֥ה בְ ָ ֖ך ֽ ֵח ְטא׃ (י) נ ָ֤תוֹן ִּת ּ ֵתן֙ ֔ל ֹו וְ ל ֹא־י ֵַ֥רע לְ בָ בְ ָ ֖ך ְ ּב ִת ְּת ָ֣ך ל֑ ֹו ִּ֞כי ָ ִ ּבגְ ַ֣לל ׀ הַ ָד ָּ֣בר הַ ֶז ּ֗ה יְבָ ֶרכְ ֙ ָך יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ל ֔ ֶֹה ַ יך ְ ּב ֽ ָכ ׂ ֶ ֔ ֲל־מע ש ָך וּבְ כֹ֖ל ֵּ֞ ִַמ ׁ ְש ַ֥לח י ֽ ֶָד ָך׃ (יא) ִּ֛כי ל ֹא־י ְֶח ַּ֥דל אֶ בְ י֖וֹן ִמ ֶּ֣ק ֶרב הָ ָ֑א ֶרץ ע ל־כן ָ אָ נ ִ ֹ֤כי ְמצַ וְ ֙ ָּך לֵא ֔מ ֹר ּ ֠פָ ת ֹחַ ִּתפְ ּ ַ֨תח אֶ ת־י ְָד ֜ ָך לְ אָ ִ֧ח יך לַעֲ ִנ ֶיּ ָ֛ך )וּלְ אֶ בְ יֹנ ְָך֖ ְ ּבאַ ְר ֽ ֶצ ָך׃ (ס
Questions for discussion: 1. How do you think the agricultural and economic elements of Shmita relate to each other? What combined experience of Shmita do they create? 2. How do the rules of debt forgiveness add to your ideas about the underlying reasons for Shmita?
3. The Torah recognizes that looming debt forgiveness might discourage lenders from extending credit. The Torah also appreciates that there would be dire economic consequences if no one were willing to lend money. How does it recognize the plight of the would-be borrower in such a circumstance? How does the Torah seek to address the concerns of the would-be lender?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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5. Shmita and Faith This text is also from the detailed accounting of Shmita presented in Leviticus 25. The following excerpt discusses the agricultural cycle of annual crops, some of which take months to mature. By God acknowledging the peoples’ fear we learn that taking a year off from planting impacts much more than that year’s harvest. In the sixth year, we need an abundant harvest that can be stored to last through the seventh year and the beginning of the following (or first) year. Imagine the burden this places on growers, and the collaboration needed to ensure all are fed.
Leviticus 25:18-22
כב-יח:ויקרא כה
(18) You shall observe my laws and faithfully keep my rules, that you may live upon the land in security; (19) the land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it in security. (20) And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?” (21) I will ordain my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years. (22) When you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating old grain of that crop; you will be eating the old until the ninth year, until its crops come in.
ִ ֶת־ח ּק ֹ ַ֔תי וְ א ֻ ֶ(יח) וַעֲ ִשׂיתֶ ם֙ א ֶ֣ ת־מ ׁ ְש ּפָ ַ֥טי ִּת ׁ ְש ְמר֖ ּו וַעֲ ִש ׂיתם ֽ ַ ׁ א ָֹ֑תם ִֽו ישבְ ּ ֶ֥תם עַ ל־הָ אָ ֶ֖רץ ל ֶָב ַטח׃ (יט) וְ נ ְָת ָנ֤ה הָ ָ֙א ֶרץ֙ ּ ִפ ְר ָ֔י ּה ְ ישבְ ּ ֥ ֶתם לָבֶ ַ֖טח עָ ֽ ֶליהָ ׃ (כ) וְ ִ ֣כי ת ַ ׁ וַאֲ כַ לְ ּ ֶת֖ם ָל ֹׂ֑שבַ ע ִֽו ֹאמר֔ ּו ַ֤ ֹ ַמה־נ ִ֑ ִּאכ֖ל ַּב ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁשב יעת ֚ ֵהן ֣ל ֹא נִזְ ָ ֔רע וְ ֥ל ֹא נֶאֱ סֹ֖ף אֶ ת־ ִ ּ ְִּתבוּאָ ֽ ֵתנוּ׃ (כא) וְ ִצו ּ ִ ֶ֤יתי א ת־ב ְרכָ ִת ֙י ל ֔ ֶָכם ַּב ָּׁש ָנ֖ה הַ ִּׁש ִּׁ ֑שית ֽ וְ עָ ָשׂת֙ אֶ ת־הַ ְּתבו ֔ ָּאה לִ ׁ ְשל ֹׁ֖ש הַ ָּׁש ִנים׃ (כב) וּזְ ַר ְע ּ ֶ֗תם ֚ ֵאת הַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁש ִמי ִנ֔ת וַאֲ כַ לְ ּ ֶת֖ם ִמן־הַ ְּתבו ָּ֣אה י ׁ ָָ֑שן ַ֣עד ׀ הַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה ֗ ִ הַ ְּת ׁ ִש יעת עַ ד־בּ וֹא֙ ְּתב֣ וּאָ ָ֔ת ּה ּת ֹאכְ ל֖ ּו י ׁ ֽ ָָשן׃
Questions for discussion: 1. What does this text tell us about how the people might have felt about the rules of Shmita? 2. If you were preparing for the arrival of Shmita, what emotions do you think would arise for you? Would you be concerned that your most basic needs might not be met? Or would you have faith that these needs would indeed be met?
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3. What meaning, if any, do you find in connecting the bounty or scarcity of “natural” resources to God’s will? 4. How might “having faith” fit into the paradigm of “release” that Shmita activates? In this source, what are we releasing? How does this release connect to feelings of satisfaction and security (verse 18)?
The Shmita Sourcebook
6. Hakhel: Community Gathering At the end of Deuteronomy, we learn about the commandment of Hakhel, which literally means “assemble” or “gather.” In the times of the Temple, the Hakhel service would take place at the Sukkot festival following (or some say during) the Shmita year. All of the people, including children, would gather and a communal leader, usually the king, would read aloud sections of the Torah to the entire nation.
Deuteronomy 31:10-13
יג-י:דברים לא
(10) And Moses instructed them as follows: At the end of every seventh year, the year set for Shmita, at the Feast of Sukkot, (11) when all Israel comes to appear before Adonai your God in the chosen place, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. (12) Gather the people—men, women, children, and the strangers in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to revere Adonai your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching. (13) Their children, too, who have not had the experience, shall hear and learn to revere Adonai your God as long as they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.
(י) ַוי ְַ֥צו מ ׁ ֶֹש֖ה או ָֹ֣תם לֵא ֑מ ֹר ִמ ּ֣ ֵקץ ׀ ׁ ֶ֣שבַ ע ׁ ָש ִנ֗ים ְ ּבמ ֛ ֵֹעד ׁ ְש ַנ֥ת הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָט֖ה ְ ּב ַ֥חג הַ ֻּס ֽ ּכוֹת׃ (יא) ְ ּבב֣ וֹא כָ ל־י ְִש ָׂר ֗ ֵאל ָ ת־פ ֵנ ֙י יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ל ֔ ֶֹה ְ ּ ֶל ֵָראוֹת֙ א יך ַּב ּ ָמק֖וֹם אֲ ׁ ֣ ֶשר יִבְ ָ֑חר ִּת ְק ָ ֞רא ֶ ֽ אֶ ת־הַ ּתו ָֹ֥רה הַ ז ֹּ֛את ֶ֥נגֶד ָּכל־י ְִש ָׂראֵ ֖ל ְ ּבאָ זְ נ ֵיהם׃ (יב) הַ ְק ֣ ֵהל ָאֶ ת־הָ ָ֗עם ֽ ָהאֲ נ ׁ ִ ָ֤שים וְ הַ ָנ ׁ ִּשים֙ וְ הַ ּ ֔ ַטף וְ ג ְֵר ָ ֖ך אֲ ׁ ֣ ֶשר ִ ּב ׁ ְשעָ ֑ ֶריך ֶ ֔ ֵלְ ַ֨מעַ ן י ׁ ְִש ְמ ֜ע ּו וּלְ ַ֣מעַ ן יִלְ ְמד֗ ּו וְ ֽ ָי ְרא ֙ ּו אֶ ת־יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ֽל ֹה יכם ִ ת־כ ָּ ֶשוֹת א ֶ֞ ל־דּבְ ֵר֖י הַ ּתו ָֹ֥רה הַ ֽז ֹּאת׃ (יג) וּבְ נ ׂ ֔ ֲוְ ׁ ֽ ָש ְמ ֣ר ּו לַע ֵיהם ֶ ֑ ֵאֲ ׁ ֶ֣שר ֽל ֹא־י ְָדע֗ ּו י ׁ ְִש ְמע ֙ ּו וְ ָ֣ל ְמד֔ ּו לְ י ְִראָ ֖ה אֶ ת־יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ל ֹה יכם ָ֣ ַָּכל־הַ ָיּ ִ ֗מים אֲ ׁ ֶ֨שר אַ ּ ֶ֤תם חַ ִיּים֙ ע ל־האֲ ָד ֔ ָמה אֲ ׁ ֶ֨שר אַ ּ֜ ֶתם ע ֹבְ ִ֧רים אֶ ת־הַ ַיּ ְר ּ֛ ֵדן ׁ ָש ּ ָ֖מה לְ ִר ׁ ְש ּֽ ָת ּה׃
Questions for discussion: 1. What role do you think public Torah readings serve? What might be the connection between a public reading of the Torah, leaving land fallow, and debt release?
2. Why do you think the culmination of Shmita is marked by such a wide-spread community gathering? What role do community relationships play during Shmita? 3. Why do you think the text insists on the attendance of children?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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7. The Jubilee Towards the end of the lengthy passage in Leviticus regarding Shmita, we are introduced to an additional element of the Shmita cycle called Yovel or the Jubilee* year. Yovel was to be celebrated during the 50th year, after completing seven full Shmita cycles. These verses teach us that Yovel was also observed as a Shmita year; thus, both the 49th and the 50th year would operate in accordance with the traditions of Shmita. (Interestingly, Rabbi Judah advanced a minority opinion amongst the Rabbis that Yovel was to be observed in the 49th year.) Here the Torah introduces several unique traditions that are only applicable to Yovel, including a provision that all Hebrew slaves were to be set free; rural land was to be returned to its ancestral owners; and people were given the opportunity to “redeem” their ancestral property in cities.
Leviticus 25:8-10
׳-ח:ויקרא כה
(8) You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years. (9) Then you shall sound the horn loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month—the Day of Atonement—you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land (10) and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee (Yovel) for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family.
(ח) וְ סָ פַ ְר ּ ָ֣ת לְ ֗ ָך ׁ ֶ֚שבַ ע ׁ ַש ְ ּב ֣ת ֹת ׁ ָש ִנ֔ים ׁ ֥ ֶשבַ ע ׁ ָש ִנ֖ים ׁ ֶ֣שבַ ע ּ ְפעָ ִ֑מים וְ הָ ֣י ּו לְ ֗ ָך י ְֵמ ֙י ׁ ֶ֚שבַ ע ׁ ַש ְ ּב ֣ת ֹת הַ ָּׁש ִנ֔ים ּ ֥ ֵת ׁ ַשע וְ אַ ְר ָּב ִע֖ים שוֹר ֖ ׂ ָׁ ָש ֽ ָנה׃ (ט) וְ ֽ ַהעֲ בַ ְר ּ ָ֞ת ׁשו ַֹ֤פר ְּתרוּעָ ה֙ ַּב ֣ח ֹ ֶד ׁש הַ ְּׁשבִ ִ֔עי ֶּבע )ַל ֑ח ֹ ֶד ׁש ְ ּביוֹם֙ הַ ִּכ ּ ֻפ ִ ֔רים ּ ַתעֲ ִ ֥ביר ּו ׁשוֹפָ ֖ר ְ ּבכָ ל־אַ ְר ְצ ֽ ֶכם׃ (י ְ ׁ וְ ִק ַד ֶ֥ ּש ּ ֶ֗תם ֣ ֵאת ׁ ְש ַנ֤ת הַ חֲ ִמ ִּׁשים֙ ׁ ָש ָנ֔ה ו ְּק ָר אתם ְד ּ֛רוֹר ָּבאָ ֶ֖רץ לְ כָ ל־י ׁ ְֹש ֑ ֶביהָ יו ֥ ֵֹבל ִהוא֙ ִּת ְה ֶי֣ה ל ֔ ֶָכם וְ ׁ ַשבְ ּ ֶ֗תם ִ ֚א ׁיש אֶ ל־ ִ ֶאֲ ֻח ָז ּ֔ת ֹו וְ ִ ֥א ׁיש א ת ֹו ּ ָת ׁ ֻֽשבוּ׃ ֖ ּ ל־מ ׁ ְש ּפַ ְח
*The English word Jubilee derives from similar Greek and Latin words, which themselves were simply transliterations of the Hebrew Yovel into those languages. The Hebrew yod became a J in Latin, while the sounds for V and B are the same consonant in Hebrew (bet and vet). The Hebrew word Yovel literally means a ram’s horn - used to announce the special year (as seen in verse 9).
Questions for discussion: 1. What might be the significance of marking the culmination of seven complete Shmita cycles with an extra Jubilee year?
3. What is the significance of the blowing of the shofar on Yom Kippur during Yovel? What is it meant to signify?
2. The language of the verses reminds us of counting the Omer, for seven weeks or 49 days we count from Pesach to Shvout. How might these two counts be related?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
8. Personal Freedom: Emancipation of the Enslaved Hebrew People in the Yovel One of the central observances of Yovel is the freeing of enslaved Hebrew people. The slavery depicted in this context is well known from the ancient world: people would enter into indentured servitude because of extreme poverty or as a way of repaying debt. The Torah specifies that in this arrangement, enslaved Hebrew people brought into a master’s household must be fed, clothed, given suitable living accommodations, treated decently, and given time to rest. The obligations to care for these enslaved Hebrew people are so robust that the rabbis observe “whoever acquires a Hebrew slave is as if they acquired a master for themselves” (B. Kiddushin 20a). Despite these requirements, the Torah is clear this practice is not just. Humans are intended for service to God and society, not one another. Thus, the Torah puts strict limits on the amount of time slaves can be indentured. Enslaved people must be permitted to go free after six years. And, when they are set free in the seventh year, the master must furnish them with the ability to make a living and support themselves. However, not all enslaved people wanted to go free. The Torah permits them to remain in the master’s household beyond six years if they wish but when Yovel arrives, all enslaved Hebrew people are set free regardless of time served or personal arragement. In Exodus, we are introduced to some rules governing the enslaved Hebrew people:
Exodus 21:2-6
ו-ב:שמות כא
(2) When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment... (5) But if the slave declares, “I love my master, and my wife and children: I do not wish to go free,” (6) his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his slave for life.
ִּכי ִת ְקנֶה עֶ בֶ ד ִעבְ ִרי ׁ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנִים יַעֲ ב ֹד וּבַ ְּׁשבִ ִעת יֵצֵ א ַ (ה) וְ ִאם אָ מ ֹר י...לַחָ פְ ׁ ִשי ִח ָנּם ֹאמר הָ עֶ בֶ ד אָ הַ בְ ִּתי אֶ ת (ו) וְ ִה ִג ּׁיש ֹו.אֲ דֹנִי אֶ ת ִא ׁ ְש ִּתי וְ אֶ ת ָּבנָי ל ֹא אֵ צֵ א חָ פְ ׁ ִשי אֲ דֹנָיו אֶ ל הָ אֱ ל ִֹהים וְ ִה ִג ּׁיש ֹו אֶ ל הַ ֶ ּדלֶת א ֹו אֶ ל הַ ּ ְמז ּוזָה .וְ ָרצַ ע אֲ דֹנָיו אֶ ת אָ זְ נ ֹו ַּב ּ ַמ ְרצֵ עַ וַעֲ בָ ד ֹו לְ עֹלָם
Choosing to remain an enslaved person: This was common enough in ancient Israel that the Torah includes a ritual for enslaved Hebrew people who make this choice. People might choose to remain enslaved because they have family members who are also indentured, because they are impoverished and slavery would provide a more secure and well-resourced life, or because their role in the household is more like that of a well treated servant.
In Deuteronomy the Torah tells us when and how to set enslaved Hebrew people free:
Deuteronomy 15:12-15
ט״ו-י״ב:דברים ט״ו
(12) If a fellow Hebrew, man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall set him free. (13) When you set him free, do not let him go empty-handed: (14) Furnish him out of the flock, threshing floor, and vat, with which Adonai your God has blessed you. (15) Bear in mind that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and Adonai your God redeemed you; therefore I enjoin this commandment upon you today.
ָ (יב) ִּֽכי־י ּ ִָמ ֵ֨כר לְ ֜ ָך אָ ִ ֣ח יך ֽ ָה ִעבְ ִ ֗רי ֚א ֹו ֽ ָה ִעבְ ִר ֔ ָיּה וַעֲ ֽ ָב ְד ָך֖ ׁ ֣ ֵש ׁש ְ ִ֔ ִׁ ָש ִנ֑ים וּבַ ָּׁשנָה֙ הַ ְּׁשב יעת ְּת ׁ ַש ְ ּל ֶ֥ח ּנ ּו חָ פְ ׁ ִש֖י ֵמ ִע ּֽ ָמך׃ (יג) וְ ִֽכי־ ְ ָ ֽ ְת ׁ ַש ְ ּל ֥ ֶח ּנ ּו חָ פְ ׁ ִש֖י ֽ ֵמ ִע ּ ָ֑מך ֥ל ֹא ְת ׁ ַש ְ ּלחֶ ֖ ּנ ּו ֵר יקם׃ (יד) הַ עֲ ֵנ֤יק ָ ֛ ְך ו ִּמ ִיּ ְק ֑ ֶב ָך אֲ ׁ ֧ ֶשר ֵּב ַרכְ ך יְה ָו֥ה ֖ ָ ּ ַתעֲ נִיק֙ ֔ל ֹו ִמ ֣ ּצ ֹאנ ֔ ְָך ו ִּֽמ ָג ְּרנ ָ ֶאֱ ל ֹה ֽ ֖יך ִּת ּ ֶת ָ֙ ן־לוֹ׃ (טו) וְ זָכַ ְר ּ ָ֗ת ִּ֣כי ֶ֤עבֶ ד הָ ִי ֙ית ְ ּב ֶ֣א ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ַ ֔ריִם ָ ָ ֛ ֵּ֞ ַּך יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ל ֑ ֶֹהיך ע ל־כן אָ נ ִֹ֧כי ְמצַ וְ ּך אֶ ת־הַ ָד ָּ֥בר הַ ֶזּ֖ה ֖ ָ ֽ ַו ִיּפְ ְד הַ ּֽיוֹם׃
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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In Leviticus, we are introduced to the idea that all enslaved Hebrew people must be set free during Yovel:
Leviticus 25:39-41
מא-לט:ויקרא כה
(39) If your kinsman under you continues in straits and must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave. (40) He shall remain with you as a hired or bound laborer; he shall serve with you only until the year of Yovel. (41) Then he and his children with him shall be free of your authority; he shall go back to his family and return to his ancestral holding.
ָ (לט) וְ ִֽכי־י ָ֥מו ְּך אָ ִ ֛ח ַ יך ִע ּ ָמ ְ֖ך וְ נ ְִמ ַּכר־ ָ֑ל ְך ל ֹא־תעֲ ֥ב ֹד בּ ֖ ֹו ְ ׁ ַֹש֖ב י ְִה ֶי֣ה ִע ּ ָ֑מ ְך ע ָ ׁ עֲ ֥ב ֹ ַדת ֽ ָעבֶ ד׃ (מ) ְּכ ָש ִ ׂ֥כיר ְּכתו ד־ש ַנ֥ת ְ הַ יּ ֹבֵ ֖ל יַעֲ ֥ב ֹד ִע ּֽ ָמ ְך׃ (מא) וְ יָצָ א֙ ֽ ֵמ ִע ּ֔ ָמך ה֖וּא וּבָ ָנ֣יו ִע ּ ֑מ ֹו ִ ֶוְ ׁ ָשב֙ א ל־מ ׁ ְש ּפַ ְח ּ֔ת ֹו וְ אֶ ל־אֲ ֻח ַז ּ֥ת אֲ ב ָֹת֖יו י ׁ ָֽשוּב׃
The rabbis are quick to point out that the freedom granted enslaved people by Yovel is unconditional. In other words, even if Yovel comes before the conclusion of the first six years of servitude, the enslaved person is set free. Rashi, in his commentary on the verses in Leviticus, makes this clear:
Rashi on Leviticus 25:40
מ:רש״י על ויקרא כה
Only until the Yovel year — This implies that if Yovel happens to come before the six years of his servitude are at an end, it frees him.
ִאם ּפָ גַ ע בּ ֹו יוֹבֵ ל לִ פְ נֵי ׁ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנִים הַ יּוֹבֵ ל.עד שנת היבל :ֹמו ִֹציאו
Questions for discussion: 1. The Hebrew word dror (Lev. 25:10) is translated as liberty or freedom. What is the connection between Shmita and the ideals of liberty and freedom? In what ways does Shmita make us free? Why do you think the entire Shmita cycle culminates with Yovel in this way? 2. What is the connection between the release of slaves and the return to ancestral lands?
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3. On Yom Kippur of Yovel all enslaved Hebrew people are set free, even if they want to remain in slavery. What kinds of slavery do we know today? What types of “hidden” slavery exist in our lives? How can we set ourselves free in a responsible manner? How can we advocate for the health and wellbeing of those who may not have a choice?
The Shmita Sourcebook
9. An Economic Reset: The Reversion of Land in Yovel Leviticus introduces another remarkable feature of Yovel - the reversion of land to its original owners. Grouded in a tribal understanding of land stewardship, each family had a plot of ancestral land they could use as a home, farm, or industrial site. Over time, the fortunes of some people were better than those of others and land changed hands.
Leviticus 25:14-28
כח-יד:ויקרא כה
(14) When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. (15) In buying from your neighbor, deduct for the number of years since Yovel; and in selling to you, charge only for the remaining years: (16) the more years, the higher the price you pay; the fewer years, the lower the price; for what he is selling you is a number of harvests. (17) Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I am Adonai your God… (23) But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is mine; you are but strangers resident with me. (24) Throughout the land that you hold, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
ֶ ֑ ית ָך ֥א ֹו קָ נֹ֖ה ִמ ַיּ֣ד עֲ ִמ ֶ ֔ י־ת ְמ ְּכ ֤ר ּו ִמ ְמ ָּכר֙ לַעֲ ִמ ִ (יד) וְ ִֽכ ית ָך ּ ֽ ֵ ַ ָ ַפ ְ ִ ְ ִ ַה ַא ָת־א ֶא ִ ּ ּ ַא ׁ ׁ חיו׃ (טו) במס ּ ֤ ר שנִים֙ ֣חר יו ֹ֔בל ל־ת ֹונ֖ ּו ֥איש ְי־תב ּואֹ֖ת י ְִמ ָּכר־ ֽ ָלך׃ ָ ְ יתך ְ ּב ִמ ְס ּ ֥פַ ר ׁ ְש ֽ ֵנ ֶ ֑ ִּת ְק ֶנ֖ה ֵמ ֣ ֵאת עֲ ִמ (טז) לְ ִ ֣פי ׀ ֣ר ֹב הַ ָּׁש ִנ֗ים ּ ַת ְר ֶּבה֙ ִמ ְקנ ָ֔ת ֹו וּלְ פִ ֙י ְמ ֣ע ֹט הַ ָּׁש ִנ֔ים )ּ ַת ְמ ִע֖יט ִמ ְקנ ָ֑ת ֹו ִּ֚כי ִמ ְס ּ ֣פַ ר ְּתב ּו ֔א ֹת ֥הוּא מ ֹכֵ ֖ר ֽ ָל ְך׃ (יז ָ ֖את ֽ ֵמאֱ ל ֑ ֶֹה ָ ית ֹו וְ י ֵָר ֔ וְ ֤ל ֹא תוֹנ ֙ ּו ִ ֣א ׁיש אֶ ת־עֲ ִמ יך ִּ֛כי אֲ ִנ֥י ְיה ֹ ָו֖ה ֶ ֽ ֵאֱ ל ֹה (כג) וְ הָ ָ֗א ֶרץ ֤ל ֹא ִת ּ ָמכֵ ר֙ לִ ְצ ִמ ֻ֔תת ִּכי־לִ ֖י הָ ָ֑א ֶרץ...יכם׃ ָ ׁ ִּֽכי־ג ִֵ֧רים וְ תו ֹש ִ ֛בים אַ ּ ֶת֖ם ִע ּ ָמ ִֽדי׃ (כד) וּבְ כֹ֖ל ֶ֣א ֶרץ אֲ ֻח ַז ְּת ֑ ֶכם ָ ֽ ְג ֻּא ָּל֖ה ִּת ְּת ֥נ ּו ל ָא ֶרץ׃
(25) If your kinsman is in straits and has to sell part of his holding, his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what he sold. (26) If a man has no one to redeem for him, but prospers and acquires enough to redeem with, (27) he shall compute the years since its sale, refund the difference to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his holding. (28) If he lacks sufficient means to recover it, what he sold shall remain with the purchaser until the Yovel; in Yovel it shall be released, and he shall return to his holding.
ָ (כה) ִּֽכי־י ָ֣מו ְּך אָ ִ֔ח יך ו ָּמכַ ֖ר ֵמאֲ ֻח ָז ּ֑ת ֹו ו ָּ֤בא ֽג ֹאֲ ל ֹ֙ו הַ ָּק ֣ר ֹב ֶה־ל ֹו ֖ ּ אֵ ָ֔ליו וְ גָ ַ֕אל אֵ ֖ת ִמ ְמ ַּ֥כר אָ ִֽחיו׃ (כו) וְ ִ֕א ׁיש ִּ֛כי ֥ל ֹא ִֽי ְהי ג ֑ ֵֹּאל וְ ִה ִּ ׂ֣שיגָ ה יָד֔ ֹו ו ָּמצָ ֖א ְּכ ֥ ֵדי גְ ֻא ָּל ֽתוֹ׃ (כז) וְ ִח ַּׁשב֙ אֶ ת־ ָ֣ ֶׁ ְש ֵנ֣י ִמ ְמ ָּכר֔ ֹו וְ הֵ ׁ ִשיב֙ א ת־הע ֵ ֹ֔דף ל ִָא ׁ֖יש אֲ ׁ ֶ֣שר ֽ ָמכַ ר־ל֑ ֹו וְ ׁ ָש֖ב ָ ֽ ֹ לַאֲ ֻח ָז ּֽתוֹ׃ (כח) וְ ִ ֨אם ֽל א־מ ְצ ֜ ָאה יָד֗ ֹו ֵ ּד ֮י הָ ׁ ִ ֣שיב ל ֹ֒ו וְ הָ ָי֣ה ּ ּ ָ ְו ֵ ַ ָָצ ְו ֵ ַ ְ ַה ּ ׁ ׁ ִמ ְמ ָּכר֗ ֹו ְ ּביַד֙ הַ ּק ֹ ֶנ֣ה א ֹ֔ת ֹו עַ ֖ד שנ֣ת יו ֹ֑בל י א֙ בי ֹ ֔בל ש֖ב לַאֲ ֻח ָז ּֽתוֹ׃
Leviticus 25:29-31 (29) If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the redemption period shall be a year. (30) If it is not redeemed before a full year has elapsed, the house in the walled city shall pass to the purchaser beyond reclaim throughout the ages; it shall not be released in Yovel. (31) But houses in villages that have no encircling walls shall be classed as open country: they may be redeemed, and they shall be released through the Yovel.
לא-כט:ויקרא כה
ַ ׁ (כט) וְ ִ֗א ׁיש ִּֽכי־י ְִמ ּ֤כ ֹר ֵּבית־מו ֹ֙שב֙ ִ ֣עיר חו ֔ ָֹמה וְ הָ י ְָתה ְג ֻּא ָּל ֔ת ֹו עַ ד־ ּת ֹ֖ם ׁ ְש ַנ֣ת ִמ ְמ ָּכ ֑ר ֹו י ִָמ֖ים ִּת ְה ֶי֥ה גְ ֻא ָּל ֽתוֹ׃ (ל) וְ ִ ֣אם ָ ד־מ ֣ל ֹאת ל ֹ֮ו ׁ ָש ָנ֣ה ְת ִמ ְ ַֽל ֹא־י ִָג ֗ ֵּאל ע ימה֒ ְו֠קָ ם הַ ַּ֨ביִת אֲ ׁ ֶשר־ יתת ַל ּק ֹ ֶנ֥ה אֹת֖ ֹו לְ דֹר ָֹ֑תיו ֻ֛ ַצ ִמ ּ ְ ָּב ִ֜עיר אֲ ׁ ֶשר־לא [ל֣ וֹ] ח ָֹ֗מה ל ֥֙ל ֹא יֵצֵ ֖א ַּביּ ֹ ֽ ֵבל׃ (לא) וּבָ ּ ֣ ֵתי הַ חֲ צֵ ִ ֗רים אֲ ׁ ֶ֨שר אֵ ין־ל ֶָ֤הם ח ָֹמה ּ ֔ ל־ש ֥ ֵׂדה הָ אָ ֶ֖רץ יֵחָ ׁ ֑ ֵשב ְג ֻּא ָּלה֙ ִּת ְהי ְ ַסָ ִ֔ביב ע ֶה־ל ֹו וּבַ יּ ֹבֵ ֖ל י ֽ ֵֵצא׃
Questions for discussion: 1. How does limiting the period of individual land ownership differ from the modern ideas? 2. What do you make of the claim in verse 23 that we “are but strangers resident with [God]” upon the earth? How might this change your relationship with the land you live on now?
3. How might such a land-market, based on a 50-year cycle, have supported observance of Shmita every seventh year? 4. Why does the Torah distinguish between homes inside a walled city and land outside a walled city? Why would this reset rule not apply to an urban setting?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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10. The Divine Blessings and Warnings of Shabbat / Shmita / Yovel The final chapters of Leviticus offer a list of blessings and curses the Jewish people will experience based upon their observance of Shabbat, Shmita, and Yovel. In this portion we are told clearly that observance of these structures is not optional and it impresses upon us the importance of maintaining a life in tune with cycles of Jewish time and nature.
Leviticus 26:2-13
יג-ב:ויקרא כו
(2) You shall keep my sabbaths and venerate my sanctuary; I am Adonai. (3) If you follow my laws and faithfully observe my commandments, (4) I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit. (5) Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and your vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your fill of bread and dwell securely in your land. (6) I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down untroubled by anyone; I will give the land respite from vicious beasts, and no sword shall cross your land....
ִ ׁ ת־ש ְ ּבת ַֹ֣תי ִּת ׁ ְש ֔מ ֹר ּו ו ִּמ ְק ָד ַ ׁ ֶ(ב) א ּש֖י ִּת ָ֑ירא ּו אֲ ִנ֖י יְה ֽ ָוה׃ ִ ֶם־ב ֻח ּק ֹ ַת֖י ּ ֵת ֑ ֵלכ ּו וְ א ֶ ת־מ ְצו ַֺ֣תי ִּת ׁ ְש ְמר֔ ּו וַעֲ ִש ּ ְ (ג) ִא ׂית֖ם א ֽ ָֹתם׃ (ד) וְ נ ַָת ִּ ֥תי גִ ׁ ְש ֵמיכֶ ֖ם ְ ּב ִע ּ ָ֑תם וְ נ ְָת ָנ֤ה הָ ָ֙א ֶרץ֙ יְב ּו ָ֔ל ּה ָּ ִֶש א ֙ ׁ וְ ֥ ֵעץ הַ ָּש ֶׂד֖ה י ּ ֥ ִֵתן ּ ִפ ְר ֽיוֹ׃ (ה) וְ ִה ִּ ׂ֨שיג ל ֶָ֥כם ַ ֙ ּדי ת־ב ִ֔ציר ַ ׁ שבַ ע ִֽו ֹׂ ֔ וּבָ ִצ֖יר י ִּ ַׂ֣שיג אֶ ת־ ָז ַ֑רע וַאֲ כַ לְ ּ ֶ֤תם ל ְַח ְמכֶ ם֙ ָל ישבְ ּ ֶ֥תם לָבֶ ַ֖טח ְ ּבאַ ְר ְצ ֽ ֶכם׃ (ו) וְ נ ַָת ִּ ֤תי ׁ ָשלוֹם֙ ָּב ֔ ָא ֶרץ ו ׁ ְּשכַ בְ ּ ֶת֖ם וְ ֣ ֵאין ַ ַמחֲ ִ֑ריד וְ ִה ׁ ְש ַּב ִּ ֞תי חַ ָיּ֤ה ָרעָ ה֙ ִמן־הָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ וְ חֶ ֶ֖רב ל ֹא־תעֲ ֥ב ֹר ...ְ ּבאַ ְר ְצ ֽ ֶכם׃
(12) I will be ever present in your midst: I will be your God, and you shall be My people. (13) I am Adonai your God who brought you out from the land of the Egyptians to be their slaves no more, who broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
ִ (יב) וְ ִה ְתהַ ַּלכְ ִּת ֙י ְ ּב ֣תוֹכְ ֔ ֶכם וְ הָ ִי ֥יתי לָכֶ ֖ם ֽ ֵלאל ִֹ֑הים וְ אַ ּ ֶת֖ם ֶ ֗ ֵּ־לי לְ ֽ ָעם׃ (יג) אֲ ִנ֞י יְה ָו֣ה אֱ ֽל ֹה ִ יכם אֲ ׁ ֶ֨שר הו ֤ ֵֹצ ֥ ִ ִּת ְהיו אתי אֶ ְתכֶ ם֙ ֵמ ֶ֣א ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ַ ֔ריִם ִֽמ ְהי ֹ֥ת לָהֶ ֖ם עֲ בָ ִ֑דים וָאֶ ׁ ְש ּב ֹר֙ מ ֹ ֣ט ֹת )ֻע ְ ּל ֔ ֶכם וָא ֹו ֥ ֵל ְך אֶ ְתכֶ ֖ם ֽקו ְֹמ ִמ ּֽיוּת׃ (פ
Questions for discussion: 1. What blessings are we promised for observing these periods of rest? 2. Why does the text connect our history as slaves in Egypt with Shmita observance in the land of Israel? How might this affect your understanding of Shmita? 34
3. Why do you think the text mentions sabbaths (shabtotai) in the plural? Can the full impact and potential of Shabbat only be felt if the Shabbat, Shmita, and Yovel cycles are celebrated together? 4. Is this blessing a reward or a consequence? What is the difference?
The Shmita Sourcebook
Leviticus 26:18-35
לה-יח:ויקרא כו
(18) And if, for all that, you do not obey me, I will go on to discipline you sevenfold for your sins, (19) and I will break your proud glory. I will make your skies like iron and your earth like copper, (20) so that your strength shall be spent to no purpose. Your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.... (34) Then shall the land pay back its sabbath-rests all the days it is desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its sabbath-rest. (35) All the days of desolation it shall keep a sabbath-rest for not having kept your sabbath-rests while you were dwelling there.
ֵ ֔ ַ(יח) וְ ִ ֨אם־ע ד־א ֶּלה ֥ל ֹא ִת ׁ ְש ְמע֖ ּו ִ֑לי וְ יָסַ פְ ִּת ֙י לְ י ְַּס ָ֣רה אֶ ְת ֔ ֶכם ְ ֶיכם׃ (יט) וְ ׁ ָשבַ ְר ִּת֖י א ֶ ֽ ֵׁ ֶש֖בַ ע עַ ל־חַ ּט ֹאת ת־ג ּ֣אוֹן ֻעזְ ֑ ֶּכם וְ נ ַָת ִּ ֤תי ְ ׁ ֶא ת־ש ֵמיכֶ ם֙ ַּכ ַּב ְר ֶז֔ל וְ ֽ ֶאת־אַ ְר ְצכֶ ֖ם ַּכ ְנ ֻּח ׁ ֽ ָשה׃ (כ) וְ ַ֥תם ל ִָר֖יק ִ ֹ ּכ ֹחֲ ֑ ֶכם וְ ֽל א־ת ּ ֤ ֵתן אַ ְר ְצכֶ ם֙ אֶ ת־יְב ּו ָ֔ל ּה וְ ֣ ֵעץ הָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ ֥ל ֹא י ּ ִֵת֖ן ...ּ ִפ ְר ֽיוֹ׃ ַ ׁ ֶ(לד) אָ ֩ז ִּת ְר ֶ֨צה הָ ֜ ָא ֶרץ א ת־ש ְ ּבת ֶֹ֗תיהָ ּ֚כ ֹל י ֣ ְֵמי הֳ ׁ ַש ּ֔ ָמה ֶ ֑ ֵוְ אַ ּ ֶת֖ם ְ ּב ֣ ֶא ֶרץ אֹיְב יכם ָ֚אז ִּת ׁ ְש ַּ֣בת הָ ֔ ָא ֶרץ וְ ִה ְרצָ ֖ת אֶ ת־ ׁ ַש ְ ּבת ֽ ֶֹתיהָ ׃ (לה) ָּכל־י ֥ ְֵמי הָ ַּׁש ּ ָמ֖ה ִּת ׁ ְש ּ֑ב ֹת ֣ ֵאת אֲ ׁ ֧ ֶשר ֽל ֹא־ ׁ ָשבְ ָ֛תה ְ ּב ׁ ַש ְ ּבת ֹתֵ יכֶ ֖ם ְ ּב ׁ ִשבְ ְּת ֶ֥כם עָ ֽ ֶליהָ ׃
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think the text uses “proud glory” as the characteristic that might cause people to neglect Shmita? 2. Are these curses “consequences” or “punishments”? What is the difference?
3. We could read these curses in terms of contemporary environmental and agricultural challenges: soil erosion, overgrazing, pollution, acid rain, climate change, etc. Do you think the sustainability movement could find strength in a text like this? Why or why not?
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. The word Shmita means “release.” What is the release, on a personal and societal level, that we are being asked to participate in, physically, emotionally, and spiritually? 2. How easy or challenging might it be to release objects or patterns we are accustomed to? 3. The early Israelites lived in a largely rural, agrarian society, vastly different from our modern culture. What would Shmita look like if we observed it now?
5. In what ways is Shmita a restful experience, and in what ways might it be the opposite? How do you think life would be different if there was a recurring, multi-year cycle of collective rest embedded in our culture? 6. What would be the implications of the global Jewish community observing Shmita today? How might we think about our “land,” “harvests,” “debts,” or “enslaved people” in terms of our obligations to Jewish tradition?
4. Have you felt the hectic rush before Shabbat, of cooking, cleaning, wrapping up the work week? Or the rush before leaving home, planning a wedding, going on vacation - anything that is a drastic shift from your day-to-day activities? How would you (and our collective culture) begin to prepare for a year-long Shabbat?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Biblical Foundations of Shmita
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Section II: Recalling Ancient Memory Introduction: During the time of the Second Temple (c. 500 BCE - 70 CE), traditions including Shmita and Yovel were more widely practiced, but over time these practices have fallen by the wayside. Jewish tradition is filled with important teachings, ethical practices, religious rites, and communal traditions that have been ignored and, in some cases, forgotten. So we ask ourselves, what is the relevance of Shmita today? If this isn’t a tradition we kept up as our occupations and cultural practices changed, why should we bother to sit with these teachings today? The same could be said of many teachings, and yet we find immeasurable value in the discussion and application of ancient tradition. We seek wisdom and guidance from the teachers who came before us, often revealing relevant wisdom to guide us through trying times. Today, we face the climate crisis, global hunger, devastating poverty, wars, and more. Jewish tradition reminds us to look to the past for answers and it is with this in mind that we begin to parse the teachings and commentaries about Shmita and Yovel. In this section we ask how Jewish leaders memorialized their observance of Shmita and how later writers, some
of whom were far removed, both in time and space, from the practices in Israel during the First and Second Temple periods, reflected on these memories. What emerges is a challenging picture of both observance and dismissal. Many commentators extol pious observance of Shmita, decry deviance and dismissal of tradition, and, at the same time, recognize the difficulties in Shmita’s execution. Other teachers struggle with the implications of fully observing Shmita, wondering whether such practices might cause their society to unravel completely. Ultimately the rabbis understood that to observe Shmita - like many other Jewish traditions - we needed balance. They could neither condone completely ignoring Shmita nor allow individual lives to be overburdened. Some made allowances, interpreted the laws leniently, and constructed inventive legal frameworks that worked within the Shmita guidelines. Others adopted a strict interpretation, insisting the laws must be followed as closely as possible. The sources about the history and memory of the observance of Shmita are complex, contradictory, multifaceted, and thought-provoking. Like so much of Jewish tradition, they raise just as many questions as they answer.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
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Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
The Shmita Sourcebook
1. Shmita During the First Temple Period The First Temple stood for nearly 400 years (c. 950-586 BCE), but it was a time of strife and division within ancient Israel. Toward the end of this era, various prophets implored the people to return to the laws of the Torah. The prophet Jeremiah* foretold a 70-year exile of Jews to Babylonia. The final verses of the Bible, from II Chronicles* explicitly connect this exile to the warning against neglecting Shmita in Leviticus 26.
II Chronicles 36:20-21
כא-כ:דברי הימים ב לו
(20) Those who survived the sword he exiled to Babylon, and they became his and his sons’ servants until the rise of the Persian kingdom, (21) in fulfillment of the word of Adonai spoken by Jeremiah - until “the land paid back its sabbath-rests; all the days it is desolate it kept a sabbathrest,” fulfilling seventy years.
ָּ ֶ(כ) ַו ֶ֛יּגֶל הַ ְּׁשאֵ ִ ֥רית ִמן־הַ חֶ ֶ֖רב א ל־ב ֑ ֶבל ֽ ַו ִיּ ְהיוּ־ל֤ ֹו וּלְ בָ נָי ֙ו ְ ַלַעֲ בָ ִ ֔דים ע ד־מל ְֹ֖ך ַמלְ כ֥ וּת ּפָ ֽ ָרס׃ (כא) לְ ַמ ּ֤ל ֹאות ְדּבַ ר־ ַ ׁ ֶד־ר ְצ ָ֥תה הָ אָ ֶ֖רץ א ָ ַיְהוָה֙ ְ ּב ִ ֣פי י ְִר ְמ ָ֔יה ּו ע ת־ש ְ ּבתו ֑ ֶֹתיהָ ָּכל־ י ֤ ְֵמי הָ ַּׁש ּ ָמה֙ ׁ ָש ֔ ָב ָתה לְ ַמ ּל ֹ֖אות ׁ ִשבְ ִ ֥עים ׁ ָש ֽ ָנה׃
Chronicles places the warning from Leviticus 26:34 about failing to observe Shmita into the voice of Jeremiah, who prophesied that the exile in Babylonia would be 70 years. For some interpreters there was great significance to this connection - the 70 years of exile must in some way correspond to the Shmita cycles that the Jewish people had neglected since entering the land with Joshua. *Jeremiah prophesied from 625-586 BCE, a period ending with the Bablyonian conquest of Judah, which led to the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, exile to Babylonia, and the collapse of the Davidic dynasty. His prophecies are often bleak, warning the people of impending defeat. The book of *Chronicles (Hebrew “Divrei HaYamim”) is a retelling of much of the history of Israel presented in the books of Samuel and Kings, with a focus on the Jerusalem Temple, the Kingdom of Judah, and the Davidic dynasty. Much of the language is borrowed from those earlier books, albeit with some significant edits.
Recalling Ancient Memory
39
Rashi, the great medieval commentator, demonstrates how the math of 70 neglected Shmita and Yovel years align with Biblical history.
Rashi on Leviticus 26:35:2
ב:לה:רש״י על ויקרא כו
For not having kept a Sabbath-rest — The seventy years of the Babylonian exile corresponded to the seventy Shmita and Yovel years that were due in those years when Israel was provoking the anger of the God while still in their land: 430 years. Their sins lasted 390 years from when they entered the land until the Ten Tribes went into exile. The Kingdom of Judah provoked God for another 40 years...They spent another six years until Zedekiah (the last king) went into exile; thus you have altogether 46 years. Now, go and calculate for 436 years the number of Shmita and Yovel periods contained in them and you will find that they are 16 for every 100 years, (14 Shmita and 2 Yovel) so for 400 years there are 64. For the remaining 36 there are 5 cycles, making 69 total. The final year (the 36th) is the start of the 70th Shmita/ Yovel period. And because of these [70 periods] exactly seventy years of exile were decreed against them. Thus, it is said in Chronicles, “until the land paid back its sabbath-rests.”
ׁ ִשבְ ִעים ׁ ָשנָה ׁ ֶשל ָ ּגלוּת ָּבבֶ ל הֵ ן.את אשר לא שבתה הָ י ּו ְּכ ֶנגֶד ׁ ִשבְ ִעים ׁ ְשנוֹת הַ ׁ ּ ְש ִמ ּ ָטה וְ יוֹבֵ ל ׁ ֶשהָ י ּו ַּב ּׁ ָשנִים ׂ ְ ׁ ֶש ִהכְ ִעיס ּו ִי ש ָראֵ ל ְ ּבאַ ְרצָ ם לִ פְ נֵי הַ ּ ָמקוֹם — אַ ְר ַּבע ֵמאוֹת ;ו ׁ ְּשלו ׁ ִֹשים ׁ ָשנָה ׁ ְשלו ֹׁש ֵמאוֹת וְ ִת ׁ ְש ִעים הָ י ּו ׁ ְשנֵי עֲ ֹונָם ִמ ׁ ּ ֶש ּנִכְ נְס ּו לָאָ ֶרץ וּבְ נֵי יְהו ָּדה ִהכְ ִעיס ּו לְ פָ נָיו,עַ ד ׁ ֶש ָ ּגל ּו עֲ ֶׂש ֶרת הַ ׁ ּ ְשבָ ִטים אַ ְר ָּב ִעים ׁ ָשנָה ִמ ׁ ּ ֶש ָ ּגל ּו עֲ ֶׂש ֶרת הַ ׁ ּ ְשבָ ִטים עַ ד חָ ְרבוֹת ׂ ָוְ עוֹד ע...יְרו ׁ ָּש ַליִם הֲ ֵרי,ּש ּו ׁ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנִים עַ ד ָ ּגלוּת ִצ ְד ִקיָּהו ;אַ ְר ָּב ִעים וְ ׁ ֵש ׁש צֵ א וַחֲ ׁש ֹב לְ אַ ְר ַּבע ֵמאוֹת ו ׁ ְּשלו ׁ ִֹשים וְ ׁ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנָה ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ִטין וְ הֵ ם ׁ ֵש ׁש עֶ ְש ֶׂרה לְ ֵמאָ ה — אַ ְר ַּבע,וְ יוֹבְ לוֹת ׁ ֶש ָּבהֶ ם הֲ ֵרי לְ אַ ְר ַּבע ֵמאוֹת ׁ ָשנָה,עֶ ְש ֵׂרה ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ִטין ו ׁ ְּש ַניִם יוֹבְ לוֹת ,ׁ ִש ִּׁשים וְ אַ ְר ַּבע הֲ ֵרי ׁ ִשבְ ִעים חָ סֵ ר,לִ ׁ ְשלו ׁ ִֹשים וְ ׁ ֵש ׁש ׁ ָשנָה חָ ֵמ ׁש ׁ ְש ִמ ּטוֹת ׁ ֶש ִנּכְ נְסָ ה בַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה הַ ּ ַמ ׁ ְשל ֶֶמת, וְ עוֹד ׁ ָשנָה יְתֵ ָרה,אַ חַ ת .לְ ׁ ִשבְ ִעים וְ כֵ ן הוּא או ֵֹמר,וַעֲ לֵיהֶ ם נִגְ זַר ׁ ִשבְ ִעים ׁ ָשנָה ׁ ְשל ִֵמים עַ ד ָר ְצ ָתה הָ אָ ֶרץ,)ְ ּב ִדבְ ֵרי הַ י ִָמים (דברי הימים ב' ל"ו ... ָאֶ ת ׁ ַש ְ ּבתו ֶֹתיה
Omitted from the excerpt above is a very complex combination of math and midrash used to align the 436 years referenced with the history recorded in Kings.* One of the remarkable implications of Rashi’s analysis is that from the time the Jewish people entered the land of Israel through the destruction of the First Temple, they never observed Shmita in a way that was pleasing to God. The complex math and midrash that Rashi cites is from an early work called Seder Olam, a 2nd century chronology detailing the years of all biblical events, starting at Creation. It attempts to synchronize all biblical stories together, using midrash to resolve any discrepancies (such as the one that Rashi cites here to determine 436 years). The timeline presented in this work is the source for the numeration of Jewish years and for Shmita occuring in years divisible by 7 (i.e. 5782, which began in Sept. 2021).
Questions for discussion: 1. How does the notion that the Jewish people ignored Shmita for hundreds of years prior to the destruction of the First Temple impact your understanding of Jewish life during that period? How does it impact your conception of Shmita today? 40
2. Though Rashi’s commentary delves deep into complicated arithmetic, neither he nor other sources seem to describe why Shmita was so widely disregarded. Why do you think it was so rarely kept?
The Shmita Sourcebook
2. Neglect of Shmita, the Exile, and the Return As we have now seen, the books of Leviticus and Chronicles connect neglect of Shmita with exile. This theme is echoed in other sources: In Pirkei Avot (“Chapters of the Fathers,” the tractate of the Mishnah* devoted to ethical teachings of the Sages) we read:
Mishnah Pirkei Avot 5:9
ט:משנה אבות ה
Exile comes to the world for idolatry, for sexual sins and for bloodshed, and for [transgressing] the release of the land.
וְ עַ ל גִ ּלוּי,ָגּלוּת ָּבאָ ה לָע ֹולָם עַ ל עוֹבְ ֵדי עֲ בו ָֹדה ז ָָרה . וְ עַ ל הַ ׁ ְש ָמ ַטת הָ אָ ֶרץ, וְ עַ ל ׁ ְשפִ יכוּת ָד ִּמים,עֲ ָריוֹת
Tractate Shabbat in the Talmud** brings a teaching directly connected to the verses in Leviticus:
Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 33a
.שבת לג
Due to the sin of prohibited sexual relations, and idol worship, and [failure to] release [during] Shmita and Yovel, exile comes to the world. They were exiled and others came to dwell in their place…
ִ ּ ַּבעֲ וֹן ִג ּּלוּי עֲ ָריוֹת וַעֲ בו ָֹדה ז ָָרה וְ הַ ׁ ְש ָמ ַטת ׁ ְש ִמ יטין וּבָ ִאין אֲ חֵ ִרים, ו ַּמגְ לִ ין או ָֹתן,וְ יוֹבְ לוֹת — ָגּלוּת ָּבא לָע ֹולָם ...וְ יו ׁ ְֹשבִ ין ִ ּב ְמקו ָֹמן
With regard to Shmita and Yovel it is written (Lev 26:34): “Then shall the land pay back its sabbath-rests all the days it is desolate while you are in the land of your enemies;” And it is written (Lev 26:35): “All the days of desolation it shall keep a sabbath-rest.”
ִ ּ ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִמ ״אָ ז ִּת ְרצֶ ה הָ אָ ֶרץ אֶ ת:יטין וּבְ יוֹבְ לוֹת ְּכ ִתיב ,ׁ ַש ְ ּבתוֹתֶ יהָ ּכ ֹל י ְֵמי הֳ ׁ ַש ּ ָמה וְ אַ ּ ֶתם ְ ּבאֶ ֶרץ א ֹויְבֵ יכֶ ם וְ גוֹ׳״ ַּׁ ״ ּכ ֹל י ְֵמי:וּכְ ִתיב .הש ּ ָמה ִּת ׁ ְשבּ וֹת״
*The Mishnah is the first major written compilation of Jewish oral traditions. It was compiled in the 3rd century by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. It is divided into 63 tractates, each focused on a different topic. Pirkei Avot is unique in that it contains ethical statements and very little law. **The Talmud is a lengthy expansion of the Mishnah, recording the discussions of rabbis who lived in the centuries following the completion of the Mishnah. Two Talmuds were compiled: a shorter one in Israel, (completed around 400 CE, referred as the Jerusalem Talmud), and a longer one in Babylonia (completed around 500 CE). The Babylonian Talmud is more widely studied, and generally referred to as “The Talmud.”
Questions for discussion: 1. What do you know about the purposes of Shmita? How can you understand its purposes as related to the punishment for failure to observe its laws?
2. Think about the connections between Shmita and other commandments. How might these be related - or not - and how might they influence the relationship we have with God?
Recalling Ancient Memory
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The Book of Nehemiah* shares that after the Second Temple was constructed and consecrated, those involved recommitted themselves to the observance of the Torah and, in particular, of certain laws including the sanctity of Shabbat and Shmita:
Nehemiah 10:29-32
לב-כט:נחמיה י
(29) “And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to [follow] the Teaching of God, their wives, sons and daughters, all who know enough to understand, (30) join with their noble brothers, and take an oath with sanctions to follow the Teaching of God, given through Moses the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of Adonai our God, God’s rules and laws... (32) “The peoples of the land who bring their wares and all sorts of foodstuff for sale on Shabbat—we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will forgo [the produce of] the seventh year, and every outstanding debt.”
(כט) ו ׁ ְּש ָ֣אר הָ ָ֡עם הַ ּכ ֹהֲ ִנ֣ים ַ֠הלְ וִ ִיּם הַ ּׁשוֹעֲ ִ ֨רים הַ ְמ ׁש ֹ ְר ִ ֜רים ּ ֶהַ ְנ ִּתי ִנ֗ים ְֽוכָ ל־הַ ִנּבְ ָ ֞ ּדל ֵמעַ ּ ֤ ֵמי הָ אֲ ָרצוֹת֙ א ל־תו ַֹ֣רת הָ אֱ ל ִֹ֔הים ֵ ׁנ ֶ ֑ ֵֵיהם וּבְ נ ֹת ֶ֣ ְשיהֶ ֖ם ְ ּבנ ֣ ִ ִיהם ּכ ֹ֖ל יו ֥ ֵֹדעַ ֵמ ִֽבין׃ (ל) ַמחֲ ז יקים עַ ל־ ֵ אֲ חֵ יהֶ ם֮ אַ ִד ּיריהֶ ם֒ וּבָ ִ ֞אים ְ ּבאָ ָ֣לה וּבִ ׁ ְשבו ָּ֗עה ָל ֙ ֶלכֶ ת֙ ְ ּבתו ַֹ֣רת ָ ֽ ֶהָ אֱ ל ִֹ֔הים אֲ ׁ ֶ֣שר נ ְִּת ָנ֔ה ְ ּב ַי֖ד מ ׁ ֶֹ֣שה ֽ ֶעב ד־האֱ ל ִֹ֑הים וְ לִ ׁ ְש ֣מוֹר ֽ ּ ִ ת־כ ָּ ֶוְ לַעֲ ׂ֗שוֹת א ...ל־מ ְצוֺת֙ יְה ָו֣ה אֲ ד ֹ ֵנ֔ינ ּו ו ִּמ ׁ ְש ּפָ ָט֖יו וְ ֻח ָקיו׃ ֶ ֜ ׁ ָיאים֩ אֶ ת־הַ ּ ַמ ָּקח֨ וֹת וְ כ ִ ִ(לב) וְ עַ ּ ֣ ֵמי הָ ָ֡א ֶרץ ֽ ַה ְמב ל־שבֶ ר ְ ּב ֤יוֹם הַ ַּׁש ָּבת֙ לִ ְמ ֔ ּכוֹר ל ֹא־נ ִַּ֥קח ֵמ ֶ֛הם ַּב ַּׁש ָּב֖ת וּבְ ֣יוֹם ֑ק ֹ ֶד ׁש ִ ִוְ ִנ ּ ֛ט ֹ ׁש אֶ ת־הַ ָּׁש ָנ֥ה הַ ְּׁשב יע֖ית ו ַּמ ָּׁ ֥שא כָ ל־ ֽ ָיד׃
*The books of Ezra-Nehemiah present the latest historical record in the Bible. It details the return of exiles from Babylonia (now under Persian rule) to Israel under the leadership of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubavel. Following the rebuilding of the Second Temple, Ezra reestablishes various communal rituals and attempts to create a pious Jewish community.
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think Jews returning to Israel committed themselves to following the rules of Shmita? Why at this moment?
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2. How does committing to the agricultural and economic rules of Shmita begin to present a vision for the type of society they wanted to create?
The Shmita Sourcebook
3. The Mitzvah to Keep the Count of the Shmita and Yovel Cycles? Jewish tradition maintains that there are 613 commandments. Although this number is attested in the Talmud, early Rabbinic sources never list which commandments are included in that count. In the centuries following the redaction of the Talmud, many leading commentators and scholars of Jewish law have tried to establish exactly which commandments were included. Among those that spent a great deal of time on this endeavor was Rambam*, in his work Sefer HaMitzvot (“Book of Commandments). He articulates clear rules about which laws should be counted. Of note in this context is that none of the 613 could be a necessary supporting condition for the observance of another commandment. Thus, it is noteworthy that Rambam lists each aspect of Shmita and Yovel as separate positive commandment: 134: to render all that grows from the ground ownerless during Shmita 135: to rest from all agricultural work in the seventh year 136: to sanctify the 50th year 137: to free all slaves during Yovel 138: to return all lands to their owners during Yovel 139: that urban land can only be redeemed until the end of the year In addition to these, Rambam adds commandment 140, which is to count the years within the Shmita and Yovel cycles. This responsibility lies with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical high court.
Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandments 140 That God commanded us to count the years and the sabbatical cycles until Yovel... And this commandment, the the counting of the years of Shmita, is the responsibility of the Great Court, the Great Sanhedrin. For they are the ones that count each year of the fifty years, just like each and every one of us counts the days of the Omer.
מצוות עשה קמ,ספר המצוות
היא שצונו למנות השנים והשמטים שבע שבע עד ומצוה זו כלומר ספירת שני השמיטה...שנת היובל כי,היא נמסרת לבית דין הגדול כלומר סנהדרי גדולה הם שימנו שנה שנה מהחמשים שנה כמו שימנה כל איש ואיש ממנו ימי העומר
*Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1138-1204), known as Rambam or Maimonides, was an Egyptian rabbi, physician, and philosopher. Rambam authored several important works, including Sefer HaMitzvot (“Book of Commandments”), a 14-volume code of Jewish Law called Mishneh Torah, a commentary to the Mishnah, and Moreh Nevukhim (“Guide to the Perplexed,”) a philosophical masterpiece which blends Aristotelian philosophy with Torah teaching.
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think there is a separate commandment to keep count of the years of the Shmita and Yovel cycles beyond knowing when the Shmita is?
3. What is the significance of counting as it relates to Shmita and Yovel? What does it say about time and the role these years played in marking time?
2. Why is this commandment the responsibility of the Sanhedrin, the tribunal of elders?
Recalling Ancient Memory
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4. Shmita as a Marker of Time in Judicial Processes Tractate Sanhedrin deals with the process of Jewish courts. The fifth chapter of Mishnah Sanhedrin opens with a discussion about how the court would examine witnesses in high-stakes cases that involved capital crimes. According to the anonymous first opinion recorded in the Mishnah (referred to as the Tanna Kamma), the court would carefully interrogate each witness about the timing of the events to which they were testifying. This formal process started with the court asking the witness to answer the question of “in which Shmita cycle” did the event take place.
Mishnah Sanhedrin 5:1
א:משנה סנהדרין ה
The court would examine the witnesses in capital cases with seven interrogations, i.e., interrogatory questions, and they are: In which seven-year period, that is, in which cycle of seven years within a Yovel cycle did the event occur; in which year of the Shmita cycle did the event occur; in which month did the event occur; on which day of the month did the event occur; on which day of the week did the event occur; at which hour did the event occur; and in what place did the event occur.
ְ ּבאֵ יז ֹו, ַ ְ ּבאֵ יזֶה ׁ ָשבוּע,הָ י ּו בו ְֹד ִקין או ָֹתן ְ ּב ׁ ֶשבַ ע חֲ ִקירוֹת ְ ּבאֵ יז ֹו, ְ ּבאֵ יזֶה יוֹם, ְ ּבכַ ּ ָמה בַ ח ֶֹד ׁש, ְ ּבאֵ יזֶה ח ֶֹד ׁש,ׁ ָשנָה . ְ ּבאֵ יזֶה ָמקוֹם,ׁ ָשעָ ה ּ ְ ְ ּבאֵ יז ֹו ׁ ָשעָ ה, ְ ּבאֵ יזֶה יוֹם:ַר ִ ּבי יוֹסֵ י או ֵֹמר .באֵ יזֶה ָמקוֹם,
R’ Yose says: [they only ask] on which day, at which hour; and in what place did the event occur.
R’ Yose’s opinion is that the court simply needed to ask the questions that allowed them to understand when the event actually occurred and where it happened. The opinion of the Tanna Kamma, which is assumed to be the authoritative position of the majority of the rabbis, seems to require far more questions than are actually needed to get the who, when, and where of the story. But why are these extra questions needed? Surely, the date and time should have sufficed. Some later commentators have suggested that the opinion of the Tanna Kamma was based on the desire to put pressure on the witnesses to make sure they were telling the truth. The court was very concerned about the possibility that an innocent person might be convicted based on false witnesses. Others, however, argue that the Sages were codifying a proper formal court procedure of questions. In other words, it isn’t necessarily true that knowing the exact year in the Shmita and Yovel cycles added meaning to the case or that asking those questions was designed to confuse would-be false witnesses. Rather, it reflected how the court thought it should handle its procedure, place events, and keep records. At the very least, it implies that the rabbis assumed a widespread awareness of Shmita during this period.
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think the Sages felt that it was proper to establish the Shmita cycle within Yovel and the year within that cycle as part of the court proceedings?
2. What do you think it says about how the Sages wanted people to think about time, periodization, and how we locate moments on the sacred timeline? 3. On a more basic level, what can we glean from this mishnah about the prevalence of knowledge about Shmita during this period?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
5. Shmita as a Reference Point for Terumot and Ma’aserot This text is also from the detailed accounting of Shmita presented in Leviticus 25. The following excerpt discusses the agricultural cycle of annual crops, some of which take months to mature. From God’s reassurance to the people’s fear, we learn that taking one year off from seeding impacts much more than only that one year. In the sixth year we need an abundant harvest that can be stored to last through the seventh year and the beginning of the following (or first) year. Imagine the burden this places on growers and the collaboration needed to ensure all are fed. Ma’aser sheni,* the second tithe, was taken from produce in only the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the Shmita cycle. Ma’aser ani, the poor tithe, was taken from produce in the third and sixth years of the Shmita cycle. The Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud all discuss various aspects of these tithes (see Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 12b). Rambam clearly delineates this rotation in his Mishneh Torah, his celebrated code of Jewish Law. After discussing some of the laws of ma’aser sheni, he writes:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 6:4 According to this order, you should separate [the ma’aser sheni] in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the Shmita cycle. However, in the third and sixth [years] of the Shmita cycle, after separating ma’aser rishon [which is given to the Levite each year], one must separate from the remaining produce another tithe and give it to the poor. And, this tithe is called ma’aser ani. And in those years [3rd and 6th], one does not separate ma’aser sheni, but only ma’aser ani.
ד: הלכות מתנות עניים ו,משנה תורה
ַאש ֹונָה ִמן הַ ָּׁשבוּע ִ ׁ עַ ל הַ ּ ֵס ֶדר הַ ֶז ּה ַמפְ ִר ׁ ישין ְ ּב ׁ ָשנָה ִר ִ ׁ ִ אֲ בָ ל ַּב ְּׁשל.ישית ִ ׁ יעית וּבַ חֲ ִמ ִ ִוּבַ ְּׁש ִנ ָיּה וּבָ ְרב ישית וּבַ ִּׁש ִּׁשית ִ ׁ ִמן הַ ָּׁשבוּעַ אַ חַ ר ׁ ֶש ּ ַמפְ ִר ׁ ישים ַמעֲ ֵשׂר ִר אשוֹן ַמפְ ִר ׁיש ִמן הַ ְּׁשאָ ר ַמעֲ ֵשׂר אַ חֵ ר וְ נו ְֹתנ ֹו לָעֲ ִנ ִיּים וְ הוּא הַ ִנ ְּק ָרא ַמעֲ ַשׂר . וְ אֵ ין ִ ּב ׁ ְש ּ ֵתי ׁ ָשנִים אֵ ּל ּו ַמעֲ ֵשׂר ׁ ֵשנִי אֶ ָּלא ַמעֲ ַשׂר עָ נִי.עָ נִי
Types of Tithes. Various tithes are prescribed by the Torah, which function as taxes on produce: Terumah - a portion of the crop given to the priests as a gift Ma’aser Rishon - “first tithe” - one tenth of agricultural produce given to the Levites Terumat Ma’aser - “portion of the first” - one tenth of the first tithe which the Levite would give to the priests Ma’aser Sheni - “second tithe” - a second tenth of produce set aside most years to eat in Jerusalem Ma’aser Ani - “poor tithe” - a second tenth of produce given to the poor in other years
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think the rabbis avoided ever requiring one to do both ma’aser sheni and ma’aser ani in the same year? 2. How does the Shmita cycle act as a reference point for the other tithes?
3. What does this say about Shmita as an anchor in the multi-year agricultural timeline of the people? 4. Considered with the mishnah in Sanhedrin, what does this generally say about how people were supposed to contextualize time and periodization in connection to Shmita?
Recalling Ancient Memory
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6. Shmita as a Time of Plenty Some sources show Shmita was experienced and remembered as a time of plenty. After all, the Torah seems to predict that God would provide a bountiful harvest in the sixth year to make sure that people could properly observe Shmita without want. Even during Shmita, the land would be blessed with plentiful produce that grew without being cultivated, which allowed for a framework of limited agriculture (detailed in later sections).
Levitcus 25:19-22
כב- יט:ויקרא כה
(19) the land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it in security. (20) And should you ask, “What are we to eat in the seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?” (21) I will ordain my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years. (22) When you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating old grain of that crop; you will be eating the old until the ninth year, until its crops come in.
ַ ׁ וְ נ ְָת ָנ֤ה הָ ָ֙א ֶרץ֙ ּ ִפ ְר ָ֔י ּה וַאֲ כַ לְ ּ ֶת֖ם ָל ֹׂ֑שבַ ע ִֽו ישבְ ּ ֶ֥תם לָבֶ ַ֖טח ַ֤ ֹ ֹאמר֔ ּו ַמה־נ ְ עָ ֽ ֶליהָ ׃ וְ ִ ֣כי ת ִ֑ ִּאכ֖ל ַּב ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁשב יעת ֚ ֵהן ֣ל ֹא ִ ּ ִת־תבוּאָ ֽ ֵתנוּ׃ וְ ִצו ְּ ֶנִזְ ָ ֔רע וְ ֥ל ֹא נֶאֱ סֹ֖ף א ּ ִ ֶ֤יתי א ת־ב ְרכָ ִת ֙י ל ֔ ֶָכם ַּב ָּׁש ָנ֖ה הַ ִּׁש ִּׁ ֑שית וְ עָ ָשׂת֙ אֶ ת־הַ ְּתבו ֔ ָּאה לִ ׁ ְשל ֹׁ֖ש הַ ָּׁש ִֽנים׃ וּזְ ַר ְע ּ ֶ֗תם ֚ ֵאת הַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּׁש ִמי ִנ֔ת וַאֲ כַ לְ ּ ֶת֖ם ִמן־הַ ְּתבו ָּ֣אה י ׁ ָָ֑שן ֗ ִ ַ֣עד הַ ָּׁש ָנ֣ה הַ ְּת ׁ ִש יעת עַ ד־בּ וֹא֙ ְּתב֣ וּאָ ָ֔ת ּה ּת ֹאכְ ל֖ ּו י ׁ ֽ ָָשן׃
Questions for discussion: 1. How does the Torah give voice to people’s concerns about the potential scarcity caused by Shmita regulations?
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2. How does it proceed to answer this concern?
The Shmita Sourcebook
7. Shmita Year Shortages and Sacrifices Despite the ideal of plenty during Shmita, other sources from the Second Temple period convey stories of food shortages during Shmita. In fact, several authors memorialize how observance of Shmita added scarcity to dire political situations that the Jews faced. One such account concerns the events of Shmita during the Hasmonean Revolt* against the Seleucid Greeks and their allies. The book of I Maccabees*, recounts some of the consequences that the observance of Shmita had during the conflict. Many scholars have pointed out that the books of Maccabees, Daniel, and other Second Temple-era works connect Shmita with the heightening of certain apocalyptic beliefs during that time. Some believed that Shmita would bring defeat and others saw it as a harbinger of victory for the Hasmonean forces. Beyond the apocalyptic implications of Shmita, the practical observance of Shmita also had an impact on the day-to-day lives of the people in the area and, in turn, on the conduct of the war. There was a Shmita year in 164-163 BCE. and, during that period, armies led by Antiochus V Eupator and Lysias went on the offensive against Hasmonean strongholds. I Maccabees recounts that the conditions of Shmita made it hard for defenders to withstand the armies of Antiochus and Lysias:
I Maccabees 6:48-50 (48) Thereupon, the king’s army marched after them to Jerusalem, and the king encamped against Judaea and against Mount Zion. (49) However, he made a truce with the defenders of Beth-Zur, so that they withdrew from the town, inasmuch as they had no store of food there for withstanding a siege because it was the sabbatical year when the land was left fallow. (50) Thereupon the king occupied Beth-Zur and stationed there a garrison to hold it.
From there, the armies moved on the Hasmonean stronghold in Jerusalem. While the defenders of Jerusalem and the Temple were not willing to withdraw as those at Beth-Zur did, their ability to withstand a long siege was, likewise, compromised by the shortages of food caused by Shmita.
I Maccabees 6:51-54 (51) He besieged the Temple for many days, setting up against it a siege wall and siege engines, including launchers of incendiary missiles, catapults for hurling stones, scorpionettes for hurling darts, and slings. (52) The besieged, too, devised engines to counter those of the enemy, so that the siege continued for many days. (53) However, there was no longer food in the bins because it was the seventh year and also because the refugees who had been evacuated to Judaea from among the gentiles had consumed what was left of the stores. (54) Hence a few men were left in the sanctuary because hunger pressed the defenders hard; the rest dispersed, each to his own place. The Hasmonean Revolt lasted from 167-160 BCE. It was an uprising against the ruling Seleucid Empire, which controlled modern Israel, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. Following failed battles with Egypt, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes plundered Jerusalem and ended the daily offerings in the Temple. This led to an open revolt, led by the Maccabees, against the Seleucids, which culminated in the rededication of the Temple and is memorialized by the celebration of Hanukkah. The story of the Hasmoneans is told in various books, all called Maccabees. I Maccabees details the history of the revolt and was written in Hebrew shortly after the restoration of the independent Jewish kingdom. II Maccabees is shorter, written in Greek, and focuses more on theology in tandem with history. While not included in the Jewish canon, they were included in the Greek Septuagint and are still part of some Christian bibles. Maccabees translation from J. Goldstein, Anchor Bible Series
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In the end, the city was spared by an upheaval in internal Seleucid politics that led to a truce and the army’s withdrawal. Another version of this story is told by Josephus* in his first-century work, “The Antiquities of the Jews.” He recounts these events as part of his discussion of the Hasmonean period. Josephus, likewise, notes that observance of Shmita meant the defenders of Jerusalem and Beth-Zur were low on supplies:
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XII 9:5 But Judas, seeing the strength of the enemy, retired to Jerusalem, and prepared to endure a siege. As for Antiochus, he sent part of his army to Beth-Zur, to besiege it, and with the rest of his army he came against Jerusalem; but the inhabitants of Beth-Zur were terrified at his strength; and seeing that their provisions grew scarce, they delivered themselves up on the security of oaths that they should suffer no hard treatment from the king. And when Antiochus had taken the city, he did them no other harm than sending them out naked. He also placed a garrison of his own in the city. But as for the Temple of Jerusalem, he lay at its siege a long time, while they bravely defended it; for whatever engines the king set against them, they set other engines again to oppose them. But then their provisions failed them; what fruits of the ground they had laid up were spent and the land being not ploughed that year, continued unsoed, because it was the seventh year, on which, by our laws, we are obliged to let it lay uncultivated. And withal, so many of the besieged ran away for want of necessaries, that but a few only were left in the Temple. *Josephus was a first-century Roman-Jewish historian. Born in Jerusalem to a family of priests, he initially fought against Rome during the Jewish Revolt. After surrendering his forces, he was captured and defected to Rome. As an advisor to Roman leaders, he wrote three major books: “The Jewish War” (a detail of the revolt against Rome); “Antiquities of the Jews” (a history), and “Against Apion” (a defence of Judaism as a classical religion). These are major sources of our understanding of Jewish life and history during the first century. Josephus translation from William Whiston
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The Shmita Sourcebook
The difficulty in defending territory is echoed in texts that address the conditions in Jerusalem during the siege that resulted in the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Many sources recall that the Second Temple was destroyed the year after Shmita. Some texts imply that Shmita impacted the ability of the city to withstand the siege because supplies were low, leaving them ill-prepared. A story in the rabbinic midrash on Lamentations* continues this theme. Rabbi Abbahu, who lived in Israel in the 4th century CE, recounts some of the scorn heaped upon the Jews and their customs by others. Describing a theater, he imagines how the Jews would be satirized by their foes for observing the Shmita and subjecting themselves to scarcity:
Eicha Rabbah, Petichta 17
פתיחתא יז,איכה רבה
R. Abbahu opened his discourse with the text (Ps. 69:13), “They that sit in the gate talk of me.” This refers to the nations of the world who sit in theatres and circuses. “And I am the song of the drunkards”: after they have sat eating and drinking and become intoxicated, they sit and talk of me, scoffing at me and saying, “We have no need to eat carobs like the Jews!” They ask one another, “How long do you wish to live?” To which they reply, “As long as the shirt of a Jew which is worn on the Sabbath!” They then take a camel into their theatres, put their shirts upon it, and ask one another, “Why is it in mourning?” To which they reply, “The Jews observe the laws of Shmita and they have no vegetables, so they eat camel thorns (a prickly desert shrub), and that is why it is in mourning.”
ְ ׁ י ִָשׂיח ּו בִ י:) יג,ַר ִ ּבי אַ ָּבה ּו ּפָ ַתח (תהלים סט ישבֵ י אֵ ּל ּו ֻא ּמוֹת הָ ע ֹולָם ׁ ֶשהֵ ן יו ׁ ְֹשבִ ין ְ ּבבָ ּ ֵתי ּ ַת ְר ִטיאוֹת,ׁ ָשעַ ר ֵמאַ חַ ר ׁ ֶשהֵ ן, ּונְגִ ינוֹת ׁשוֹתֵ י ׁ ֵשכָ ר.וּבְ בָ ּ ֵתי קַ ְר ְק ִסיאוֹת ִ יו ׁ ְֹשבִ ין וְ אוֹכְ לִ ין וְ ׁשו ִֹתין ו ִּמ ׁ ְש ּ ַת ְּכ ִרין הֵ ן יו ׁ ְֹשבִ ין ו ְּמ ִש ׂיחין ְ ּבגִ ין ְ ּדלָא נ ְִצרו ְֹך לְ חָ רוֹבָ א: וְ או ְֹמ ִרים,ִ ּבי ו ַּמלְ ִעיגִ ים ִ ּבי ַּכ ּ ָמה ׁ ָשנִים אַ ְּת ָּבעֵ י:ּ וְ הֵ ן או ְֹמ ִרין אֵ ּל ּו לְ אֵ ּלו.ִּכיהו ָּדאי ִ ו ַּמכְ נ, וְ הֵ ן או ְֹמ ִרים ַּכחֲ לוּקָ א ִדּיהו ָּדאי ְד ׁ ַש ַּב ּ ָתא,ְמחֵ י ִיסין וְ הֵ ן,אֶ ת הַ ַג ּ ָּמל ל ּ ַַט ְר ִטיאוֹת ׁ ֶש ָּלהֶ ם וְ הַ חֲ לו ִּקים ׁ ֶש ּל ֹו עָ לָיו : וְ הֵ ן או ְֹמ ִרים, עַ ל ָמה זֶה ִמ ְתאַ ֵּבל:ּאו ְֹמ ִרין אֵ ּל ּו לְ אֵ ּלו ִ ִהַ ְיּהו ִּדים הַ ָּלל ּו ׁשו ְֹמ ֵרי ׁ ְשב יעית הֵ ן וְ אֵ ין לָהֶ ם י ָָרק וְ אָ כְ ל ּו .הַ חו ִֹחים ׁ ֶשל זֶה וְ הוּא ִמ ְתאַ ֵּבל עֲ לֵיהֶ ם
*Lamentations (Eicha in Hebrew) is a Biblical book which elegizes, in a series of poems, the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. Eicha Rabbah is a collection of rabbinic commentary on Lamentations. It is one of the oldest collections of rabbinic midrash.
Questions for discussion: 1. What do these sources tell us about the observance of Shmita in the Hasmonean period? What do these observations imply about the people’s faith?
3. Outside the theological implications, how does the midrash reflect what is probably a real world sense that Shmita led to periods of shortage?
2. How is Shmita linked to poverty in the eyes of those who oppose the Jews?
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8. Empathy and Addressing the Challenges of Shmita Observance in the Classical Period The rabbis of the Talmud recognized the sacrifices involved in observing Shmita. In certain cases, they expressed empathy with those who failed to observe. In other cases, they tried to create solutions that would make observance more manageable. The tractate of Ta’anit (“Fasts”) discusses special prayers for rain to be recited when there is a severe drought in Israel, with the aim of ensuring a bountiful harvest. The Jerusalem Talmud asks whether these would be recited during Shmita when active agriculture is paused.
Jerusalem Talmud, Ta’anit 3:1
א:תלמוד ירושלמי תענית ג
It is taught: As the alarm [prayer for rain] is sounded every other year, so it is sounded during Shmita out of consideration for the livelihood of others. What does ‘‘out of consideration for the livelihood of others’’ mean? The Sages said for the livelihood of non-Jews. R’ Zeira said for the livelihood of those suspected of transgressing [the laws of Shmita].
תני כשם שמתריעים עליהן בשאר ימי שבוע כך מתריעין עליהן בשביעית מפני פרנסת אחרים מהו מפני פרנסת אחרים חברייא אמרי מפני פרנסת עכו"ם .ר"ז אמר מפני פרנסת חשודים
The Jerusalem Talmud goes on to associate R’ Zeira’s position with that of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the famed sage who was responsible for the redaction of the Mishnah and the leading authority of the late second century (also simply called “Rebbi”). The text recounts the following story of R’ Yehuda HaNasi:
Jerusalem Talmud, Ta’anit 3:1
א:תלמוד ירושלמי תענית ג
[R’ Zeirah’s view was] like that of Rebbi [R’ Yehudah HaNasi]. A certain barber was suspected regarding shmita year produce. He was brought before Rebbi. Rebbi said to them: ‘‘And what can the poor man do? He did it for the sake of his life.’’
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כר' חד ספר הוה חשוד על פירות שמיטתה אייתוניה .גבי ר' אמר לון ומה יעביד עלובא ובגי חייו הוא עבד
The Shmita Sourcebook
During that era, many rabbis believed Shmita was no longer biblically obligated; rather it was only rabbinically mandated. However, unlike other rabbis, R’ Yehuda HaNasi believed that the prohibitions of Shmita should be nullified in their era. In this context, it seems clear that he was concerned with the sacrifices that people were forced to make in order to observe Shmita. Others disagreed and maintained that Shmita should be upheld despite the risk of challenges. The Jerusalem Talmud, in Tractate Demai, recounts the dispute between R’ Yehudah HaNasi and R’ Pinchas ben Yair on this question:
Jerusalem Talmud, Demai 1:3
ג:תלמוד ירושלמי דמאי א
Rebbi [Yehuda HaNasi] wanted to annul Shmita. Rabbi Pinchas Ben Yair went to him. Rebbi asked Pinchas, “How are your grains doing?” Pinchas said to him, “The [wild] endives are growing fine.” Rebbi once again said to him: “How are your grains doing?” Pinchas replied to him, again, “The endives are growing fine.” And by this, Rebbi understood that Pinchas did not agree with him about annulling Shmita.
'רבי בעי משרי שמיטתא סלק רבי פינחס בן יאיר לגבי א"ל מה עיבורי' עבידין א"ל עולשין יפות מה עיבוריא עבידין א"ל עולשין יפות וידע רבי דלית הוא מסכמה 'עמי
The implication of the story is that Rebbi felt the people should be permitted to plant and harvest grains during Shmita, even though doing so would require them to act in a way that contradicted the observances of Shmita. However, his colleague, R’ Pinchas b. Yair, rejected his position, insisting that people could make do with eating the endives that grew wildly without human labor and, as a result, were permitted to be consumed in the Shmita year.
Questions for discussion: 1. What are the Rabbi’s positions on empathy in the face of challenge vs. the need to make sacrifices for the Torah? Is he making compassionate and caring compromises? Or promoting easy solutions to avoid the radical challenges that come along with Shmita?
2. From these readings, do you think people were observing Shmita when they were written? What might be the reason behind their actions?
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9. Shmita, Empire, and Taxes in the Second Temple & Post-Second Temple Periods The Torah’s instructions for Shmita do not address how people should interact with other states during the Shmita year, nor do they provide guidance for how people should behave when the ruling empire demanded a share of the produce. The rules of Shmita do not allow people to cultivate and gather crops on a large scale as they would in a regular year. Thus, Shmita severely inhibited their ability to supply the amount of grain and other produce that the empire demanded of them annually. Josephus records a legendary meeting between the High Priest and Alexander the Great, in which Alexander granted the Jews several favors - including a request to be exempt from taxes during the Shmita year.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XI, 8:5 The next day [Alexander] called [the Jewish leaders] to him, and bid them ask what favors they pleased of him; whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all they desired.
Later, Josephus mentions that Caesar also exempted the Jews from relevant taxes during the Shmita year:
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XIV, 10:6 Gaius Caesar, imperator the second time ordained that all the country of the Jews, excepting Joppa, do pay a tribute yearly for the city Jerusalem, except during the seventh, which they call the Shmita year, because thereon they neither receive the fruits of their trees, nor do they sow their land; and that they pay their tribute in Sidon on the second year [of that shmita period], the fourth part of what was sown: and besides this, they are to pay the same tithes to Hyrcanus and his sons which they paid to their forefathers. And that no one, neither president, nor lieutenant, nor ambassador, raise auxiliaries within the bounds of Judea; nor may soldiers exact money of them for winter quarters, or under any other pretense; but that they be free from all sorts of injuries; and that whatsoever they shall hereafter have, and are in possession of, or have bought, they shall retain them all.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
This arrangement did not last long. Many Greek and Roman officials did not agree to exempt the Jews. In particular, historians have noted that by the 3rd century, the tax exemption during Shmita had ended. The Talmud relates that R’ Yannai (a 3rd century rabbi from Israel), told the people to farm their fields during Shmita in order to be able to pay the high arnona taxes:
Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 26a
.סנהדרין כו
Once the tax collectors grew abundant it was permitted to gather the produce of Shmita. And what tax did they collect? Arnona, which was a heavy tax on property, placing pressure on those observing Shmita. As Rabbi Yannai proclaimed: Go out and sow the fields during Shmita due to the arnona that you must pay.
משרבו האנסין ומאי נינהו ארנונא כדמכריז רבי ינאי פוקו וזרעו בשביעית משום ארנונא
In Vayikra Rabbah, an early midrashic work on Leviticus, R’ Yitzchak Nappaha (3rd-4th centuries, Israel), offers a homily praising the religious conviction of those who carefully kept the laws of Shmita despite the hardships. He cites a verse in Psalms:
Psalms 103:20
כ:תהלים קג
Bless Adonai and the angels, mighty creatures who do bidding, ever obedient to [God’s] bidding.
ָּב ְרכ ּו ְיהֹוָה ַמלְ אָ כָ יו ִ ּג ּב ֹ ֵרי כ ֹחַ ע ֵֹשׂי ְדבָ ר ֹו לִ ׁ ְשמ ֹעַ ְ ּבקוֹל ְדּבָ רוֹ׃
And explains that “mighty creatures who do God’s bidding” are those that observe Shmita despite the challenges:
Vayikra Rabbah 1:1
א:ויקרא רבה א
Of whom does Scripture speak? R’ Isaac said: Of such that observe Shmita. We often find that a person fulfills a precept for one day, for one week, for one month. But do they perhaps do so for the rest of the days of the year? Now this person sees their field untilled, their vineyard untilled, and yet pays the arnona taxes and does not complain – have you a mightier person than this?
:גבורי כח עושי דברו' במה הכתוב מדבר? א"ר יצחק בנוהג שבעולם אדם.בשומרי שביעית הכתוב מדבר ' שמא, עושה מצוה ליום א' לשבת אחת לחודש א לשאר ימות השנה ? ודין חמי חקליה ביירה כרמיה ?ביירה ויהבי ארנונא ושתיק יש לך גבור גדול מזה
Questions for discussion: 1. Do you think Shmita can be observed without the support of governmental policies? If not, what types of policies would need be needed to make Shmita possible?
2. How does Shmita impact the relationship between a vassal and ruling empire? What does it say about rulers who allowed Jews to observe Shmita?
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Closing questions for discussion: Shmita seems to be rooted in a series of ideals, which had a wide range of consequences in practice. 1. What do you see as the greatest value of Shmita? The greatest challenge? 2. Do you consider the tradition of Shmita more of a ‘religious’ observance or a ‘cultural’ observance? Is there a difference? If so, what? How might such a perspective have shifted throughout history?
3. Does the historical observance of Shmita (or lack thereof) impact or frame your personal link to Shmita today? What can we learn from these historical accounts as Shmita re-emerges today, for ourselves, our families, our communities?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Recalling Ancient Memory
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Section III: Codifying Shmita: Rabbinic Laws on Shmitat Ha’aretz (Land Release) Introduction: As we have seen already, the Torah provided basic rules to govern Shmita. And, over time, the rabbis interpreted these laws and added rulings of their own. In this section, we explore some of the legal aspects associated with Shmitat Ha’aretz- the agricultural Shmita. Agriculture, the collective process of working with land for production and consumption, is at the root of our entire culture. For all production, consumption, creativity, and growth, it is agriculture, an intimate relationship of giving and receiving, that provides nourishment for physical development. Though only some of us are farmers, we all depend on plants to survive. Our food system is in many ways a parallel to our broader culture. When discussing Shmitat Ha’aretz, we find a broad basket of rules and concepts that includes everything related to the agricultural restrictions of Shmita, the status of produce from Shmita, rules that govern the consumption of such produce, and the economic restrictions that govern the trade in that produce. Therefore, we break it down into two subsections. The first explores the food systems of Shmita and its implications for daily life. It discusses restrictions on agricultural labor, the collection of produce, the sanctity of produce grown during the Shmita year, and how people should consume the produce of that year. The second subsection discusses rules which govern the trade in the produce of Shmita and the economic systems associated with that trade. It discusses the continuities and discontinuities of how business was done with the produce of Shmita. How was the marketplace affected during Shmita? How were business transactions and currency exchange altered (or not) during this year?
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And, more broadly, it raises questions about how we think about the economics of food, the commercialization of agriculture, and our responsibilities to look out for equality in the marketplace This section rests heavily on Talmudic literature, both that of the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud, the medieval commentators on that literature and the codifiers of Jewish Law. Above all, it centers on the rulings of the Rambam (Maimonides). In Egypt in the 12th century, Rambam (Maimonides) wrote the Mishneh Torah to provide a straightforward code of law based on the conclusions of the Talmud. He organized this corpus of Jewish law into 14 books, which are divided into topical subsections and chapters. Unique among medieval codes of Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah includes practices that were not relevant to Jews at the time, such as sacrificial laws and the agricultural laws of Israel. Rambam included the laws of Shmita in the Book of Zerai’m (“Seeds,” which deals with agricultural laws) in a subsection called Hilchot Shmita V’Yovel, “The Laws of Shmita and Yovel.” Rambam was known for his clarity and command of language. His rulings provide not only a basis of practical rulings about Shmita but also offer deep insights into the laws and how they might be practiced in a contemporary world. In general, legal texts on Shmita are examined through two lenses: (a) an overview of the actual rules involved in keeping Shmita and (b) how the values, expressed in these rules and rulings, offer insight into contemporary food and economic systems. While we understand that Shmitat Ha’aretz (land release) and Shmitat Kesafim (monetary release) are linked in Jewish tradition, for the purpose of study within this book we have chosen to separate these topics into two sections, sections 3 and 4.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Part I: Land-Based Elements of Agricultural Shmita Jewish laws can be categorized in several ways. One is by grouping them into positive and negative commandments (mitzvot aseh and mitzvot lo ta’aseh). Positive commandments dictate what one ought to do, and negative commandments dictate what one may not do. As we saw in Section II, Rambam listed seven positive commandments regarding Shmita and Yovel. Another important distinction in Jewish Law is between biblical and rabbinic laws (mitzvot d’oraita and mitzvot d’rabbanan). Biblical laws are clearly expressed in the text of Torah or are based on ancient traditions about the proper meanings of text. Rabbinic laws were established by the Sages to build on what we read in Torah and include laws to guard the spirit and observance of Torah. This distinction is important regarding Shmita. Many authorities consider our modern observance of Shmita to be a rabbinic mandate rather than a biblical one, which can explain some of the leniency we see in the sources and in modern rulings.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat
Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
Codifying Shmita Part I
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1. Forbidden Agricultural Practices of the Shmita Year In listing the agricultural practices that are prohibited during Shmita, Rambam distinguishes between those forbidden by biblical law and those merely punishable by rabbinic law. Rambam begins The Laws of Shmita and Yovel by discussing the nature of a biblical commandment.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:1 (1) It is a positive commandment to refrain from working the land and caring for trees in the seventh year, as it says, “and the land shall rest a sabbath-rest for Adonai” (Leviticus 25:2), and it says “in plowing and in harvesting you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21). Anyone who performs one of the forbidden labors from the working of the land or caring for trees in this year has abrogated a positive commandment and transgressed a negative commandment, as it says, “you shall not plant your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard” (Leviticus 25:4).
א: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
(א) ִמ ְצוַת עֲ ֵשׂה לִ ׁ ְש ּב ֹת ֵמעֲ בו ַֹדת הָ אָ ֶרץ וַעֲ בו ַֹדת הָ ִאילָן ִ ְִ ּב ׁ ָשנָה ׁ ְשב יעית ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה ב) "וְ ׁ ָשבְ ָתה הָ אָ ֶרץ ֶּ )ׁ ַש ָּבת לַה'" וְ נֶאֱ ַמר (שמות לד כא "בחָ ִר ׁיש וּבַ ָּק ִציר ֶ וְ כָ ל הָ עו."ִּת ׁ ְש ּב ֹת ֹשׂה ְמלָאכָ ה ֵמעֲ בו ַֹדת הָ אָ ֶרץ א ֹו הָ ִאילָנוֹת ְ ּב ׁ ָשנָה ז ֹו ִ ּבטֵּ ל ִמ ְצוַת עֲ ֵשׂה וְ עָ בַ ר עַ ל ל ֹא ָ )ּ ַתעֲ ֶשׂה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה ד "ש ְׂד ָך ל ֹא ִתזְ ָרע וְ כַ ְר ְמ ָך :"ל ֹא ִתזְ מ ֹר
In this source, Rambam distinguishes between the positive biblical commandment to refrain from working the land and the negative biblical commandment against working the land during Shmita. Some commentators have noted that there are situations where one could abrogate the positive commandment to let the land rest while, at the same time, not be in violation of the negative commandment against working the field during Shmita. Rav Kook* cites a view indicating one instance of this: a case in which one lets a non-Jewish employee work their field during Shmita - the land is not resting, even though the Jewish owner is not working it. *Rav Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was born in Russia and emigrated to Israel in 1904. In 1921, he was appointed the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine (then under the rule of the British Mandate). His writings addressed contemporary issues for the nacent Zionist movement, and he tried to maintain connections between secular Zionists, religious Zionists, and non-Zionist Orthodox Jews. Among his works is Shabbat Ha’Aretz, a treatise on how to practice Shmita in modern times.
Having made that distinction, Rambam explains the nature of these violations and differentiates between the levels of punishment for various transgressions. First, he recalls the forbidden behaviors that are explicitly mentioned in the text of the Torah and, as a result, are punishable by lashes on the basis of those biblical verses:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:2 (2) According to biblical law, a person is not liable for lashes [for violating a biblical prohibition] except for [the following labors]: sowing, trimming, harvesting [of grain], and harvesting fruit - from vines or any other tree.
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ב: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
(ב) אֵ ינ ֹו לוֹקֶ ה ִמן הַ ּתו ָֹרה אֶ ָּלא עַ ל הַ זְ ִּריעָ ה א ֹו עַ ל וְ אֶ חָ ד הַ ּ ֶכ ֶרם.הַ זְ ִּמ ָירה וְ עַ ל הַ ְּק ִצ ָירה א ֹו עַ ל הַ ְ ּב ִצ ָירה :וְ אֶ חָ ד ׁ ְשאָ ר הָ ִאילָנוֹת
The Shmita Sourcebook
Rambam further explains the logic of which transgressions are punishable by lashes in accordance with the biblical law and which transgressions are punishable by lashes on the grounds of rebellious conduct ()תּוּדְרַמ תַּכַמ, in accordance with the rabbinic law. He does so by explaining why “trimming,” which is derivative of sowing, is punishable by lashes on a biblical level; however, other derivative behaviors, which are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, are considered forbidden by rabbinic law and, in turn, are only punishable by lashes for rebellious conduct.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:3 Trimming is considered in the category of sowing. And harvesting fruit is considered in the category of harvesting grain. If so, why did the Torah single them out [for mention]? To teach that one is liable [for lashes] for performing these two derivatives alone. For the other derivatives that involve working the land and the other major categories of labor that were not mentioned explicitly [in the Torah], one is not liable for lashes. They are, however, given lashes for rebellious conduct [i.e. the type of lashes imposed by the rabbinical court].
ג: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
וְ ל ּ ָָמה ּפֵ ְר ָטן.וּזְ ִמ ָירה ִ ּבכְ לַל זְ ִריעָ ה וּבְ ִצ ָירה ִ ּבכְ לַל ְק ִצ ָירה הַ ָּכתוּב לו ַֹמר לְ ָך עַ ל ׁ ְש ּ ֵתי ּת ֹולָדוֹת אֵ ּל ּו ִ ּבלְ בַ ד הוּא חַ ָיּב וְ עַ ל ׁ ְשאָ ר הַ ּת ֹולָדוֹת ׁ ֶש ַּבעֲ בו ַֹדת הָ אָ ֶרץ ִעם ׁ ְשאָ ר הָ אָ בוֹת אֲ בָ ל ַמ ִּכין.ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא נ ְִת ּפָ ְר ׁש ּו ְ ּב ִע ְניָן זֶה אֵ ינ ֹו לוֹקֶ ה עֲ לֵיהֶ ן :אוֹת ֹו ַמ ַּכת ַמ ְר ּדוּת
In the law above, Rambam explains that only behaviors explicitly mentioned in the Torah are punishable by lashes on a biblical level; however, those that are derivative of those prohibitions are considered forbidden by rabbinic law and, in turn, are punishable by lashes for rebellious conduct. He offers examples of such behaviors, forbidden by rabbinic tradition and punishable by lashes for rebellious conduct:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:4 When a person digs or plows for the sake of the land, removes stones, fertilizes the land, or performs another similar type of work on the land or grafts, plants, or performs other similar types of work with trees, they are punished with lashes for rebellious conduct on the basis of the rabbinic law.
ד: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
הַ חוֹפֵ ר א ֹו הַ חו ֵֹר ׁש לְ צ ֶֹר ְך הַ ַּק ְרקַ ע א ֹו הַ ְמסַ ּ ֵקל א ֹו.ּ ֵכיצַ ד ְ וְ כֵ ן הַ ּ ַמבְ ִר.הַ ְמז ֵַּבל וְ כַ יּוֹצֵ א ָּבהֶ ן ִמ ְּׁשאָ ר עֲ בו ַֹדת הָ אָ ֶרץ יך .א ֹו הַ ּ ַמ ְר ִּכיב א ֹו הַ ּנוֹטֵ עַ וְ כַ יּוֹצֵ א ָּבהֶ ן ֵמעֲ בו ַֹדת הָ ִאילָנוֹת :ַמ ִּכין אוֹת ֹו ַמ ַּכת ַמ ְר ּדוּת ִמ ִדּבְ ֵריהֶ ן
Codifying Shmita
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Rambam continues to list other behaviors that are punishable by lashes for rebellious conduct on the basis of rabbinic law:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:5 We do not plant non-fruit-bearing trees during Shmita. Nor may one cut an abnormal outgrowth from a tree, remove dried leaves and branches, apply dust to the top of a tree, or smoke a tree so that worms [that infest it] die. [Similarly,] one should not apply a foul-smelling potion to plants so that birds will not eat them when they are soft. One should not apply oil to unripened fruit, nor should one perforate them. One should not bind plants, nor trim them, nor prepare a support for a tree or perform any other work with trees. If one performs any of these labors during Shmita, they are given lashes for rebellious conduct.
ה: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
ִ ִאֵ ין נו ְֹט ִעין ַּב ְּׁשב וְ ל ֹא י ְַח ּת ֹ ְך הַ ִיּבּ ֹולֶת.יעית אֲ פִ ּל ּו ִאילַן ְס ָרק וְ ל ֹא. וְ ל ֹא יְפָ ֵרק הֶ עָ לִ ין וְ הַ ַּב ִדּים הַ יְבֵ ׁ ִשים.ִמן הָ ִאילָנוֹת וְ ל ֹא יְעַ ֵּׁשן ּ ַת ְח ּ ָתיו ְּכ ֵדי ׁ ֶש ָיּמוּת.יְאַ ֵּבק אֶ ת צַ ּ ַמ ְר ּת ֹו ָּבאָ בָ ק וְ ל ֹא יָסו ְּך אֶ ת הַ ְנ ִּטיעוֹת ְ ּב ָדבָ ר ׁ ֶש ֵיּ ׁש ל ֹו זוֹהֲ ָמא.הַ ּת ֹולַעַ ת וְ ל ֹא יָסו ְּך אֶ ת.ְּכ ֵדי ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא י ֹאכַ ל אוֹת ֹו הָ עוֹף ְּכ ׁ ֶשהוּא ַר ְך וְ ל ֹא. וְ ל ֹא יִכְ ר ְֹך אֶ ת הַ ְנ ִּטיעוֹת. וְ ל ֹא ִי ְנק ֹב או ָֹתן.הַ ּפַ ִגּין וְ כֵ ן ׁ ְשאָ ר ָּכל. וְ ל ֹא יְפַ ּ ֵסג אֶ ת הָ ִאילָנוֹת.י ְִקט ֹם או ָֹתם ִ ִ וְ ִאם עָ ָשׂה אַ חַ ת ֵמאֵ ּל ּו ַּב ְּׁשב.עֲ בו ַֹדת הָ ִאילָן יעית ַמ ִּכין :אוֹת ֹו ַמ ַּכת ַמ ְר ּדוּת
Many scholars have been bothered by Rambam’s language. Rambam does not write that all other work is forbidden only on a rabbinic level; instead, he writes that it is punishable by lashes for rebellious conduct, a punishment which we know is imposed by the rabbis. If Rambam believed that all of these other labors were always only prohibited by the rabbis, why didn’t he just say that directly? Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829-1908) offers an answer in the Arukh HaShulchan*, suggesting that all of these labors violate the spirit and the letter of the biblical commandment to let the land rest. On top of that existing commandment, the rabbis added a punishable prohibition against labors the Torah did not explicitly single out:
Arukh HaShulkhan L’Atid: Shmita 19:3
ערוך השולחן העתיד שמיטה – סימן יט סעיף ג
Even though there are not lashes [on a biblical level for] except for the four labors [listed in the Mishneh Torah, above], nonetheless, there is the abrogation of a positive commandment in any of the labors [including those not listed] because the verse regarding [the positive commandment] that the “land should rest” includes all labors...and the intention is not that the [other labors] are only forbidden on a rabbinic level, rather that the rabbis added a prohibition [with a punishment]
מכל,דאף על גב דמלקות ליכא רק באלו הד' מלאכות דהרי בקרא.מקום איסור עשה יש בכל המלאכות וזה שאמרו שם,ד'ושבתה הארץ' נכללו כל המלאכות ואין הכוונה שרק מדרבנן...'ד'קרא אסמכתא בעלמא אלא שמדרבנן יש גם איסור לאו,אסורים
*The Arukh HaShulkhan is a later law code, written in the late 19th century by Rabbi Yechiel Michal Epstein, who lived in Lithuania. The source of each law is cited (usually from the Talmud or Rambam’s Mishneh Torah), and also states the legal decisions recorded in the Shulchan Aruch, the most famous of medieval law codes. When needed, he notes where established custom conflicts with the theoretical law, often siding with local custom.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
There are some important exceptions to the rabbinic prohibitions during Shmita. The rabbis (Bablyonian Talmud, Avoda Zarah 50b) make clear that one may prune and do other work to keep a tree healthy, or water to keep the land from becoming parched; however, one may not take steps to improve the tree or the field beyond that. After listing several activities permitted in order to keep trees alive and the land from becoming parched, Rambam explains why these behaviors, which are normally prohibited by rabbinic law, are permissible during Shmita:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 1:10 For what reason did they permit all of these [activities]? Because if no one irrigates [their fields] the land will become parched and all the trees will die.
י: הלכות שמיטה ויובל א,משנה תורה
ׁ ֶש ִאם ל ֹא י ׁ ְַשקֶ ה ּ ֵתעָ ֶשׂה.ו ִּמ ּ ְפנֵי ָמה ִה ִּתיר ּו ָּכל אֵ ֶּלה .הָ אָ ֶרץ ְמלֵחָ ה וְ יָמוּת ָּכל עֵ ץ ׁ ֶש ָּב ּה
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do you think these specific actions have been highlighted as work that should not be done during Shmita? Would such Shmita prohibitions directly affect you? 2. Why would you distinguish between a positive commandment of letting the land rest and a negative commandment against actively working
the land? What does this teach us about the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law? 3. The Rabbis speak about the spirit of Shmita or the intention behind its observance, in what ways does this help ensure Shmita is actually observed?
Codifying Shmita
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2. Harvesting During Shmita It is biblically prohibited to harvest or gather produce during Shmita. However, people may eat the produce of Shmita. This appears to be impossible. How can we possibly eat produce that we are not allowed to harvest or gather? In the Sifra (an early midrash on Leviticus), we are given the beginnings of the answer: gathering of produce is permitted during Shmita as long as it is done from ownerless (hefker) produce that gives access to everyone or it is not done using the normal tools of mass gathering. Some authorities believe that either of these options are independently permissible; however, others rule that we require both the produce to be hefker and that it not be harvested in the normal ways.
Sifra Behar, Section 1
ספרא בהר א
“and the grapes of your guarded vine you shall not gather:” From what is guarded in the land you may not gather, but you may gather what has been made hefker (ownerless).
מן השמור בארץ אין--""ואת ענבי נזירך לא תבצור .אתה בוצר אבל אתה בוצר מן ההפקר
“you shall not glean:” in the usual way of gatherers. From here they said: figs of the Shmita year cannot be cut using the special tool designed for harvesting figs, rather they must be cut down with a knife.
: מיכן אמרו. לא תבצור כדרך הבוצרים--""לא תבצור תאנים של שביעית אין קוצים אותם במוקצה אבל .קוצה אותה בחורבה
Rambam sees the rules about how one can harvest as being about the amount that is being harvested. In other words, one can gather small amounts of food during Shmita; however, they can not gather large quantities.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 4:1 You should not harvest as you do each year: If one does harvest in the normal manner, they are lashed. For example, if they harvest the whole field [at once]...rather, [one must] harvest little by little, process it and eat it.
א: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ד,משנה תורה
וְ ִאם קָ צַ ר ְּכ ֶד ֶר ְך.ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא י ְִקצ ֹר ְּכ ֶד ֶר ְך ׁ ֶש ּקוֹצֵ ר ְ ּבכָ ל ׁ ָשנָה אֶ ָּלא קוֹצֵ ר... ְּכגוֹן ׁ ֶש ָּקצַ ר ָּכל הַ ָּש ֶׂדה.הַ ּקו ְֹצ ִרין לוֹקֶ ה :ְמעַ ט ְמעַ ט וְ חוֹבֵ ט וְ אוֹכֵ ל
R’ Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish*, explains what Rambam means when he says that one can only gather small amounts at a time:
Chazon Ish, Shevi’it 26:6
סק״ו, שביעית כ״ו,חזון איש
One may gather the amount that a person can prepare in their home for their family’s usage for a few days and after they eat that which was brought, one goes out and gathers the same amount.
לוקט כשיעור שאדם מכין בביתו לתשמיש בני ביתו מביא פעם,לימים מועטים ולאחר שאכל אלו שהביא אחרת אותו שיעור
*R’ Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz (1878-1953) is known as The Chazon Ish, after the name of his most famous work. He was born in Belarus and moved to Palestine in 1933, becoming an influential leader in the ultra-Orthodox community there. Among his many rulings were practical applications to early life in the land of Israel, including milking cows on Shabbat and hydroponic agriculture during Shmita.
Questions for discussion: 1. How is the Shmita process supposed to be different from mass agriculture?
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2. How might the type of harvesting during Shmita create a sense of mindfulness about food systems, sustainability, and our role in them?
The Shmita Sourcebook
3. Hefker: Communal Access Ordinarily, produce belongs to the owner of the field where it grows, and to take from that produce without permission would be considered theft. However, during Shmita, owners are commanded to renounce their ownerships over the produce so that anyone can freely take from what grows. Indeed, there is some question over whether the ownership must actively pronounce the produce hefker (ownerless) or whether the Torah automatically makes the produce hefker during Shmita. Rambam, in his discussion of the laws of charity, writes that tithes are not given during Shmita because the produce is ownerless; thus there is no one obligated to separate them.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 6:5 In the Shmita year, everything is ownerless. Therefore, there is neither terumah nor ma’aser (two categories of tithes).
ה: הלכות מתנות עניים ו,משנה תורה
ׁ ְשנַת הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה ֻּכ ָּל ּה הֶ פְ קֵ ר וְ אֵ ין ָּב ּה ל ֹא ְּתרו ָּמה וְ ל ֹא ַמעַ ְשׂרוֹת
Rav Yosef Karo*, in his response, qualifies this ruling. He says that if someone did not make their field hefker, they would be obligated to separate tithes from it. The implication is that the field is not made hefker automatically; rather, it requires some action from the owner:
R. Yosef Karo, Responsa Avkat Rochel # 24
שו״ת אבקת רוכל סימן כד
Produce of Shmita is exempt from tithes only because it is hefker and, therefore, anyone who does not declare their field to be ownerless is not exempt from taking tithes from it.
כי לא נפטרו פירות שביעית ממעשרות אלא מטעם . וכל שאינו מופקר לא נפטר ממעשרות,הפקר
*R. Yosef Karo (1488-1575) lived in various places throughout the Ottoman Empire before moving to Safed in northern Israel in 1525. There, he wrote the Shulkhan Aruch, the last great codification of Jewish law. As his rulings were from the Sefardic perspective, a later gloss was added by R’ Moshe Isserles with Ashkenazic rulings. It remains one of the most authoritative works on Jewish law to the modern day, with R. Yosef Karo often simply referred to as “HaMechaber” - “the author.”
R. Moses di Trani (16th century, Safed, Israel) takes an opposite conceptual approach. He writes that if someone fenced in their property during Shmita and actively refrained from declaring their produce to be hefker, the produce would still be exempt from tithes because the Torah made it ownerless automatically.
Responsa Mabi”t 1:11
שו״ת מבי״ט חלק א סימן יא
A Jew who put a fence around their vineyard and did not declare it hefker in a Shmita year...God made his field hefker and [accessible] to both the poor and the rich and, thus, there is no obligation to take ma’aser (tithes).
' רחמנ...יש' שגדר כרמו ולא הפקירה בשנת השמיטה אפקרי' לארעי' לעניי' ולעשירים ולכך אין שום חיוב מעשר
Codifying Shmita
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Rashi, in his commentary on the Torah, makes clear that the Torah’s ban on gathering produce during Shmita is a ban on reaping it and treating the produce like they would in any other year. He explains that during Shmita, in order to gather produce from one’s field, one must have made the produce hefker and treat the produce as hefker.
Rashi on Leviticus 25:5
ו-ה:רש״י על ויקרא כה
Do not reap it — to take it as your exclusive property as you do with other (years’) harvests but it shall be free (hefker) to all.
אֶ ָּלא הֶ פְ קֵ ר, לִ ְהיוֹת ַמחֲ זִ יק בּ ֹו ִּכ ׁ ְשאָ ר קָ ִציר.לא תקצור :י ְִהיֶה ַל ּכ ֹל
And the Sabbath-rest of the land shall be [food for you] — Although I have forbidden them to you (during Shmita) I do not mean to forbid them to you as food or to be used for any other beneficial purpose. Rather, you should not act as the owner; but all must be equal as regards to (the produce) — you and your hired servant and your sojourner.
ָ "פ ׁ ֶשאֲ סַ ְר ִּתים עָ ל ִ ּ ַ אַ ע.'והיתה שבת הארץ וגו ל ֹא,ֶיך אֶ ָּלא ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא ִת ְנה ֹג בָ הֶ ם,בַ אֲ כִ ילָה וְ ל ֹא ַּבהֲ נָאָ ה אֲ סַ ְר ִּתים אַ ּ ָתה ו ְּשׂכִ ְיר ָך, אֶ ָּלא הַ ּכ ֹל י ְִהי ּו ׁ ָשוִ ים ָּב ּה,ְּכבַ עַ ל הַ ַּביִת ָ ׁ וְ תו :ֹשבְ ָך
Rambam, likewise, wrote that making produce hefker is an essential commandment during the Shmita year. As noted in Section II, in his Sefer HaMitzvot, Rambam counts it as positive commandment #134. In the Mishneh Torah, Rambam expands on this concept:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 4:24 It is a positive commandment to annul [ownership of] everything that comes out of the ground in the seventh year as it says “and in the seventh [year], annul it and forsake it” and anyone who locks up his vineyard or fences in his field in the seventh year has violated a positive commandment, and similarly someone who harvests all his fruits and brings them inside. Rather everything should be seen as ownerless and everyone has equal claim as it says “and the destitute of your people will eat it.” [The owner] may bring in small amounts the way one does from ownerless property e.g. five pitchers of oil or fifteen of wine and if he brought in more it is permitted.
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כד: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ד,משנה תורה
ִ ִִמ ְצוַת עֲ ֵשׂה לְ הַ ׁ ְש ִמיט ָּכל ַמה ֶּׁש ּתו ִֹציא הָ אָ ֶרץ ַּב ְּׁשב יעית ִ ִׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (שמות כג יא) "וְ הַ ְּׁשב ."יעת ִּת ׁ ְש ְמטֶ ָנּה ּונ ְַט ׁ ְש ּ ָת ּה ִ ִוְ כָ ל הַ ּנוֹעֵ ל ַּכ ְרמ ֹו א ֹו סָ ג ָש ֵׂדה ּו ַּב ְּׁשב יעית ִ ּבטֵּ ל ִמ ְצוַת .ֹ וְ כֵ ן ִאם אָ סַ ף ָּכל ּפֵ רו ָֹתיו לְ תו ְֹך ֵּביתו.עֲ ֵשׂה אֶ ָּלא יַפְ ִקיר הַ כּ ל וְ יַד הַ כּ ל ׁ ָשוִ ין ְ ּבכָ ל ָמקוֹם ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר וְ י ֵׁש ל ֹו לְ הָ בִ יא."(שמות כג יא) "וְ אָ כְ ל ּו אֶ בְ יֹנֵי עַ ּ ֶמ ָך ִ ִלְ תו ְֹך ֵּבית ֹו ְמעַ ט ְּכ ֶד ֶר ְך ׁ ֶש ּ ְמב חָ ֵמ ׁש ַּכ ֵדּי.יאין ִמן הַ הֶ פְ קֵ ר : וְ ִאם הֵ בִ יא י ֶֶתר ִמ ֶז ּה ֻמ ּ ָתר.ׁ ֶש ֶמן חֲ ִמ ָּׁשה עָ ָשׂר ַּכ ֵדּי ַייִן
The Shmita Sourcebook
Two modern Israeli rabbis have called attention to the idea that making the produce hefker for everyone is a different type of helping the poor than standard charity. In normal cases of charity, the property owner gives to the poor person from his produce; however, when the field is hefker in Shmita, both the landowner and poor have the same rights to the produce. This radical equality changes the situation for both the landowner and poor person: Rav Haim Sabato writes: The owner of the field must relinquish ownership over the field [and allow] any person [to use it and take from it]. The property owner and poor person are on equal footing vis-à-vs the field and the produce. This is in contrast to other forms of charity in which the owners of the goods are giving of their own goods.
יד העני,בעל השדה צריך להפקיר את שדהו לכל אדם , בניגוד למתנות עניים אחרות.ויד בעל הבית שווה בו . שהוא נותן מתוך שלו,שיד בעל הבית עדיפה
And, likewise, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein (1933-2015, United States and Israel) teaches:
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein cited in Rav Rimon, Shemita: From the Sources to Practical Halacha The Torah is not only concerned with the poor man’s financial situation, but also with removing the landowner’s sense of superiority. For this reason, the owner of the field does not work [or own] his property, and thus he does not give anything to the poor person. The fruit grows on its own and the land is declared ownerless. The poor person is therefore entitled to take the ownerless produce and is not dependent upon the landowner’s kindness.
Questions for discussion: 1. What type of message does it send if the land/ produce are automatically rendered hefker? 2. What type of message does it send if it requires the owner of the property to do so? 3. Does a normal “harvest” necessarily entail the intention of ownership and possession? Do you consider your garden produce, or even the produce you buy in the market, your own property? If we removed fences around property lines, how might this affect the way we recognize land ownership?
4. Beyond the intention of open field access and shared harvests, what are some other ways you might consider expanding fair and healthy food access for all peoples, inspired by Shmita? How might we look at Shmita in relation to urban food deserts? 5. How would you feel if you could only harvest enough for a few meals at a time, and not stock your pantry with cases of food? Would this affect the way you prepare and consume food at home?
Codifying Shmita
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4. Consuming Shmita Produce when it is Ripe Rambam writes that Shmita produce cannot be harvested and consumed until it is ripe. In general, ripeness is the marker for when a person must take a tithe from a crop; thus, Rambam asserts that one cannot collect Shmita produce until it reaches the stage of ripeness that would obligate it in tithes:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 5:15 We do not harvest the produce of Shmita when it is not yet ripe, as it says (Leviticus 25:12) “And you shall partake of its produce,” implying that the fruits may not be eaten until they are considered as produce. However, [in order to taste them] one may partake of a small amount of them in the field while they are still underdeveloped, as one partakes in other years. One should not bring the produce into one’s home until it reaches the stage when the obligation to separate tithes takes effect.
טו: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ה,משנה תורה
ִ ִ(טו) אֵ ין או ְֹספִ ין ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב יעית ְּכ ׁ ֶשהֵ ן ּב ֹסֶ ר ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה יב) " ּת ֹאכְ ל ּו אֶ ת ְּתבוּאָ ָת ּה" אֵ ינ ָּה נֶאֱ כֶ לֶת עַ ד אֲ בָ ל אוֹכֵ ל ֵמהֶ ן ְמעַ ט ַּב ָּש ֶׂדה ְּכ ׁ ֶשהֵ ם.ׁ ֶש ּ ֵתעָ ֶשׂה ְּתבוּאָ ה וְ ל ֹא יַכְ נִיס לֶאֱ כל. ַּפַ ִגּין ְּכ ֶד ֶר ְך ׁ ֶשאוֹכֵ ל ִ ּב ׁ ְשאָ ר ׁ ְשנֵי ׁ ָשבוּע :ְ ּבתו ְֹך ֵּבית ֹו עַ ד ׁ ֶש ַיּ ִגּיע ּו לְ ע ֹונַת הַ ּ ַמעַ ְשׂרוֹת
Questions for discussion: 1. Rambam states that unripe fruit is not legally a fruit. How does this make sense on a legal level? An economic level? What about a sensory level? Consider the taste and texture of biting into a ripe fruit versus an unripe fruit.
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2. What value might be at play in restricting gathering to only fully ripe produce? 3. Why do commercial farmers often prefer to harvest produce before they are fully ripe? How does this value of Shmita compare to the values of the modern agricultural economy?
The Shmita Sourcebook
5. Biur: Seasonal Diet A corollary to the seasonal eating that comes from only harvesting ripe produce during Shmita is the concept of biur. This Hebrew word literally means burning but in this context connotes removal. Biur adds another dimension to the Shmita food system in regards to food security. Once a given food is no longer found in the wild (called “the time of biur”), this food may not be held in private storage. From the time of biur this food must be made available to the public until it is fully consumed. If you happened to have a large amount of this food in storage, you would be instructed to “distribute a quantity sufficient for three meals” to as many people as you can (Rambam).
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 7:1-6 (1) We may only partake of the produce of Shmita as long as that species is still found growing in the field. This is derived from Leviticus 25:7: “For the animal and the beast in your land will be all the produce to eat.” This implies that as long as a beast (chaya) can be eating from this species in the field, one may eat from what he has collected at home. When there is no longer any of that species for the beast to eat in the field, one is obligated to remove that species from his home [and make it available to the public]. This is the obligation of biur (removal/ burning) which applies to the produce of Shmita. (2) What is implied? If a person has dried figs at home, he may partake of them as long as there are figs on the trees in the field. When there are no longer figs in the field, it is forbidden for him to partake of the figs he has at home and he must instead remove them. (6) When a person pickles three types of produce in one barrel, if one of these types of produce is no longer available in the field, that type of produce should be removed from the barrel.
ו-א: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ז,משנה תורה
ִ ִ(א) ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב יעית אֵ ין אוֹכְ לִ ין ֵמהֶ ן אֶ ָּלא ָּכל זְ ַמן ׁ ֶשאוֹת ֹו ָהַ ּ ִמין ָמצוּי ַּב ָּש ֶׂדה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה ז) "וְ לִ בְ הֶ ְמ ְּתך ָּכל זְ ַמן."וְ לַחַ ָיּה אֲ ׁ ֶשר ְ ּבאַ ְרצֶ ָך ִּת ְהיֶה כָ ל ְּתבוּאָ ָת ּה לֶאֱ כל ׁ ֶשחַ ָיּה אוֹכֶ לֶת ִמ ּ ִמין זֶה ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה אַ ּ ָתה אוֹכֵ ל ִמ ּ ַמה ָּכלָה לַחַ ָיּה ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה חַ ָיּב לְ בַ עֵ ר אוֹת ֹו הַ ּ ִמין ִמן.ֶּׁש ַּב ַּביִת ִ ִהַ ַּביִת וְ זֶה ּו ִ ּבעוּר ׁ ֶשל ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב :יעית ִ ִ הֲ ֵרי ׁ ֶשהָ י ּו ל ֹו ְגּרוֹגָ רוֹת ׁ ְשב.(ב) ּ ֵכיצַ ד יעית ְ ּבתו ְֹך ֵּבית ֹו ָּכל ּו.אוֹכֵ ל ֵמהֶ ן ָּכל זְ ַמן ׁ ֶשהַ ְּתאֵ נִים ָּב ִאילָנוֹת ַּב ָּש ֶׂדה הַ ְּתאֵ נִים ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה אָ סוּר לֶאֱ כל ֵמאו ָֹתן ׁ ֶש ַּב ַּביִת אֶ ָּלא :ְמבַ עֵ ר או ָֹתן ָּכל ׁ ֶש ָּכלָה ִמינ ֹו.(ו) הַ כּ וֹבֵ ׁש ׁ ְשל ׁ ָֹשה ְּכבָ ׁ ִשים ְ ּבחָ בִ ית אַ חַ ת וְ ִאם ִה ְת ִחיל ָּב ּה הֲ ֵרי.ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה יְבָ עֵ ר ִמינ ֹו ִמן הֶ חָ בִ ית וּכְ ׁ ֵשם ׁ ֶש ּ ְמבַ עֵ ר אָ ֳכלֵי אָ ָדם ָּכ ְך ְמבַ עֵ ר אָ ֳכלֵי.הַ כּ ל ִּכ ְמב ֹעָ ר וְ אֵ ינ ֹו ַמאֲ כִ ילָן לִ בְ הֵ ָמה ִאם ָּכלָה אוֹת ֹו.ְ ּבהֵ ָמה ִמן הַ ַּביִת :הַ ּ ִמין ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה
Questions for discussion: 1. How might your sense of food security change if it was dependent on community sharing rather than personal storage? Note that the Hebrew word for animal that Rambam chooses is very specific: “chaya,” translated as “beast.” This is not a domesticated animal, such as a cow, goat, or sheep, but rather a wild animal. What do you think of the point Rambam is making, from the Torah verse, between the eating patterns of humans and of wild animals, in regards to seasonality?
2. Is eating seasonally a priority for you? How easy or difficult would this be in the climate you live in? 3. If you are not growing your own food, how do you find out what foods are in season? Do you associate certain foods with a specific season? 4. How much of your diet is based on food preservation?
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6. Eat Local This text speaks to the prohibition of transporting produce outside the land of Israel during Shmita.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 5:13 The produce of Shmita may not be transported from the land of Israel to the Diaspora, not even to Suria*.
יג: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ה,משנה תורה
ִ ִּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב ִ יעית אֵ ין מו ִֹצ יאין או ָֹתן ֵמהָ אָ ֶרץ לְ חוּצָ ה לָאָ ֶרץ .וַאֲ פִ ּל ּו לְ סו ְּריָא
*The territory of Suria is comprised of what would be considered modern day Syria. Rabbinic tradition maintains that this land was annexed to the land of Israel during the reign of King David, but it was not fully recognized within the borders that marked the sanctity of Israel. As for Shmita and other land-based laws, the territory of Suria has a unique status, in which some restrictions applied and some did not. For further discussion of its role during the Shmita year, see the Jerusalem Talmud, Shvi’it, 47b-48a.
Is importing produce allowed? Rambam speaks specifically about the prohibition of exporting produce outside of Israel. It is generally understood that importing produce was also not allowed, and it was only once the Shmita year ended that vegetables from outside Israel would be available for sale in the marketplace, to supplement the limited domestic supply of produce. For a deeper discussion on the role of imported produce after Shmita, see the Jerusalem Talmud, Shvi’it, 50b.
Questions for discussion: 1. “Even to Suria” suggests that transit between Israel and Syria was common enough to be taken for granted and potentially not considered as imports or exports. How do you define “local” as it relates to food production and consumption? How nearby must food be grown for you to consider it “local”? 2. What is the most local food you’ve ever eaten? The least local? In either case, did you have a sense in the moment of how much or little distance (and time) that food traveled to get to your mouth?
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3. What type of agricultural and economic systems would be needed to ensure a vibrant local “foodshed” (total geographic area where your food is grown)? What would be the benefits and challenges of relying on local food production? 4. What is your most local food source? If you were creating a local diet for Shmita, what would you have to give up? What compromises would you be willing to make? Can you imagine creative alternatives to the foods you would be missing?
The Shmita Sourcebook
7. Shmita & Animals This text discusses the relevance of Shmita to domesticated and wild animals.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 5:5 (5) Produce that is set aside for human consumption should not be fed to domesticated animals, beasts, and fowl. If an animal went under a fig tree under its own initiative and began eating the fruit, we do not require [the owner] to bring it back, for (Leviticus 25:7) states: “And for the animal and the beast in your land shall be all the produce to eat.”
ה: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ה,משנה תורה
(ה) ּפֵ רוֹת הַ ְמיֻחָ ִדין לְ ַמאֲ כַ ל אָ ָדם אֵ ין ַמאֲ כִ ילִ ין או ָֹתן הָ לְ כָ ה הַ ְ ּבהֵ ָמה ֵמאֵ לֶיהָ לְ ַתחַ ת.לִ בְ הֵ ָמה לְ חַ ָיּה וּלְ עוֹפוֹת הַ ְּתאֵ נָה וְ אָ כְ לָה אֵ ין ְמחַ ְיּבִ ין אוֹת ֹו לְ הַ ְחזִ ָיר ּה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה ז) "וְ לִ בְ הֶ ְמ ְּת ָך וְ לַחַ ָיּה אֲ ׁ ֶשר ְ ּבאַ ְרצֶ ָך ִּת ְהיֶה כָ ל :"ְּתבוּאָ ָת ּה לֶאֶ כל
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 7:6 (6) Just as one is obligated to remove food stored for human consumption [at the time of biur], so too, must he remove animal feed from his home and he may no longer feed it to a domesticated animal, if that type of produce is no longer available in the field [for a wild animal to eat of it].
ו: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ז,משנה תורה
ָּכל ׁ ֶש ָּכלָה ִמינ ֹו.(ו) הַ כּ וֹבֵ ׁש ׁ ְשל ׁ ָֹשה ְּכבָ ׁ ִשים ְ ּבחָ בִ ית אַ חַ ת וְ ִאם ִה ְת ִחיל ָּב ּה הֲ ֵרי.ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה יְבָ עֵ ר ִמינ ֹו ִמן הֶ חָ בִ ית וּכְ ׁ ֵשם ׁ ֶש ּ ְמבַ עֵ ר אָ ֳכלֵי אָ ָדם ָּכ ְך ְמבַ עֵ ר אָ ֳכלֵי.הַ כּ ל ִּכ ְמב ֹעָ ר וְ אֵ ינ ֹו ַמאֲ כִ ילָן לִ בְ הֵ ָמה ִאם ָּכלָה אוֹת ֹו.ְ ּבהֵ ָמה ִמן הַ ַּביִת :הַ ּ ִמין ִמן הַ ָּש ֶׂדה
Questions for discussion: 1. We have learned that produce during Shmita is considered ownerless and can be gathered by all, and that fences blocking such open access are removed. How can we expand this towards animals? How would removing all fences and cages around our domesticated animals, allowing them free access to wild pasture and food, affect our systems of animal husbandry and crop farming?
2. What does the second source imply about the relationship between domesticated animals and wild animals, based on their food needs and biur? 3. How do you think our relationships with animals are directly connected to the wider paradigm of Shmita values and ideals?
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8. The Sanctity of Shmita Produce (Kedushat Shvi’it) & Not Letting Food Go to Waste In Jewish Law, certain objects, relationships, and even people can be endowed with sanctity. This sanctity (kedusha) often derives from the item being forbidden from use in normal settings, having a sacred purpose, and/or because it is used in the performance of a mitzvah. This sanctity, however, is not merely a metaphysical description; rather, it has serious ramifications for the legal status of an item, the laws that govern it, and how one must behave towards it. Thus, when texts claim that Shmita produce has kedushat shvi’it (holiness of Shmita), there are subsequent practical legal ramifications that demonstrate and preserve this unique holiness. The concept of kedushat shvi’it touches on many aspects of Shmita laws. Here we focus on the idea that this sanctity implies that such produce cannot be wasted. Rambam summarizes the rulings of the Talmud:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 7:13 [The Sages] have taught a general rule regarding Shmita that anything that is considered to be food for humans or animals...it and the money [exchanged for it] have kedushat shevi’it (holiness of Shmita).
יג: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ז,משנה תורה
ִ ְִּכלָל ָגּדוֹל אָ ְמר ּו ַּב ְּׁשב יעית ָּכל ׁ ֶשהוּא ַמאֲ כַ ל אָ ָדם א ֹו ִ ִי ֵׁש ל ֹו וּלְ ָד ָמיו ׁ ְשב...ַמאֲ כַ ל ְ ּבהֵ ָמה יעית
The Talmud in Pesachim teaches that the Torah permitted people to eat from Shmita produce, but it did not permit them to waste it:
Talmud, Tractate Pesachim 52b:
:פסחים נב
The Merciful One says (in the Torah): “And the Shmita produce of the land shall be for you to eat” (Leviticus 25:6) - but not to destroy.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
ד"לאכלה" אמר רחמנא ולא להפסד
Building upon the essence of this verse (Leviticus 25:6), the Rabbis determined that all produce of the Shmita year — whatever is fit and intended for human consumption — should be eaten and enjoyed to its full potential as food. None of it should be left to turn into garbage, and none of it should be prepared or used in a wasteful manner. Countless texts describe measures that must be taken to avoid throwing out edible Shmita produce or disposing of drinkable Shmita wine. Others urge people to make sure they only gather/buy what they can consume so as not to leave leftovers that will go to waste. For example, Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 7:22) writes that any mixture that contains even a small amount Shmita produce that one adds to a dish renders the entire dish subject to the laws of Shmita and, by extension, people must avoid letting it go to waste. This would mean if someone added Shmita produce to a soup, the entire soup would have the special rules of kedushat shevi’it and, as a result, people should take great care to make sure none of it goes to waste.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 5:11 A great principle was stated with regard to the produce of Shmita: Whatever is distinguished as being for human consumption, e.g., wheat, figs, grapes, and the like, should not be used as a compress or a bandage, even for a person, as implied by the phrase in Leviticus 25.6: “It shall be a Shabbat of the Land for you, so that you may eat of it,” i.e., whatever is distinguished as being for you [your consumption], should be used as food.
יא: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ה,משנה תורה
ִ ְִּכלָל ָגּדוֹל אָ ְמר ּו ְ ּבפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב ָּכל ׁ ֶשהוּא ְמיֻחָ ד.יעית לְ ַמאֲ כַ ל אָ ָדם ְּכגוֹן ִח ּ ִטים ְּתאֵ נִים וַעֲ נָבִ ים וְ כַ יּוֹצֵ א ָּבהֶ ן אֵ ין עו ִֹשׂין ִמ ּ ֶמ ּנ ּו ְמלוּגְ ָמא א ֹו ְר ִט ָיּה וְ כַ יּוֹצֵ א בּ ֹו אֲ פִ ּל ּו לְ אָ ָדם ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (ויקרא כה ו) "לָכֶ ם לְ אָ כְ לָה" ָּכל ׁ ֶשהוּא ְמיֻחָ ד לָכֶ ם י ְִהיֶה לְ אָ כְ לָה
Questions for discussion: 1. Have you considered how much food is wasted by the agricultural industry, restaurants, and the marketplace? Have you ever attempted to measure how much food is wasted in your own kitchen? 2. What might you or your family do during Shmita (or at all times) to help minimize your own food waste?
3. Very often in today’s world of production food substances are turned into non-food substances: ethanol made from corn, cars running on used vegetable oil, and newspaper ink made with soybean oil. The text suggests rabbinic disapprobation of such products during Shmita. What do you think? Should transforming food into useful non-edible items be considered a waste of food?
Codifying Shmita
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Part II: Economic Elements of the Agricultural Shmita Agricultural and food systems are an important part of daily life and economy. From time immemorial, people traded food they grew for other goods and services. And, in more recent history, people have grown accustomed to buying and selling produce, by quantities and weights, in money or credit. However, in this subsection, we see that Jewish Law does not permit us to treat Shmita produce, which we do not own, as a commercial good, and makes rules that guard against trading it as one normally would in the marketplace.
9. Sale of Produce As mentioned in part one, people are not permitted to interact with food produced during Shmita as they would with produce grown in other years. Shmita produce is ownerless and has an inherent holiness. The Talmud records a simple distinction for this time period, similar to one we have seen with regard to food waste:
Talmud, Avodah Zarah 62a
.עבודב זרה סב
“And the Shmita produce of the land shall be for you to eat” (Leviticus 25:6) - but not for commerce.
ולא לסחורה- ''לאכלה
Since the Torah only specifies eating Shmita produce, the rabbis infer that we cannot use it for other purposes. Likewise, the Mishnah (Shevi’it 7:3) presents a prohibition against trade in fruits and vegetables grown during Shmita. However, other sources reference situations when small-scale buying and selling of Shmita produce is permissible. The Rishonim*, early medieval rabbinic authorities, debate what exactly is prohibited in the ban against commerce and what type of trade is permitted. R’ Isaac b. Samuel (c. 1115-1184) taught that the Torah was worried about people engaging in profiteering with Shmita produce:
Tosafot, Avoda Zarah 62a
.תוספות עבודב זרה סב
R’ Isaac said: the trade in the produce of Shmita which is forbidden is like one who buys a lot of produce at once in a place where it is cheap and goes to sell it in a place where it is expensive… [Likewise,] it is forbidden to sell the goods [even if they picked them on their own] in a marketplace [instead, they may only sell small quantities in a roadside stand].
אומר רבינו יצחק דהסחורה שהיא אסורה בפירות שביעית היינו לקנות הרבה ביחד להוליך ממקום הזול אסור למכור בשוק...למקום היוקר
*Rishonim (lit. “first ones) is a collective term given to rabbinic authorities active during the 11th to 15th centuries. The era of the Rishonim ends with the publication of the Shulchan Arukh, the great law code published by R’ Yosef Karo in 1563. Rabbinic scholars active afterwards are collectively known as Acharonim, (lit. “later ones”).
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Rambam emphasizes that one may pick small amounts of produce, the amount that would feed their household for a few days, even in order to sell it in the marketplace. Echoing other rabbinic sources, he also explains additional restrictions on transactions using Shmita produce and the money exchanged in them:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 6:1 We may not use the produce of Shmita for commerce. If one desires to sell a small amount of Shmita produce, they may. The money received [in return for the produce] has the same [sanctity] status as the Shmita produce. Therefore, they should use it to purchase food and eat the food that they purchased in accordance with the restrictions of the holiness of Shmita. And, the [sold] produce retains the same holiness that it possessed before.
א: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ו,משנה תורה
ִ ִאֵ ין עו ִֹשׂין ְסחו ָֹרה ְ ּבפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב וְ ִאם ָרצָ ה לִ ְמ ּכ ֹר ְמעַ ט.יעית ִ ִִמ ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב וְ או ָֹתן הַ ָד ִּמים הֲ ֵרי הֵ ן ְּכפֵ רוֹת.יעית מוֹכֵ ר ִ ִיעית וְ ִי ָּלקַ ח ָּבהֶ ן ַמאֲ כָ ל וְ יֵאָ כֵ ל ִ ּב ְק ֻד ַּׁשת ׁ ְשב ִ ִׁ ְשב .יעית :וְ אוֹת ֹו הַ ּ ְפ ִרי הַ ִנ ְּמ ָּכר הֲ ֵרי הוּא ִ ּב ְק ֻד ָּׁשת ֹו ְּכ ׁ ֶשהָ יָה
Rambam continues in the following halacha:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 6:2
ב: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ו,משנה תורה
One should not take Shmita produce and sell them. And one should not take a fee for dyeing shells [using] the produce of Shmita. Because these are considered doing commerce with the produce of Shmita.
וְ ל ֹא י ְִצ ַּבע ִמ ְּקלִ ּפֵ י.ל ֹא י ְִהיֶה לוֹקֵ חַ י ְַרקוֹת ָש ֶׂדה וּמוֹכֵ ר ֶ ִמ ּ ְפנֵי ׁ ֶש ֶז ּה עו.יעית ְ ּב ָשׂכָ ר ִ ִׁ ְשב ֹשׂה ְסחו ָֹרה ְ ּבפֵ רוֹת ִ ִׁ ְשב .יעית
One who takes produce in order to eat them, they are permitted to sell them and the money has the status of Shmita.
לָקַ ח י ְָרקוֹת לֶאֱ כל וְ הו ִֹתיר ֻמ ּ ָתר לִ ְמ ּכ ֹר הַ ּמו ָֹתר וְ הַ ָד ִּמים ִ ִׁ ְשב .יעית
Questions for discussion: 1. How does selling food during Shmita differ from the traditional market sale of produce during all other years? 2. The opening line of this source states that we cannot use the produce of Shmita for “commercial activity.” Besides what’s listed in the text, what other actions or intentions do you think fall under the category of “commercial activity”?
3. Once food is no longer marked with a price tag, and is no longer bought in a marketplace, how might your perspective of food change? How much of your relationship to food is determined by its price? 4. If you would not be able to purchase your produce at the market, what are other ways you might ensure your access to fresh food
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10. The Value of Money and Its Holiness In tractate Sukkah (40b) in the Talmud, we are taught that money earned from the sale of sanctified Shmita produce is also endowed with sanctity. The transfer of sanctity from produce to money is not unique to Shmita; however, unlike in the redemption of tithes (ma’aser) or goods sanctified for the Temple (hekdesh), the transfer of sanctity to money does not remove sanctity from the Shmita produce. At the end of the transaction, both the produce and the money are sacred. Rambam codifies this teaching in the Mishneh Torah:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 6:6 There is a stringency with Shmita produce but not with items consecrated to the Temple (hekdesh). When redeeming hekdesh the consecrated item becomes ordinary, and the status is transferred to the money. Shmita produce is not like this - when one sells Shmita produce, its status is transferred to the money. But the produce itself does not become ordinary, and is not considered like produce from other years. As it is written (Lev. 25:7), “tehiyeh - and it shall be”, [implying its state] is for all time. And since it is called “holy” (in Lev 25:12), its status is transferred.
ו: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ו,משנה תורה
ִ ִח ֶֹמר ִ ּב ׁ ְשב ׁ ֶשהַ ּפו ֶֹדה אֶ ת הַ הֶ ְק ֵד ּׁש יָצָ א.יעית ִמ ְ ּבהֶ ְק ֵד ּׁש ִ ִ וְ הַ ְּׁשב.ש ּו הַ ָד ִּמים ּ ַת ְח ּ ָתיו ׂ ְהֶ ְק ֵד ּׁש לְ ֻח ִ ּלין וְ י ּ ִָתפ יעית אֵ ינ ָּה ִ ִ אֶ ָּלא הַ ּמוֹכֵ ר ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב.ּ ֵכן ׂ ָש ּו הַ ָד ִּמים וְ יֵע ׂ ְיעית י ּ ִָתפ ש ּו ִ ְִּכפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב ׂ ֲ וְ הַ ּפֵ רוֹת עַ ְצ ָמן ל ֹא נ ְִתחַ ְ ּלל ּו וְ נַע.יעית ש ּו ִּ ) ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר ָּב ּה (ויקרא כה ז.ְּכפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשאָ ר ׁ ָשנִים ""ת ְהיֶה ) וּלְ פִ י ׁ ֶש ִנ ְּק ֵראת (ויקרא כה יב.ַּבהֲ ָוי ָָת ּה ְּתהֵ א לְ ע ֹולָם ֶ ֹפֶשׂת ָד ֶ "ק ֶֹד ׁש" ּתו . ָּמיה
Indeed, if one bartered Shmita produce for fish, the Shmita produce and the fish would have sanctity at the end of the transaction. However, if one then bartered that fish for a piece of meat, the sanctity may transfer to the meat (if that was the intention) and not remain on the piece of fish.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 7:7 Just as one must remove Shmita produce, so too, one must remove the money [that was received in exchange for it]. What is implied? If one sold Shmita pomegranates and used the money to [purchase] food, when there are no longer any pomegranates on the trees in the field, if he remains in possession of the money he received for selling them, he is obligated to remove it from his possession.
ז: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ו,משנה תורה
.וּכְ ׁ ֵשם ׁ ֶש ּ ְמבַ עֲ ִרין אֶ ת הַ ּפֵ רוֹת ָּכ ְך ְמבַ עֲ ִרין אֶ ת הַ ָד ִּמים ִ ִ הֲ ֵרי ׁ ֶש ּ ָמכַ ר ִר ּמ ֹונִים ׁ ֶשל ׁ ְשב.ּ ֵכיצַ ד יעית וַהֲ ֵרי הוּא אוֹכֵ ל וְ כָ ל ּו הָ ִר ּמ ֹונִים ִמן הָ ִאילָנוֹת ׁ ֶש ַּב ָּש ֶׂדה וְ נ ׁ ְִשאַ ר.ִ ּב ְד ֵמיהֶ ן :אֶ ְצל ֹו ִמן הַ ָד ִּמים ׁ ֶש ּ ָמכַ ר ָּבהֶ ן חַ ָיּב לְ בַ עֲ ָרן
Questions for discussion: 1. How is this passage’s treatment of seasonality similar to the text about biur in the first part of Section III?
3. What happens to money when its value is not determined by banks or governments, but is instead connected to the sanctity and availability of food?
2. How does the use of money change during Shmita, specifically in regard to selling or buying foods? What does it mean for money to have a “holy status,” as stated in the previous source?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
11. How Shmita Produce can be Bought and Sold The Mishnah (Shevi’it 8:3) teaches that Shmita produce cannot be bought and sold by exact weight, number, or measure; rather, they can only be sold by rough estimate. Subsequent texts present some reasons for this rule. The Jerusalem Talmud (Shevi’it 8:3) offers two suggestions. First, banning sale by weight, number, and other measures will lead sellers to sell the goods more cheaply. Second, using weights, numbers, and measures may lead the sellers to forget they are dealing with holy produce and, in turn, forget to treat the money they receive as sanctified.
Jerusalem Talmud, Shevi’it 8:3
ג:ירושלמי שביעית ח
Why? So that people will sell them cheaply. [So,] let them weigh it and sell it cheaply. If you say that, we are concerned that the seller will not handle it with the proper sanctity.
? וישקלו בליטרא וימכרו בזול.למה? כדי שימכרו בזול אף הוא אינו נוהג בהן בקדושה,אם אמר את כן
Rambam gives a different reason. He writes that it is forbidden to use weights, measures, and numbers because it will resemble normal commerce. And, during Shmita, when the produce is ownerless, one may not engage in what resembles normal commerce that is designed to earn a profit.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 6:3 When one sells Shmita produce, they should not sell it by measure, weight, or number so that it should appear as if they are trading regular produce during Shmita. Rather, they should sell the little that they sell by approximation to make it clear that it is actually ownerless and then take the money to buy other food.
ג: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ו,משנה תורה
ִ ְִּכ ׁ ֶש ּמוֹכְ ִרין ּפֵ רוֹת ׁ ְשב יעית אֵ ין מוֹכְ ִרין או ָֹתן ל ֹא ְ ּב ִמ ָדּה ְּכ ֵדי ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא י ְִהיֶה ְּכסוֹחֵ ר ּפֵ רוֹת.וְ ל ֹא ְ ּב ִמ ׁ ְשקָ ל וְ ל ֹא ְ ּב ִמ ְניָן ַ אֶ ָּלא מוֹכֵ ר הַ ְמעַ ט ׁ ֶש ּמוֹכֵ ר אַ כְ סָ ָרה לְ הו ִֹדיע.יעית ִ ִַּב ְּׁשב :ׁ ֶשהוּא הֶ פְ קֵ ר וְ לוֹקֵ חַ הַ ָד ִּמים לִ ְקנוֹת ָּבהֶ ן א ֹכֶ ל אַ חֵ ר
Questions for discussion: 1. Elsewhere, the Torah stresses the importance of using proper weights and measures: “Do not falsify measurements of length, weight, or volume. You must have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest dry measure, and an honest liquid measure” (Leviticus 19:35-36). How would such a radical departure from this practice affect the overall marketplace? How might you feel selling or buying food in this manner?
2. Why would “estimation” be preferred? Where else might you trade or sell casually? How might this shift your perspective of an economic transaction? 3. How can something that is “ownerless” be sold? How might this shift your perspective on economic transactions and property?
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. What was the significance for all farmers to have a fallow, non-agricultural year all at once, rather than individual fallow periods for each farm based on its own schedule and need? 2. What is your relationship to your local foodshed: growing, harvesting, distributing, processing, consuming? How directly would you be affected by a year of following Shmita laws?
4. If eating perennial, local, seasonal, and fresh food is already important to you, how does knowing that these are key components of Shmita ideal affect your relationship to your food choices? To Jewish tradition? If these aren’t food habits you’ve taken on in your life, does reading about them in the context of Shmita change their value to you? Take a moment to fully consider both the challenges and benefits of eating this way.
3. How might anticipation of Shmita year affect the design of our food systems during the first six years of the cycle so that we can ensure local food systems based on perennial and wild plants, and shared diets based on seasonal and ripe foods?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Codifying Shmita
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Section IV: Codifying Shmita: Rabbinic Laws on Shmitat Kesafim (Remission of Debts) Introduction In addition to the laws related to the “Shmita of the land” (shmitat ha’aretz) there are also laws pertaining to shmitat kesafim, the “monetary Shmita.” Namely, these are rules connected to the forgiveness of loans. In this section we examine the rules about the remission of debts and consider: What was the nature of the debt release? How were relationships between rich and poor affected? What were the interpersonal dynamics between giver and receiver? Between debtor and creditor? And how did this rule impact economics during Shmita and in the other six years of the cycle?
As in the prior section, we quote extensively from Rambam’s Mishneh Torah as a basis for unpacking these practices, concepts, and values. While we understand that Shmitat Ha’aretz (land release) and Shmitat Kesafim (monetary release) are inextricably linked in Jewish tradition, for the purpose of study within this book we have chosen to separate these topics into two chapters, sections 3 and 4.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
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Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
The Shmita Sourcebook
1. Debt Forgiveness: Automatic or a Commandment? The first major question that emerges from the verses is: how does the debt get forgiven? Is it automatically cancelled when the time comes, without the need of action by the lender or the borrower? Or does the Torah instruct lenders to forgive the loans owed to them by borrowers? R’ Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz (12th century) writes that forgiveness of debts in the Shmita year is not automatic. Instead, he suggests it is a commandment for the lender to forgive the loan:
R’ Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz, Sefer Yerai’m (Siman 278) Following the Shmita year, a borrower may not withhold repayment of a loan without the agreement of the lender. As long as the lender does not forgive the debt, the borrower is obligated to pay it back. However, the borrower can take the lender to court in order to demand that the loan should be forgiven…[and,] if the lender doesn’t want to say “I remit it,” the court can coerce him to do so.
872 סימן, ספר יראים,רבי אליעזר בן שמואל ממיץ
וחוב שעבר עליו שביעית אינו רשאי לוה לעכבו אלא על פי מלוה שכל זמן שלא השמיטו מלוה חייב לפרוע ואם אינו...אלא לוה יזמין מלוה לדין שישמיט לו חובו רוצה המלוה לומר משמיט אני יכפוהו בי"ד
Most other authorities reject this approach and argue that Shmita automatically forgives the loans without any need for involvement by the parties. Rambam’s formulation makes it the inherent sanctity of Shmita forgives the loans:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 8:4 Shmita does not forgive debts until its end. As it says (Deut. 15:1): “At the end of seven years, you shall effect a release [of debts].” And, it states [with regard to hakhel], (Deut. 31:10): “At the end of seven years, at the time of the Shmita year, during Sukkot.” Just as there [with hakhel] it means after the seven [years], so too the release of money takes place after the seven [years]. Therefore if someone lent money to their fellow during Shmita itself, they may demand repayment of the debt for that entire year. When the sun sets on the night of Rosh HaShanah at the conclusion of Shmita, the debt is forgiven/nullified.
ד: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ח,משנה תורה
ִ ִאֵ ין ׁ ְשב יעית ְמ ׁ ַש ּ ֶמטֶ ת ְּכסָ פִ ים אֶ ָּלא ְ ּבסוֹפָ ּה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר ִ )(דברים טו א "מ ּ ֵקץ ׁ ֶשבַ ע ׁ ָשנִים ּ ַתעֲ ֶשׂה" ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ָטה וְ זֶה ִ )ְדּבַ ר הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה וְ ׁ ָשם הוּא או ֵֹמר (דברים לא י "מ ּ ֵקץ ָמה."ׁ ֶשבַ ע ׁ ָשנִים ְ ּבמ ֹעֵ ד ׁ ְשנַת הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה ְ ּבחַ ג הַ ֻּסכּ וֹת לְ פִ יכָ ְך.ׁ ָשם אַ חַ ר ׁ ֶשבַ ע אַ ף הַ ׁ ְש ָמ ַטת ְּכסָ פִ ים אַ חַ ר ׁ ֶשבַ ע ִ ִִהלְ וָה אֶ ת חֲ בֵ ר ֹו ַּב ְּׁשב .יעית עַ ְצ ָמ ּה ּגוֹבֶ ה חוֹב ֹו ָּכל הַ ָּׁשנָה ִ ִֹאש הַ ָּׁשנָה ׁ ֶשל מוֹצָ אֵ י ׁ ְשב ׁ וּכְ ׁ ֶש ִּת ׁ ְשקַ ע חַ ּ ָמה ְ ּבלֵילֵי ר יעית :אָ בַ ד הַ חוֹב
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, a modern expert on the laws of Shmita, explains the viewpoint of the vast majority of the sages who think that Shmita cancels debts automatically:
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon Most...appear to have understood the foundation of Shmita is not that a person should forgo money that is owed to him. The underlying principle of Shmita is that the money does not belong to the creditor! There is no need for the creditor to cancel the debt. Everything belongs to God, and therefore the debt is automatically cancelled.
Questions for discussion: 1. In Jewish law, one is not allowed to charge interest on a loan (see Exodus 22:25). Do you think this would make debt release more or less feasible?
2. Why might it be important that the loan is automatically cancelled? 3. What is the societal impact of a legal mechanism that automatically resets debts every seven years?
Codifying Shmita Part II
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2. Repayment of Debt After Shmitat Kesafim Even though shmitat kesafim forgives all debts, the sages praised those who elected to repay the money they borrowed despite the annulled legal obligation to do so. Rambam summarized the laws discussed at the end of Mishnah Shevi’it (10:9) and the Talmud as follows:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 9:28-29
כט-כח: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ט,משנה תורה
(28) Anyone who repays a debt even after Shmita has passed, the spirits of our sages are gratified by them. The lender must say to the repayer: “I am releasing the debt and your obligation has already been forgiven.” And, if the repayer says: “Nonetheless, it is my desire that you accept the repayment,” then it should be accepted. As the verse says: “You shall not demand [repayment]” and in this case the repayment was not demanded. And, one should not say “I am giving you this [money] for my debt.” Instead, one should say: “this [money] is mine and I am giving it to you as a gift.”
ַיעית רוּח ִ ִ(כח) ָּכל הַ ּ ַמחֲ זִ יר חוֹב ׁ ֶשעָ בְ ָרה עָ לָיו ׁ ְשב ְ וְ צָ ִר.ּימ ּנו ִז ֲח ַ ֶ ֵחֲ כָ ִמים נוֹחָ ה ה ּ יך הַ ּ ַמלְ וֶה לו ַֹמר לַמ יר אָ ַמר ל ֹו אַ ף עַ ל ּ ִפי כֵ ן.ַמ ׁ ְש ִמיט אֲ נִי וּכְ בָ ר נִפְ ַט ְר ּ ָת ִמ ּ ֶמ ִנּי ְרצ ֹונִי ׁ ֶש ְּתקַ ֵּבל יְקַ ֵּבל ִמ ּ ֶמ ּנ ּו ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (דברים טו ב) "ל ֹא ַ וְ אַ ל י.ִׂי ּג ׁש ֹ" וַהֲ ֵרי ל ֹא נָגַ ש ֹאמר ל ֹו ְ ּבחוֹבִ י אֲ נִי נוֹתֵ ן לְ ָך ָ:ֹאמר ל ֹו ׁ ֶש ִ ּלי הֵ ם וּבְ ַמ ּ ָתנָה אֲ נִי נוֹתֵ ן לְ ך ַ אֶ ָּלא י
(29) If one repays the debt but did not say these things, [the lender] should talk in circles until the [repayer] says “this [money] is mine and I am giving it to you as a gift.” And, if the [repayer] does not say this, [the lender] should not accept it; [instead,] the [repayer] should take his money and leave.
ְמסַ ֵּבב ִע ּמ ֹו.(כט) הֶ חֱ זִ יר ל ֹו חוֹב ֹו וְ ל ֹא אָ ַמר ל ֹו ּ ֵכן ַ ֹ ִּ ּב ְדבָ ִרים עַ ד ׁ ֶשי .אמר ל ֹו ׁ ֶש ִ ּלי הֵ ם וּבְ ַמ ּ ָתנָה נ ְַת ִּתים לְ ָך ְ :ֹוְ ִאם ל ֹא אָ ַמר ל ֹא יְקַ ֵּבל ִמ ּ ֶמ ּנ ּו אֶ ָּלא י ִּטל ְמעו ָֹתיו וְ ֵילֵך לו
Questions for discussion: 1. Why do the sages look kindly on someone who wishes to repay the loan even though it has been cancelled?
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2. Why do you think identifying these payments as gifts was such an important part of this interaction? What changes when payment of a debt is offered as a gift? For the lender? For the borrower? How do the dynamics of gift giving differ from loan repayment?
The Shmita Sourcebook
3. The Encouragement to Lend Money The Torah (Deut. 15:7-11) warns people not to refuse to lend money to the needy out of fear that the debt will be released during Shmita. It recognizes that borrowing money is essential for those trying to improve their fortunes, expand their businesses, and farm; thus, it tries to make sure that the mechanism of shmitat kesafim does not prevent people from lending money to others. Rambam and many other authorities consider it a biblical transgression to refuse to lend money out of fear of the upcoming Shmita. Rambam lists this as a negative commandment, and then expands upon it in the Mishneh Torah:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 9:30 One who refrains from lending money to their fellow before Shmita because it may be nullified, violates a negative commandment, as it states: “Beware [lest you harbor the wicked thought…] (Deut, 15:9)” It is a severe sin, for the Torah warned against it with two prohibitions...The Torah objected to this evil thought and called it “wicked” and the verse continued warning and commanding one not only not to refrain [from lending], but also to give [the loan], as it states (Deut. 15:10): “You shall certainly give him and your heart should not regret giving him.” And God promised that the reward for this mitzvah will be granted in this world, as it continues: “Because of this God will bless you.”
ל: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ט,משנה תורה
...ִמי ׁ ֶש ִנ ְּמנָע ִמ ְ ּלהַ לְ ווֹת אֶ ת חֲ בֵ ר ֹו ק ֶֹדם הַ ְּׁש ִמ ּ ָטה ׁ ֶש ּ ָמא .'ֹי ִָּׁש ֵמט עָ בַ ר ְ ּבל ֹא ּ ַתעֲ ֶשׂה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר ִה ָּׁש ֶמר לְ ָך וְ גו וְ חֵ ְטא ָגּדוֹל הוּא ׁ ֶשהֲ ֵרי ִהזְ ִה ָירה עָ לָיו ּתו ָֹרה ִ ּב ׁ ְשנֵי ָ וְ הַ ּתו ָֹרה ִה ְק ּ ִפ... לָאוִ ין ידה עַ ל ַמחֲ ׁ ָשבָ ה ָרעָ ה ז ֹו ו ְּק ָראַ ּת ּו ְּ וַהֲ ֵרי הו ִֹסיף הַ ָּכתוּב לְ הַ זְ ִהיר וּלְ צַ ּווֹת ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא.""בלִ ַיּעַ ל י ּ ִָמנַע אֶ ָּלא י ּ ִֵתן ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (דברים טו י) "נָתוֹן ִּת ּ ֵתן ל ֹו וְ ל ֹא וְ ִהבְ ִטיחַ הַ ָּקדו ֹׁש ָּברו ְּך הוּא.'ֹי ֵַרע לְ בָ בְ ָך ְ ּב ִת ְּת ָך לוֹ" וְ גו ִּ )ִ ּב ְשׂכַ ר ִמ ְצוָה ז ֹו ָּבע ֹולָם הַ ֶז ּה ׁ ֶש ֶנּאֱ ַמר (דברים טו י "כי :'ִֹ ּבגְ לַל הַ ָדּבָ ר הַ ֶז ּה יְבָ ֶרכְ ָך" וְ גו
Questions for discussion: 1. Why is the Torah so concerned that people should continue to lend money despite the prospect of release?
2. Why is lending money important in these settings? 3. What impact of Shmita is the Torah trying to avoid?
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4. Prozbul Toward the end of the Second Temple period, the sages recognized that many people were avoiding lending money because of the fear that shmitat kesafim would nullify the obligation to repay them. Hillel the Elder, the great early firstcentury sage, wanted to address this problem. He created a legal mechanism called prozbul that could be used by people to continue to lend without their loans being released during Shmita. Before addressing how prozbul works, it is worth asking how Hillel, great as he was, could institute something that seems to contravene an important law in the Torah. The Mishnah (Shevi’it 10:3) discusses Hillel’s enactment of prozbul, and the Talmud then asks this very question:
Talmud, Gittin 36a
.גיטין לו
The mishna taught that Hillel the Elder instituted prozbul. We learned in a mishnah there (Shevi’it 10:3): If one writes a prozbul, Shmita does not release debt. This is one of the matters that Hillel the Elder instituted because he saw that the people of the nation were refraining from lending to one another around the time of Shmita, as they were concerned that the debtor would not repay the loan, and they violated that which is written in the Torah: “Beware lest you harbor the wicked thought, saying: the seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your needy brother, and you give him nothing” (Deuteronomy 15:9). He arose and instituted prozbul so that it would also be possible to collect those debts in order to ensure that people would continue to give loans…
תנן התם פרוסבול אינו:'הלל התקין פרוסבול וכו משמט זה אחד מן הדברים שהתקין הלל הזקן שראה את העם שנמנעו מלהלוות זה את זה ועברו על מה ט) השמר לך פן יהיה דבר,שכתוב בתורה (דברים טו ...עם לבבך בליעל וגו' עמד והתקין פרוסבול ומי איכא מידי דמדאורייתא משמטא שביעית והתקין הלל דלא משמטא אמר אביי בשביעית בזמן הזה ורבי רבא אמר הפקר ב"ד היה הפקר...היא
The Gemara asks about the prozbul itself: But is there anything like this, where by Torah law Shmita cancels the debt but Hillel instituted that it does not cancel the debt? Abaye said: This is referring to Shmita in the present, and it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi [who says that the release of debt was only a biblical commandment from the Second Temple onwards]... Rava says: The sages are able to institute this ordinance because property declared ownerless by the court is ownerless.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Two Talmudic sages, Abaye and Rava, disagree as to how Hillel was able to enact this workaround. Abaye argues that Hillel could do so because shmitat kesafim was no longer biblically obligated, but only a rabbinic obligation. Rava, in contrast, rules that prozbul works regardless because a rabbinic court (beit din) has control over certain monetary matters; thus, they have the power to exercise this document. Interestingly, Rambam rules in accordance with Abaye, not Rava. He writes that prozbul only applies when the commandment to release debts under shmitat kesafim is rabbinic:
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 9:16 When Hillel the Elder saw that the people would refrain from lending to each other and thus violated the words of the Torah (Deuteronomy 15:9): “Beware lest you harbor the wicked thought,” he ordained a prozbul so that debts would not be nullified and people would still lend to each other. And prozbul only works for shmitat kesafim in our times, which is a rabbinic obligation. However, prozbul would not work for biblical shmitat kesafim.
טז: הלכות שמיטה ויובל ט,משנה תורה
ְּכ ׁ ֶש ָראָ ה ִה ֵּלל הַ ָז ּקֵ ן ׁ ֶש ִנ ְּמנְע ּו ִמ ְ ּלהַ לְ ווֹת זֶה אֶ ת זֶה וְ עוֹבְ ִרין ִ )עַ ל הַ ָּכתוּב ַּב ּתו ָֹרה (דברים טו ט "ה ָּׁש ֶמר לְ ָך ּפֶ ן י ְִהיֶה ָדבָ ר" וְ גוֹ' ִה ְת ִקין ּ ְפרוֹזְ בּ וּל ְּכ ֵדי ׁ ֶש ּל ֹא י ִָּׁש ֵמט הַ חוֹב עַ ד וְ אֵ ין הַ ּ ְפרוֹזְ בּ וּל מו ִֹעיל אֶ ָּלא ִ ּב ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ַטת.ׁ ֶש ַיּלְ ו ּו זֶה אֶ ת זֶה אֲ בָ ל ׁ ְש ִמ ּ ָטה.ְּכסָ פִ ים ַּבזְ ַּמן הַ ֶז ּה ׁ ֶש ִהיא ִמ ִדּבְ ֵרי סוֹפְ ִרים :ׁ ֶשל ּתו ָֹרה אֵ ין הַ ּ ְפרוֹזְ בּ וֹל מו ִֹעיל ָּב ּה
R. Abraham ben David (c. 1125–1198), the great Provencal authority and author of critical glosses on the Rambam, took issue with this ruling because it follows Abaye rather than Rava. He writes that we actually followed Rava and that prozbul works for shmitat kesafim at all times (including when biblically mandated). While prozbul may seem like a legal loophole, it is clear that rabbis across generations believed there is a strong legal basis for it - one that would even work in times when there is a biblical injunction to release debts.
Questions for discussion: 1. How do you feel about this rabbinic decree? Do you think Hillel was justified?
2. Hillel is famous for the story of standing on one foot and teaching that the “entire” Torah can be distilled into the command “that which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” How do you think prozbol fits with this teaching?
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. What is wealth during Shmita? How is this measured? How do the rules of Shmita impact the relationship with wealth in the other six years? 2. Do you think Shmita’s release of debts is realistic? Why or why not? What systems would need to be in place to make it possible?
3. What is your own relationship to money and the marketplace? What would need to change in today’s economy to support the values and ideals of Shmita? Would you support such changes?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Codifying Shmita Part II
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Section V: Rabbinic Voices and Visioning of Shmita: From Exile to Return Introduction Traditionally, the agricultural elements of Shmita applied only in the Land of Israel, while the release of debts applied everywhere in the world. Historically, this has meant the practical observance of agricultural Shmita has been the concern of a small minority of the Jewish people. Nonetheless, throughout time and space, Jewish thinkers have written deeply about Shmita. Some of these authors had opportunities to experience Shmita in practice. Many, however, explored the spiritual and moral values of the observance without ever witnessing its actual observance.
This section moves beyond the legal details to look at some of the ideological, spiritual, and ethical themes found in classical, medieval, and modern texts about Shmita. As you read these texts, consider how this conversation is handled by writers who may never have experienced an agricultural Shmita. Think about how these values apply to those outside of Israel and how they apply to those practicing Shmita. Further, consider how these ideas resonate in areas of our lives seemingly unrelated to Shmita.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
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Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
The Shmita Sourcebook
1. The Centrality of Shmita in the Torah The Mekhilta of Rabbi Yishmael on Exodus is a midrashic collection of teachings from the classical rabbinic period. It highlights the central role of Shmita law within the covenant between God and the Jewish people. After the revelation at Mt. Sinai and the giving of the commandments (Exodus, ch. 20), the Torah details a series of laws (ch. 20-23). Following these, we are told that Moses read a “Book of the Covenant” to the people and, in response, the people declared that they would abide by and listen to them (Exodus 24:7). It is believed that this “Book of the Covenant” was not the entire Torah. But which portion was it? Different sages offer different answers. The Mekhilta of Rabbi Yishmael* suggests that this reading became Leviticus 25 and 26, chapters which prominently feature the laws of Shmita and Yovel. In essence, R’ Yishmael teaches that Shmita is central to the Torah and Jewish commandments.
Mekhilta of Rabbi Yishmael Exodus 19:10 “And he [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people”- yet, it does not tell us from where (which portion) he read to them from. R’ Yossi bar Yehuda said: from the start of the Genesis through here [i.e. this part of Exodus]. Rebbe (R’ Yehuda ha-Nasi) said: from the mitzvot which were commanded to Adam, the mitzvot which were commanded to the Children of Noah, the mitzvot which were commanded in Egypt, the mitzvot which were commanded in Marah, and all the other mitzvot. R’ Yishmael said: the beginning was “and the Land shall keep a Sabbath to Adonai; six years you shall sow your fields” etc. (Leviticus 25:1-2) - covering Shmita, Yovel, blessings and cursings. And where did he conclude? “These are the statutes, the laws, and the instructions [that were given by God at Mt. Sinai through Moses]” (Leviticus 26:46). The people said “we accept [the laws] upon us.” And, when Moses saw they accepted them, he took the blood and threw it upon the nation [which marked the sealing of the covenant]...and he proclaimed: behold you attached, bound, and tied [to the covenant], come tomorrow and receive all the commandments.
י: שמות יטמכילתא דרבי ישמעאל
" אבל לא שמענו."ויקח ספר הברית ויקרא באזני העם , רבי יוסי בר' יהודה אומר.מהיכן קרא באזניהם מצוות שנצטווה, רבי אומר.מתחלת בראשית ועד כאן אדם הראשון ומצוות שנצטוו בני נח ומצוות שנצטוו ר' ישמעאל.במצרים ובמרה ושאר כל המצוות כולן ) (ויקרא כה, בתחלת הענין מה הוא אומר,אומר ,'ושבתה הארץ שבת לה' – שש שנים תזרע שדך וגו שמטים ויובלות ברכות וקללות; בסוף הענין מה הוא . (שם כו) אלה החוקים והמשפטים והתורות,אומר , כיון שראה שקבלו עליהם,אמרו מקבלין אנו עלינו הרי אתם קשורים: אמר להם...נטל הדם וזרק על העם " מחר בואו וקבלו עליכם המצות כולן,ענובים תפוסים
*The Mekhilta of Rabbi Yishmael is a work of midrashic halakha based on the laws recounted in Exodus. Rabbi Yishmael was a prominent 2nd century sage, active at the same time as Rabbi Akiva. Among other rulings, he penned a series of hermeneutic tools to guide rabbinic interpretation of the Torah. This collection includes mention of later sages, and must have been compiled by later generations, using earlier writings of Rabbi Yishmael.
Questions for discussion: 1. In what way do you think accepting the commandments of Shmita would prepare the tribes to fully receive the Torah?
2. Why do you think Rabbi Yishmael chose Shmita as the archetypal commandment, to symbolize and represent all laws to follow? Which commandment would you choose?
Rabbinic Voices and Visioning of Shmita
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2. The Challenges of Shmita and Personal Strength Numerous texts praise the observance of Shmita as a courageous act of faith. R’ Yitzchak Nappaha contemplates a verse in Psalms which praises the “mighty creatures” that do “[God’s] bidding.” He goes on to apply this description to those who observed the laws of Shmita despite hardships:
Vayikra Rabbah 1:1
א:ויקרא רבה א
Of whom does Scripture speak? R’ Isaac said: Of those that observe Shmita. We often find that a person fulfills a mitzvah for a single day, a single week, or a single month. But do they do so on all the other days of the year? Now this person [i.e. the person who observes Shmita] sees their field barren, their vineyard untilled [every single day] and yet pays the arnona [taxes] and does not complain. Is there a mightier person than this?
ִ ִ אָ ַמר ַר ִ ּבי י ְִצחָ ק ְ ּב ׁשו ְֹמ ֵרי ׁ ְשב,ַּב ּ ֶמה הַ ָּכתוּב ְמ ַד ֵּבר יעית ֶ ְ ּבנ ֹהַ ג ׁ ֶש ָּבע ֹולָם אָ ָדם עו,הַ ָּכתוּב ְמ ַד ֵּבר ֹשׂה ִמ ְצוָה לְ יוֹם ׁ ֶש ּ ָמא לִ ׁ ְשאָ ר יְמוֹת, לְ ח ֶֹד ׁש אֶ חָ ד, לְ ׁ ַש ָּבת אֶ חָ ת,אֶ חָ ד ּ ֵיה ָּבי ְָרה ַּכ ְר ֵמ ּ וְ ֵדין חָ ֵמי חַ ְקל,הַ ָּׁשנָה יה ָּבי ְָרה וְ יָהֵ ב . י ֵׁש לְ ָך ִגּבּ וֹר ָגּדוֹל ִמ ֶז ּה,אַ ְרנ ֹונָא וְ ׁ ָש ִתיק
Expanding on R’ Yitzchak’s words, Midrash Tehillim cleary states that those who observe Shmita for a fully year are considered heros who face the harsh realities of income loss and potential starvation.
Midrash Tehillim (Shocher Tov) Psalm 103 Of whom does Scripture speak? R’ Isaac said: Of such that observe Shmita. We often find that a person fulfills a mitzvah for a single hour or day; here, they do so for an entire year…[the verse says:] “And this (zeh) is the matter of the Shmita” (Deut.15:2)- the word zeh is equal to 12 in gematria- to represent the 12 months of the year.
מדרש תהלים (שוחר טוב; בובר) מזמור קג
בנוהג שבעולם,ר' יצחק אמר מדבר בשומרי שביעית "וזה... שמא לשנה,אדם עושה מצוה לשעה או ליום ז"ה בגימטריא שנים,)דבר השמיטה" (דברים טו ב עשר כחדשי השנה
The Maharal,* in his book Netivot Olam, also highlights the daily struggle for farmers. Arguing that without being able to see its direct impact it is difficult to uphold, he concludes that Shmita is the hardest commandment to observe.
Netivot Olam: Netiv HaTorah 15
נתיב התורה פרק יז:נתיבות עולם
Shmita is the hardest [commandment] of all because the person must leave their field barren for an entire year… This [observance], which seems not to do anything good for another person, is hard since the person is losing their money. [Thus, it is heroic when] they accept and perform it with joy. And there is nothing in the world that is as challenging as keeping Shmita for an entire year and, even more challenging, it involves the loss of livelihood.
השמיטה היא קשה ביותר מכל שהאדם מניח שדהו אבל דבר זה שאין עושה בזה שום...בורה שנה תמימה טובה לאחר הוא דבר קשה כאשר מפסיד ממון שלו ואין שום דבר,ועם כל זה מקבלים ועושים בשמחה בעולם קשה כמו השמיטה כי השמיטה שנה תמימה :ויש לו הפסד ממון היא יותר קשה
*R’ Judah Loew ben Bezalel of Prague (d. 1609), widely known as the Maharal of Prague, was one of the most celebrated rabbis, philosophers, and kabbalists of the early modern period. A 19th-century legend purported that he created a golem out of clay and then animated it.
Questions for discussion: 1. According to the midrash, what is the essence of the “might” and “strength” that characterizes the person who keeps Shmita?
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2. Many of the mitzvot are challenging in their own ways. Why do you think these Rabbis chose the observers of Shmita beyond all the other mitzvot as representative of those that are “mighty”?
The Shmita Sourcebook
3. Shmita, Shabbat, Ownership, Our Relationship to Land, and Our Relationship to God A major theme of Shmita is that it reinforces the sense that our land, the goods that we produce, and our sucesses are not entirely ours. Rather, they ultimately belong to God and are byproducts of God’s blessings. Shmita gives us the opportunity to take stock of our bounty and remind ourselves that we owe our successes to God. Rabbi Abbahu was a leading sage in the Land of Israel during the 3rd and 4th centuries. A student asked Rabbi Abbahu what the purpose of Shmita was and he replied that it was to remind people that the land belonged to God:
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a A certain student came before Rabbi Abbahu and said to him: What is the reason for the mitzva of Shmita? Rabbi Abbahu said ... The Holy Blessed One said to the Jewish people: Sow for six years, and withhold sowing during the seventh year, so that you will know that the land is Mine.
.סנהדרין לט
אמר... אתא ההוא תלמידא א"ל מ"ט דשביעתא א"ל הקב"ה לישראל זרעו שש והשמיטו שבע כדי שתדעו שהארץ שלי היא
Sefer HaChinnuch argues that the purpose of Shmita is to remind people the land that they own and the produce they grow are blessings from God.
Sefer HaChinnuch, Commandment 84 [The reason for Shmita] is to remind people that the land from which they extract produce every year does not produce for them because of their strength or their abilities, for there is a Master over it and over its owner.
מצוה פד,ספר החינוך
כדי שיזכור האדם כי הארץ שמוציאה אליו הפירות כי, לא בכוחה וסגולתה תוציא אותם,בכל שנה ושנה יש אדון עליה ועל אדוניה
*Sefer HaChinnuch is a popular anonymous work written in 13th-century Spain which lists the 613 commandments, ordered by their appearance in the Torah.
Rabbi Baruch Epstein (1860-1941), argues that the threat of punishment for not observing Shmita is because rejecting Shmita is a rejection of God’s authority.
Torah Temimah, Vayikra 25 n.76
הערה עו:תורה תמימה ויקרא כה
There must be a reason - why, in truth, [the Torah has] many harsh punishments for the seemingly minor violation [of the nation not observing Shmita]...[It is because] one that isn’t careful about violating Shmita is like someone that doesn’t acknowledge that the land is owned by God. And, [that person is declaring] “my power and the strength of my hands [is responsible for my success]” (Deut. 8:17). And [this hubris,] is a despised form of heresy.
למה באמת נענש על איסור קל זה בעונשים,צריך טעם זה שאינו זהיר באיסור שביעית הוי כמי...רבים וקשים שאינו מודה בשייכות ושיעבוד הארץ להקב"ה ואומר וזו היא כפירה מגונה בעיקר,'"כחי ועוצם ידי" וכו
Questions for discussion: 1. How does your relationship to land and other resources change when you release your own sense of control?
2. How might understanding that property truly belongs to God shift your perception? How might this consciousness apply to the global environment, our perception of wealth, and social health today?
Rabbinic Voices and Visioning of Shmita
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4. Shmita as a Tool for Maintaining the Environment Rambam, in his philosophical masterpiece The Guide for the Perplexed, cites many traditional explanations for Shmita. He also emphasizes the agricultural and ecological reasons for the practice:
The Guide for the Perplexed (ed. Pines) III:39 With regard to all the commandments that we have enumerated in Laws of Shmita and Yovel (in the Mishneh Torah), some of them are meant to lead to pity and help for all men… and are meant to make the earth more fertile and stronger through letting it lie fallow…
In the JPS Torah Commentary on Leviticus, Prof. Baruch Schwartz, a noted contemporary bible scholar, highlights historical evidence that leaving the land fallow would have helped long-term agriculture in Ancient Mesopotamia:
Baruch Schwartz, The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus The practice of allowing arable land to lie fallow periodically was a necessary aspect of ancient agriculture, especially where extensive irrigation was utilized. It served to reduce the quantity of alkalines, sodium, and calcium, deposited in the soil by irrigation waters… we know that one of the major causes for the decline of the once prosperous Neo-Sumerian economy of Mesopotamia early in the second millennium B.C.E. was the high alkaline content of the soil in areas of the Diyala River region, where irrigation was extensively utilized. Crop yields fell drastically, and the economy failed.
Questions for discussion: 1. How does our understanding of agriculture and ecology fit with Rambam’s explanation?
4. If Shmita is good for agriculture, why should it apply only in the Land of Israel?
2. Does this rationale make sense to you? Does it fit with other sources?
5. What lessons can be drawn for those outside of the Land of Israel?
3. As seen in prior sections, Shmita is taken very seriously by some, and failure to observe it can lead to exile. What does this say about the value the Torah places on ecological and agricultural sustainability?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
5. Shmita as a Return to Eden Rabbi Saul Mortera was a 17th century rabbi from the Spanish Portuguese community in Amsterdam, and was the teacher of Spinoza. This text elaborates on the idea of keeping Shmita as a way of returning to the Garden of Eden, which is traditionally understood as a divine paradise.
Rabbi Saul Mortera, Sefer Giv’at Shaul, Parashat Behar Sinai “And the wolf shall lie down with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:16) — this was how it was in the time of Adam and at the beginning of creation. We also know that the Earth is now cursed (due to Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit) with thorns and thistles whereas it never used to be, and animals never used to tear each other up for food. So as a reminder of the past and to serve as inspiration for the future, the Almighty has commanded the mitzvah of Shmita, which draws our attention to the time of the creation and the time of the coming of the Messiah… The verse “and for your cattle and for the beast which is in the your land shall all the produce be to eat”(Leviticus 25:7), is in fact a promise, that if you do all of this, the time will come when cattle and beasts will eat together. For people’s abandoning everything in the Shmita year to the cattle and the beasts is a sign of what was (in Eden) and will again be (in the messianic era), for no longer will people eat bread by the sweat of their brow, and the wild animals will not harm the cattle. So therefore, whoever observes the mitzvot of Shmita which signify this, will be privileged to experience all of these things.
פרשת בהר סיני, ספר גבעת שאול,הרב שאול מורטרה
הנה א"כ ראוי שיוכנו הכתובים האלה כפשוטן ולזכרון העבר ולתאות העתיד בשלמות הגדול הזה צוה השי''ת בשנת השמטה המורה על זמן הבריאה וזמן המשיח צוה ה' ולבהמתך ולחיה,כמו שבארנו בהקדמה כי ידוע מה,אשר בארצך תהיה כל תבואתה לאכול שקשה לרז״ל בכתוב הזה מן היתרון אשר בו ואמרו אם חיה שאין מזונותיה עליך אוכלת בהמה שמזונתיה עליך לא כ''ש? ותירצו כל זמן שחיה אוכלת מן השדה כלה לחיה מן השדה כלה,האכל לבהמתך מן הבית והוא על ענין הדין; אולם גם כן יראה,לבהמתך מן הבית״ כי הוא כמו יעוד ג''כ וכאלו,בו הענין אשר אנחנו עליו יאמר ״ולבהמתך ולחיה אשר בארצך תהיה כל תבואתה ר''ל אם תעשה את הדבר את הזה יבוא אותו,לאכול״ זמן אשר הבהמות וחיות יאכלו ביחד וגר זאב עם כבש ואף האריה האריה מלך החיות יבוא,ופרה ודב תרעינה זה גם כן רמז ר' יעקב, כי אריה כבקר יאכל תבן,ללקוט כי ידוע כי יקראו החכמים עוה''ב,במשנתנו הקודמת ועל,לא בלבד לעולם הנשמות אלא ג''כ לזמן המשיח שניהם אמר העוה''ז דומה לפרוזדור בפני העוה''ב הרבה ,ענינים תקן השי''ת לזכר ולאמונה מה שיהיה בעוה''ב כי במה,וצדיק באמנתו יחיה; והנה עניננו א' מהם שיפקירו הכל בשנת השמטה לבהמות ולחיות הוא אות כי לא יאכלו עוד לחם בזעת,וסימן למה שהיה ויהיה אפם והחיות לא יזיקו ולא ירעו עם הבהמות ולכן מי שישמור המצות המורות על ככה יזכה לענינים האלה בפועל וזהו התקן עצמך בפרוזדור כדי שתכנ לטרקלין יהי רצון שיהיה בביאת.ליהנות מן הענינים האלה באמת .משיח צדקנו במהרה בימנו אמן
Questions for discussion: 1. Do you see a correlation between the reality of Shmita and the utopia that is depicted in the Garden of Eden? Is this the ultimate “home” Shmita will bring us back to?
3. Why do you think Rabbi Mortera is referencing “by the sweat of their brow,” as in the curse Adam and Eve were given upon being sent out of Eden? Is Shmita a rectification for this curse?
2. What are the characteristics of this reality that Rabbi Mortera is highlighting?
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6. Moving Away from Private Ownership and Promoting Peace Shmita is meant to model certain societal values, promote unity, and provide balance to inequality. R’ Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (1550-1619), a prominent commentator, preacher, and communal rabbi, writes about this in the Kli Yakar. He argues that private ownership is the source of much strife between people and in turn Shmita promotes peace and unity by eliminating private ownership over produce.
Kli Yakar on Deuteronomy 31:12
יב:כלי יקר על דברים לא
The year of Shmita…promotes a sense of fellowship and peace...for one is not allowed to act as the private owner of the produce of the seventh year. And, undoubtedly, this is the reason that there is peace because most conflicts originate from an attitude of “what is mine is mine” and this [other] person claims “it is all mine.” This is not the case in Shmita. In a world of “get up and do,” not everyone is equal; however, in a world of “rest and restrain” everyone is equal. And this [equality] is the root of peace.
כי אינו...כי שנת השמטה גורם ג"כ ההקהל והשלום וזה,רשאי להחזיק בתבואת שנת השבע כבעל הבית בלי ספק סיבת השלום כי כל דברי ריבות נמשכין ממדת שלי שלי זה אומר כולה שלי וכל זה אינו כל כך בשנה השביעית כי בקום ועשה אין הכל שוים אבל בשב ואל תעשה הכל שוין וזה באמת ענין השלום
Rabbi Shai Held (Rosh Yeshiva of Hadar) has used the Kli Yakar to the explain why reading a portion of the Torah happens immediately after Shmita. He believes the reason unity can be experienced after Shmita is because for one year the views of private ownership have been communally challenged.
Shai Held, The Heart of the Torah (Volume II) The timing of the Hakhel is...highly significant...In general, as R. Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (1550-1619) notes, the Shmita year represents a pause from economic activity and thus from “the attribute of ‘what’s mine is mine.’” In a year when economic competition is put on hold, when generosity and commitment to sharing are actively cultivated, real peace between people becomes more possible...And this peace enables an authentic return to Sinai.
Questions for discussion: 1. Common capitalist ideas of property stipulate that “what is mine is mine” and “what is yours is yours.” How does the Mishnah relate to capitalist ideas about property ownership?
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2. How does a conception of private ownership prmote strife and rivalry between people? How does the shift away from this encourage greater unity?
The Shmita Sourcebook
7. The Balancing of the Seventh Year Rav Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Palestine. This excerpt from his writings focuses on how Shmita can rectify inequalities in society.
Rav Kook, adapted by Rabbi Chanan Morrison The seventh year serves to rectify the social ills and inequalities that accumulate in society over the years. When poorer segments of society borrow from the wealthy, they feel beholden to the affluent elite. “The debtor is a servant of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). This form of subservience can corrupt even honest individuals in their dealings with the rich and powerful. Shmita comes to correct this situation of inequality and societal rifts, by removing a major source of power of the elite: debts owed to them. Shabbat Ha’aretz is Rav Kook’s primary work on Shmita. It is a poetic, spiritual celebration of the importance of Shmita as well as a detailed account of practical Shmita laws. It is also the first comprehensive work on laws relating to the usage of Heter Mechira (a way to grow and sell food in Israel during Shmita, by temporarily selling the land to non-Jews, similarly to selling chametz before Passover). Here he writes explains how Shmita provides a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Rav Kook, Shabbat Ha’Aretz What Shabbat achieves regarding the individual, Shmita achieves with regard to the nation as a whole. A year of solemn rest is essential for both the nation and the land, a year of peace and quiet without oppressor and tyrant…It is a year of equality and rest, in which the soul reaches out towards divine justice, towards God who sustains the living creatures with loving kindness. There is no private property and no punctilious privilege but the peace of God reigns over all in which there is the breath of life. Sanctity is not profaned by the exercise of private acquisitiveness over all this year’s produce, and the covetousness of wealth stirred up by commerce is forgotten. For food – but not for commerce. Life can only be perfected through the affording of a breathing space from the bustle of everyday life. The individual shakes himself free from ordinary weekday life at short and regular intervals-on every Shabbat
Questions for discussion: 1. What do you think Shabbat achieves for the individual, and how does Shmita do this for the nation as a whole? 2. How might observing Shmita stir one’s own spiritual practice?
3. Do you see Shmita as a societal reset, setting straight “societal ills and inequalities”? 4. Do you agree with Rav Kook’s statement that debt has become “a major source of power for the elite”? If so, who are the elite?
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8. Shmita as a Sabbatical to Devote to Other Important Pursuits Some scholars highlight the idea that Shmita allows individuals to devote the time that they would normally have spent working in the fields to other important endeavours. Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, a leading European rabbi and major proponent of 19th century Israeli settlement wrote that one purpose of Shmita is to allow people to set work aside and devote their attention to studying Torah.
Rabbi Zvi Kalischer, Sefer HaBrit: Parshat Behar
בהר:רבי צבי קאלישר ספר הברית
And an additional reason [for Shmita] is that a person should not be constantly occupied with agricultural work for the sake of physical needs; rather, one year they should be free and when the yoke of labor is lifted, they will busy themselves with [the study of] Torah and wisdom.
כי לא לעולם יהיו טרודים בעבודת אדמה:ועוד טעם וכאשר, רק שנה אחת יהיה חופשי,לצורך החומר . יעסוק בתורה וחכמה,יפרוק עול עבודה
This idea is also found in the writings of R’ Ovadiah Sforno (16th c. Italy), who comments on Lev. 25:2 which says Shmita should be a “Shabbat for Adonai,” he remarks that Shmita is meant to allow us to devote time to our spiritual needs:
Sforno, Leviticus 25:2
ב:ספורנו ויקרא כה
Shabbat to Adonai — That the entire year you should abstain from working the land and devote it to the service of God.
שתהיה כל השנה הבטלה מעבודת האדמה.'שבת לה ...מוכנת לעבודתו
Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli (1909-1995), one of the leading Religious Zionist rabbis and halachic authorities, shared a similar idea in his commentary on the Torah. Speaking about an upcoming Shmita year, he said:
Siach Shaul on the Torah
שיח שאול על התורה
And before us is a shabbat of the land [which is] a year of learning and in-depth study, for advancement and elevation - a “shabbat for Adonai.” The farmer -- who is usually entirely occupied with agricultural work in the field, who has no [free time] in the day or night and, not on Shabbat nor on Festivals -- [the farmer] is suddenly given an entire year of freedom which is meant to be devoted to matters of spirituality.
השתלמות,וכאן לפנינו שבת הארץ כשנת לימוד ועיון אשר בדרך כלל, האיכר."'והתרוממות – "שבת לה אשר אין לו לא יום,עסקי שדהו בולעים את כל זמנו ניתנת, לא שבת ולא מועד במובנם המלא,ולא לילה לו פתאום אפשרות של התפנות למשך שנה שלמה לדברים שברוח
Questions for discussion: 1. Have you ever taken a personal sabbatical? What was that experience like? If not, how would you fill your time if you had one year of rest from work? What goals would you have for this year? 94
2. Imagine if our society functioned in such a way that every career included one year off every seven years. How do you think this might change the way our society functions?
The Shmita Sourcebook
9. The Seventh Millennia The Talmud connects Shmita to a global context with a cycle of time that ends with a messianic arrival. The Talmud describes how just as the week gives way to Shabbat and the years give way to Shmita, six millennia of the world give way to the seventh. This seventh millenia, like Shabbat and Shmita, will uproot the natural order, be devoted to God, and be a time of redemption.
Sanhedrin 97a
.סנהדרין צז
It is taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rav Ketina: Just as the Sabbatical Year abrogates debts once in seven years, so too, the world abrogates its typical existence for one thousand years in every seven thousand years, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day,” and it states: “A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day” (Psalms 92:1), meaning a day, i.e., one thousand years, that is entirely Shabbat.
תניא כותיה דרב קטינא כשם שהשביעית משמטת שנה אחת לז' שנים כך העולם משמט אלף שנים לשבעת אלפים שנה שנאמר ונשגב ה' לבדו ביום א) מזמור שיר ליום השבת,ההוא ואומר (תהלים צב ד) כי אלף שנים,יום שכולו שבת ואומר (תהלים צ בעיניך כיום אתמול כי יעבור
Questions for discussion: 1. According to Rabbinic tradition, just as the cycle of seven appears in days, weeks, and years, so does it also appear in millennia. On the year 6000 of the Hebrew calendar, which marks the start of the seventh millennium, a radically new era will begin and the great thousand-year “Temple in Time” will
arrive. This period is associated with the Messianic Era. Can you imagine Shmita as a microcosm of a thousand-year-long Shabbat? Based on the values of Shmita and Shabbat, how would you envision this time?
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. Does the perspective of Shmita shift for you when considering it as a system of values and ethics rather than laws and mandates? 2. Do you think Jewish culture could more deeply embody these values? If so, how?
3. Do you think the rabbis see the idealistic possibilities and utopian potential of Shmita as the core reason for its observance, or as an extra, perhaps romantic, layer? How do you think the fact that they were not actually observing Shmita affected their perspectives?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
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Section VI: Back to the Land: Shmita in Israel, from Early Pioneers to Modern Times Introduction During medieval and early modern times, Jews in the Land of Israel tended to observe Shmita in some of the ways described in Biblical and Rabbinic sources. Farmers largely refrained from working in their fields and suffered some of the hardships that were long associated with Shmita. At the same time, farming was not an essential enterprise for Jewish communities in the Land of Israel. Jews of that region were generally involved in trade and received monetary support from Jews around the world; additionally, there were many non-Jewish growers in the area from whom they could purchase produce. Thus, Jews of Israel were able to abstain from working the land without fearing starvation or the economic collapse of their communities. In the late 1880s, Jews returned to the Land of Israel in large numbers and founded a series of settlements known as the Yishuv. As pioneers began to engage more heavily in agriculture, new questions emerged about how Shmita ought to be observed. Jewish legal authorities grappled with how to preserve the laws of Shmita without compromising the lifestyle and long-term livelihood of Jews living in the Land of Israel.
Controversies raged over how Shmita should be observed in the Yishuv and, later, in the State of Israel. Each debate raised larger questions about how Jewish Law should be applied to contemporary social, economic, technological, and political realities. Religious authorities were forced to confront Judaism’s attitude toward legal stringencies, personal responsibility, national needs, sustainability, and the importance of widespread communal observance of traditions. Authorities offered varying answers to these questions, each suggested ways farmers should behave during Shmita and instructed their followers on what produce to consume. Even today, people remain divided over which Rabbinic solutions they accept. Shmita observances and practices remain some of the most hotly debated Jewish legal matters in Israel. This section will examine these questions in detail, covering background material, relevant issues, the approaches taken to answering them, the underlying values that animate these views, and the practicalities of creative solutions for observing Shmita in modern times.
Themes: Work and Rest: Shabbat Let Rest and Lie Fallow
Shared Bounty and Equitable Distribution
Release with Faith
Land as an Ownerless Resource
Caring for Those in Need: Tzedakah
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Between Dominion and Harmony: Yichud
Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Freeing Those Who are Enslaved
Waste Reduction
Debt Release
Eat Locally and Seasonally
Generous Giving
Animal Welfare
The Shmita Sourcebook
1. The Challenges of Observing Shmita in the late 1800s and the Emergence of the Heter Mechira Beginning in the 1880s, waves of Jewish immigrants moved to the Land of Israel and established a self-reliant system of agricultural and urban settlements. Collectively, these new communities became known as the Yishuv HaChadash (“the New Settlement”) in contrast to the Yishuv HaYashan (“the Old Settlement”) which was the catchall designation for older and more traditional communities in the Land of Israel. In anticipation of the Shmita year 5649 (September 1888), the leaders of the Yishuv HaChadash worried that these new agricultural communities would fail if they didn’t work the fields during Shmita. Some pioneers advocated for the rules of Shmita to be ignored. Others looked for halachic solutions that would allow them to sustain their communities without violating the prohibitions of Shmita. This latter group turned to leading rabbinic authorities of the day for guidance and possible solutions. One prominent proposal was the heter mechira (literally the “leniency of sale”). Leading up to Shmita 5649, the heter mechira was approved by leading rabbis, including Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor (1817-1896), one of the generation’s most widely-respected legal authorities and the celebrated chief rabbi of Kovno, Lithuania. It proposed that Jewish farmers could formally sell their fields to non-Jews for the duration of the Shmita year. By doing so, supporters of heter mechira argued that land would be exempt from the restrictions of Shmita. Thus, non-Jewish workers would be able to perform otherwise forbidden agricultural labor. Proponents of the heter mechira argued that this solution permitted even Jewish workers to labor in the sold fields.
The Heter Mechira The legal logic of the heter mechira depends on two premises. The first is that Shmita in post-Temple times is only a rabbinic obligation; thus, certain leniencies can be made in cases of great need. The second is that the sale of land to a non-Jew changes the level of obligation it (and the produce grown on it) has in relation to the rules and restrictions of Shmita. Heter mechira leads to various intertwined legal questions. The first is whether selling the land does indeed relax the restrictions of Shmita, as claimed by its proponents. The second is what status is given to the produce grown on these sold lands - does it have the typical sanctity of Shmita produce, and can it be eaten? (Other disputes, even among supporters of heter mechira, debate whether the leniences apply to both biblical and rabbinic prohibitions).
Is Shmita only a Rabbinic Obligation? The first pillar of the Heter Mechira is the acceptance that modern observance of Shmita is a rabbinic obligation, not a biblical one. This assumption, mentioned in prior sections, is foundational to Heter Mechira and is worth examining. As mentioned earlier, Jewish law is divided between biblical and rabbinic commandments. While traditional Jewish practice takes both sets of obligations very seriously, certain allowances and leniencies may be adopted for rabbinic obligations that are not applied to biblical obligations. The first mishnah in Moed Katan teaches that a field that needs irrigation to survive can be watered during certain times when watering is generally prohibited:
Mishnah Moed Katan 1:1
א:משנה מועד קטן א
A field that requires irrigation may be watered on the [intermediate days] of the festival and during Shmita.
Shmita in Israel
משקין בית השלחין במועד ובשביעית
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The Talmud explains this mishnah in two ways, which hinge on whether, in post-Temple times, the observance of Shmita is a biblical or rabbinic commandment.
Talmud Moed Katan 2b-3a
.ג-:מועד קטן ב
We learned in the Mishnah: “A field that requires irrigation may be watered on the [intermediate days] of the festival and during Shmita...” Abaye said: [the Mishnah is about] Shmita in our times and is in accordance with the view of Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi that Shmita is only rabbinic in our times]... Rava said: you can even say that [the Mishnah according to the] Rabbis [that believe Shmita in our times is still a biblical obligation]. However, primary labors were forbidden by the Torah; the secondary labors [like watering] were not forbidden by the Torah [but, instead, by the rabbis, opening a possibility of lianiancy.]
ִ ְִּתנַן ַמ ׁ ְש ִקין ֵּבית הַ ְּׁשל ִָחין ַּב ּמוֹעֵ ד וּבִ ׁ ְשב ... .יעית ִ ִאָ ַמר אַ ָּביֵי ִ ּב ׁ ְשב ...יעית ִ ּבזְ ַמן הַ ֶז ּה וְ ַר ִ ּבי ִהיא ּ ִָרבָ א אָ ַמר אֲ פ ָ יל ּו ּ ֵת ימא ַר ָּבנַן אָ בוֹת אָ סַ ר ַרחֲ ָמנָא ּת ֹולָדוֹת לָא אָ סַ ר ַרחֲ ָמנָא
According to either rationale, a leniency is granted to allow watering of fields, presumably due to the risk of great loss. Still, what remains from the interpretations is the understanding that there is a dispute between R’ Yehuda HaNasi and the Sages over whether Shmita in modern times is a rabbinic or a biblical obligation. R’ Yehuda HaNasi maintains it is only a rabbinic obligation while the Sages maintain it is a biblical one. There are several explanations for R’ Yehuda HaNasi’s view. The most widely accepted one is that he saw Shmita and Yovel as tied to each other. In a time when there was no Torah obligation to observe Yovel, there was no Torah obligation to observe Shmita. Therefore, it was only a rabbinic obligation:
Jerusalem Talmud Gittin 4:3
ג:ירושלמי גיטין ד
Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] said: [the verse speaks of] two sabbaticals - Shmita and Yovel: at a time when Yovel is celebrated, Shmita is observed by biblical commandment. When the Yovels ceased, Shmita is now only observed by rabbinic command.
שמיטה ויובל בשעה שהיובל, שני שמיטין:רבי אומר פסקו היובלות,נוהג השמיטה נוהגת מדברי תורה .נוהגת שמיטה מדבריהן
However, as Yovel is not currently observed, this argument has become largely irrelevant. Most authorities agree that Shmita is not a biblical obligation in our time. Some bring proof from the ruling of R’ Yannai as cited earlier in the sourcebook permitting farmers to work their fields during Shmita when the burden of taxation grew to be overwhelming. In their commentary on the Talmud, Tosafot* asks how R’ Yannai was able to permit farmers to engage in labors that the Torah forbids? In their first answer, Tosafot explains that R’ Yannai’s permissive ruling was only possible because Shmita in our times is a rabbinic obligation; thus, there was more room for leniency in a difficult situation:
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The Shmita Sourcebook
In tractate Arachin, the Talmud explains why Yovel is not observed today. Using Leviticus 25:10 which states that during Yovel Jews should proclaim liberty for “all the inhabitants [of the Land],” the Rabbis understood that Yovel applied only when all twelve tribes were on their lands.
Arachin 32b
:ערכין לב
For it was taught: When the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of the tribe of Menashe were exiled, the Yovels were nullified as it says: “You shall proclaim liberty in the Land to all its inhabitants”- namely, at a time when all its inhabitants are there and not when some of them are exiled.
גד וחצי שבט המנשה...דתניא משגלו שבט ראובן י) וקראתם דרור:בטלו יובלות שנאמר (ויקרא כה בארץ לכל יושביה בזמן שכל יושביה עליה ולא בזמן שגלו מקצתן
The exact understanding of these sources and their legal implications have been debated by authorities for centuries. Moreover, the Talmud implies that the Sages, who argued against R’ Yehuda HaNasi, believed Shmita was a full biblical obligation even though Yovel was no longer observed. The Sifra (an early legal midrashic collection) supports this assumption. It records the Sages’ ruling that Shmita is not dependent on Yovel:
Sifra on Leviticus 25:8
ח:ספרא ויקרא כה
And the Sages said: Shmita is observed even if there is no Yovel; But Yovel is not observed except when it is accompanied by Shmita.
, שביעית נוהגת אף על פי שאין יובל:וחכמים אומרים והיובל אינו נוהג אלא אם כן יש עמו שביעית
Questions for discussion: 1. What are some commonalities between Shmita and Yovel that would point to their connection and dependency? What might that say about the interconnectedness of the values and vision of Shmita and Yovel?
3. Why do the Sages separate the obligations of Shmita and Yovel? What might this suggest about the connection between the two?
2. What practical reasons might there be for why Yovel can only be observed when Jews are gathered on their ancestral lands?What conceptual reasons might there be for this stipulation?
Shmita in Israel
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The debate about whether Shmita is biblically or rabbinically ordained in post-Temple Jewish life continued throughout the Middle Ages. Ramban (Nachmanides) in Sefer HaZechut and several other commentators argued that the law should follow the Sages and not R’ Yehuda HaNasi. In the 12th century, R’ Yitzchak ben Abba Mari, an important codifier of Jewish Law, took this view:
Sefer Ha-Ittur Letter Peh: Prozbul
פרוזבול- ספר העיטור אות פ
And seemingly we should say that [Shmita] is a biblical obligation as the Sages ruled…[because traditionally] the law follows Rebbe [R’ Yehuda HaNasi] when he argues with one peer, but not when he argues with [the majority of] his peers.
הלכה...ומסתמא דאיכא למימר דאורייתא כרבנן .כרבי מחבירו ולא מחבריו
Some authorities arguing against Shmita as a biblical mandate bring proof from the ruling of R’ Yannai. R’ Yannai, as cited earlier in the sourcebook, permitted farmers to work their fields during Shmita when the burden of taxation grew to be overwhelming. In their commentary on the Talmud there, Tosafot* asks how R’ Yannai was able to permit farmers to engage in forbidden labor. In their first answer, Tosafot explains that R’ Yannai’s permissive ruling was only possible because Shmita in our time is a rabbinic obligation; thus, there was more room for leniency in a difficult situation:
Tosafot on Sanhedrin 26a
.תוספות סנהדרין כו
And if you wish to say [i.e. if you ask]: [how is it that] because of the Arnona, they were permitted to plow and sow- which are forbidden by the Torah [during the Shmita year]? One can say [i.e. you can answer]- the ruling was regarding Shmita in our time which is only a rabbinic obligation.
וא"ת ומשום ארנונא התירו לחרוש ולזרוע דהויא איסורא מדאורייתא וי"ל דמיירי בשביעית בזמן הזה דרבנן
*The Tosafot is a collection of commentaries of French and German rabbis who wrote during the 11th-13th centuries. Unlike Rashi, who generally offers brief comments throughout most passages, the Tosafot delves at length only into difficult passages. Many of the Tosafot rabbis have lengthy commentaries that have been printed independently, but the generic term Tosafot refers to the edited compilation that has been printed in all modern Talmud opposite Rashi’s commentary.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Though his position is subject to some dispute, Rambam agrees when there is no Yovel, Shmita is only a rabbinic obligation.
Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shmita and Yovel, 10:9 (as found in manuscript versions): And in a time when Yovel is not observed…[the] agricultural Shmita is only observed by rabbinic obligation and, likewise, the monetary Shmita is [only observed] by rabbinic obligation.
)ט (כתבי יד: הלכות שמיטה ויובל י,משנה תורה
ונוהגת שביעית בארץ...ובזמן שאין היובל נוהג וכן השמטת כספים בכל מקום מדבריהם, מדבריהם
Further, Rambam writes that the obligation of Shmita in our time is akin to that of the tithes. Both Shmita and tithes he are biblically obligated only when there is mass settlement of the Land of Israel and that has not happend since the first exile. (Mishneh Torah - Hil. Beit HaBechira 6:16; Hil. Terumot 1:26) . This discussion opens the question of whether Shmita would become a biblical obligation if most Jews lived in the Land of Israel. As the percentage of Jews worldwide that live in Israel is growing each Shmita cycle, this question becomes more pressing.
Questions for discussion: 1. What might be the idea behind the notion that we follow R’ Yehuda HaNasi when he rules against any of his peers, yet, we follow the majority when they rule against him?
3. When Shmita is a rabbinic obligation, how does it impact the ways in which it is observed? What role does financial hardship play in deciding Shmita observance?”
2. What might it mean to observe Shmita fully even if Yovel is not observed?
4. Why might the obligation of Shmita depend on the majority of the Jewish people living in the Land of Israel? How might that shift considerations in the coming years?
Shmita in Israel
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2. Does Selling the Land to a Non-Jew Exempt it from the Obligations of Shmita (I)? The Heter Mechira (“the leiniency of sale”) was designed not only to provide food during Shmita, but also to permit the working of fields which were sold during Shmita. Even for those who believed Shmita was a rabbinic mandate in our time, the efficacy of the Heter Mechira hinged on whether land sales were exempt from obligations of Shmita. If selling the field to a non-Jew did not change its status vis-à-vis the rules and regulations of Shmita, then the Heter Mechira would accomplish nothing. In tractate Gittin, the Talmud records a dispute between Rabbah and R’ Elazar, (two sages that lived in the 3rd/4th centuries), over the question of whether the sale of land in Israel exempts produce grown on it from tithes. Rabbah argues that a sale of land to a non-Jew can neither diminish its sanctity nor exempt its produce from tithes. R’ Elazar argues the opposite, the sale of land to a non-Jew establishes an exemption from tithes. This argument lays the foundation for obligations and land ownership that will be used to determine the requirements for Shmita.
Gittin 47a
.גיטין מז
Rabbah said...the sale [of land] in Israel to a non-Jew does not exempt [the produce grown on it] from tithes as it says: “for the land is Mine” (Lev. 25:23) - Mine is the sanctity of the Land…
אין קניין לעובד כוכבים בארץ ישראל...אמר רבה , "כי לי הארץ" [ויקרא: שנאמר,להפקיע מידי מעשר ... לי קדושת הארץ- ]כג:כה
R’ Elazar said: the sale [of land] in Israel to a non-Jew does exempt [the produce grown on it] from tithes as the verse says “[you must tithe from] your grain” (Deut. 7:13) - and not the grain of non-Jews.
שיש קנין לעובד כוכבים בא"י להפקיע...ור"א אומר ולא דגן- ]יג: ז,מידי מעשר שנאמר "דגנך" [דברים עובד כוכבים
Jewish law follows Rabbah in this case, concluding that the land maintains its sanctity regardless of ownership. However, the exact understanding of this ruling and its implication for the observance of Shmita is less straightforward. In Safed, during the 16th century, a major dispute broke out between R’ Yosef Karo and R’ Moshe di Trani (the Mabit). In keeping with the simple understanding of Rabbah, the Mabit argued property owned by non-Jews was subject to Shmita obligations so the produce of their fields had the sanctity of Shmita produce.
Teshuvot HaMaharit (Vol. I #43) With regard to Shmita produce that was grown in the field [owned by] the non-Jew...my father and teacher [the Mabit] ruled...that they are obligated in all the rules of the produce of the Shmita year and they are exempt from tithes, and thus he would rule and practice each Shmita year.
)תשובת מהרי”ט (ח”א סימן מ”ג
...הורה אבא מורי...על גידולי שביעית בקרקע הנכרי שהם חייבים בכל דיני פירות שביעית ופטורים מן וכן היה מורה ובא בכל שנת שביעית,המעשרות הלכה למעשה
R’ Yosef Karo disputed this understanding. He argued that as long as a non-Jew owned the property, the land was not subject to the agricultural laws of Israel. He asserted that Rabbah’s ruling explained that if a Jew bought the property from the non-Jew, the land and the produce would be instantly obligated in those special agricultural laws again.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Kesef Mishneh Hil. Shmita 4:29
כט:כסף משנה הל׳ שמיטה ד
That which was said: “the sale of land to non-Jew in Israel does not exempt it from the agricultural commandments” - this is a situation where a Jew returned and purchased the land back from the non-Jew it is not “conquest” but as if it was never sold to the non-Jew; however, when the non-Jew still owns it, it is exempt. And the ruling that one must tithe from a non-Jew’s produce is only when a Jew finishes the process.
שמה שאמרו 'אין קנין לגוי בארץ להפקיע מן היינו לענין שאם חזר ישראל ולקחה ממנו,'המצות אינה ככיבוש יחיד אלא הרי היא כאילו לא נמכרה ומה. אבל בעודה ביד גוי מופקעת היא,לגוי מעולם אינו אלא כשמירחם,שפירותיהם חייבים במעשר ישראל דוקא
R’ Yosef Karo and others imply that there may even be a special rule that excludes the property and the produce of nonJews from Shmita.
Responsa Avkat Rochel #24
שו״ת אבקת רוכל סימן כד
There is more of a reason to say that the sale of property to a non-Jew exempts the property from Shmita as the verse says: “and it should be for you a shabbat of the Land”- for you and not for non-Jews.
,יותר טעם יש לאומר שיש לו קנין להפקיע משביעית .' 'לכם ולא לגוים,' 'והיתה שבת הארץ לכם:דקרא כתיב
R’ Yosef Karo insisted that if the land was owned by a non-Jew, it was not obligated in the laws of Shmita, and the sanctity of Shmita does not apply to its produce. Generally, tithes must be taken from produce grown in a non-Jew’s field if a Jew finished the harvest process. R’ Yosef Karo ruled that when a Jew harvests produce grown in a non-Jew’s property during the Shmita year, one must separate tithes from it as they would in every other year. This is because the rules of Shmita that would exempt this produce from tithes do not apply to that field. The Heter Mechira was intneded to prevent a food supply disruption in Israel during Shmita. By selling land to non-Jews, it assumes that the land is no longer held to the observances of Shmita and can continue to be worked. However, these assumptions are not universally accepted. The Hazon Ish argues that none of the rabbis of Safed would have permited Jews to work any fields, regardless of ownership during Shmita. Even those who agreed fields owned by non-Jews were not subject to Shmita obligations would not have allowed Jewish laborers to work the land during Shmita.
Hazon Ish Shevi’it # 20
חזון איש שביעית סימן כ
The debate between the Sages of Safed only concerned the sanctity of the produce. However, all of them agreed that with regard to [the prohibitions against] plowing, planting, and other agricultural labor there is no difference between working the land of a Jew or the land of a nonJew, whether one performs biblically forbidden labor or rabbinically forbidden labor - for everyone agrees that the sanctity of the land is not cancelled.
והא דנחלקו חכמי צפת היינו רק לעניין קדושת אבל חרישה וזריעה ושאר עבודות לכולי,הפירות לעובד,עלמא אין חילוק בין עובד בקרקע ישראל , בין עושה מלאכה דאורייתא או דרבנן,בקרקע נכרי .דקדושת הארץ לכולי עלמא לא פקע
Questions for discussion: 1. What do these perspectives demonstrate about the sanctity of the Land of Israel and the relationship between the land and the people? 2. Why do you think some Rabbis hold firmly to the idea that only land owned by Jews is subject to religious obligation?
3. Rabbi Yosef Karo’s understanding of this ruling echoes the view that the weekly Shabbat is a unique covenant between God and the Jewish people; thus, it is not meant for non-Jews to observe the strict rules and regulations of Shabbat. How might Shmita also reflect the special covenant between God and the Jewish people? Is this a problematic view today?
Shmita in Israel
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3. Does Selling the Land to a Non-Jew Exempt it from the Obligations of Shmita? Another argument in favor of the Heter Mechira is that since Shmita is understood as a rabbinic obligation today, the sale of land to a non-Jew cancels the obligations a Jewish land owner would be subject to. Produce harvested from this land (not owned by a Jews) does not have Shmita sanctity and, even more, it can be worked during Shmita. One source supporting this is a comparison to Suria, a land north of Israel. The Rambam says that if land in Suria is sold to a non-Jew, that land is entirely exempt from the obligations of Shmita. He writes:
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Terumot 1:10
י: הלכות תרומות א,משנה תורה
A non-Jew that purchases land in the Land of Israel does not cause it to be exempt from the commandments; rather, its holiness remains intact... The purchase of a non-Jew of land in Suria does render it exempt from obligations of tithes and the Shmita
עכו"ם שקנה קרקע בא"י לא הפקיעוה מן המצוות ויש קנין לעכו"ם בסוריא...אלא הרי היא בקדושתה להפקיע מן המעשרות ומן השביעית
The Sefer HaTerumah of R’ Baruch b. Yitzchak (d. 1212) claims that since Shmita is only a rabbinic obligation today, one may work in the field owned by a non-Jew during the Shmita year.
Sefer HaTerumah (Laws of the Land of Israel) For this reason [that Shmita is only rabbinic in our time] we can say that during Shmita, one may plant and plow on the property of a non-Jew even according to the rabbis.
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)ספר התרומה (הלכות ארץ ישראל
הטעם זה נוכל לומר דבשביעית מותר לחרוש ולזרוע .בקרקע הגוי אפילו מדרבנן
The Shmita Sourcebook
In more recent times, Rav Kook wrote that this approach is at the heart of the Heter Mechira:
Rav Kook (Introduction to Shabbat Ha’aretz): The basis of the Heter Mechira is actually the majority opinion of the early and later authorities that argued that Shmita in our times is rabbinic, and this is the basis of Rashi’s permission that permits one to sow and perform all labors in the field of a non-Jew...and this is the opinion of the author of the [Sefer] HaTerumah and the [author of the] Aruch.
)הרב קוק (מבוא לשבת הארץ
יסוד היתר המכירה הוא בעיקרו על פי רוב קמאי שזהו,ובתראי דסבירא להו ששביעית בזמן הזה דרבנן יסוד דברי רש"י שבקרקע של נכרי מותר לחרוש .וכן דעת בעל התרומה והערוך...ולעשות כל עבודה
The Hazon Ish and others reject the comparison between Shmita today and the status of Suria, in turn, rejecting the idea that the sale of land in Israel would remove Shmita obligations and restrictions. They argue the sale of property to a non-Jew does nothing to permit a Jew from working that property during Shmita. The Hazon Ish writes that the Sefer HaTeruma’s view does not accord with normative halacha and should not be relied upon:
Hazon Ish, Shvi’it, #20
חזון איש שביעית סימן כ
And the Sefer HaTeruma raises the possibility that our times [when Shmita is only rabbinic] is like the rules of Suria. However, this is not in accordance with the view of the Rif, the Rosh, and Rambam
,הנה בספר התרומה נסתפק שיהא זמן הזה כדין סוריא הרא"ש והרמב"ם,ואמנם אין כן דעת הרי"ף
Questions for discussion: 1. How does this shape your approach to the Heter Mechira? 2. How does the necessity of the Heter Mechira shape their thinking?
4. Some have argued that this is not a legitimate comparison because, while Suria lacks sanctity, the Land of Israel is fundamentally sanctified. Do you think the comparison is valid?
3. Does this solution seem like something that should be relied upon in most situations? Or is it more a temporary allowance?
Shmita in Israel
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4. The Heter Mechira as a Necessary Evil? Some rabbis that are sympathetic to the aims, objectives, and logic of the Heter Mechira were reluctant to see it as an ideal solution, acknowledging its spiritual shortcomings. They recognized that creating a workaround would change the nature and atmosphere of Shmita drastically from its original practice. In an exchange of letters with R’ Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (Ridbaz), who was critical of the Heter Mechira, Rav Kook wrote that he saw the Heter Mechira as a temporary measure, necessary to the survival of the Yishuv; however, he struggled with this finding it only palatable because Jewish life in the Land of Israel depended upon it. Rav Kook wrote to Ridbaz: And from where did you find that I wished- God forbidto uproot the [commandment] of Shmita from the Land of Israel? Have I not repeated several times that it is a temporary measure that is only [suitable] because of great need and great necessity? Because heaven forbid that we should abandon such a great and overarching mitzvahthe sanctity of the Shmita, without a tremendous need that touches our very soul [i.e. existence]...[and,] at any time when a knowledgeable Beit Din that understands the situation well decides that there is the possibility to observe the Shmita without any danger even without the relinquishment [sale of the land], heaven forbid we should continue to extend our hand [to harm] what is sacred and surrender [through the sale] the holiness of the land.
?ואיפא מצא שאני רוצה ח"ו לעקור שביעית מא"י וכי לא חזרתי כמה פעמים על דברי שהוראה זו היא רק הוראת שעה ורק לפי הצורך וההכרח הגדול? כי חלילה בלא, קדושת השמיטה,להפקיע מצוה גדולה וכללית בכל עת אשר ימצא בית...הכרח גדול הנוגע עד הנפש ויש יכולת בלא סכנה לקיים,דין שכבר הוטב המצב חלילה,את השביעית כמאמרה בלא שום הפקעה וחלילה לשלוח יד בקודש ולהפקיע קדושת הארץ
When implementing the Heter Mechira over time, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has continued to acknowledge this is a temporary measure:
Chief Rabbinate of Israel (1958) “As we approach the Shmita Year 5719 we solemnly declare that it is our aim to uphold the laws of the Shmita Year in all their details. Unfortunately, however, the prevailing circumstances force us to make use again—as a temporary measure—of the heter mechirah in accordance with the practice of our learned and pious predecessors of blessed memory...May the Almighty in His great mercy hasten the time of our complete redemption so that we may be privileged to observe the laws of Shmita and Yovel in their entirety, as well as the other laws referring to the soil of the Holy Land, including those referring to the Holy Temple. May it be rebuilt speedily in our days. Amen.”
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Relating to the Shmita year of 5733 (1972-1973), Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein expressed his ambivalence about the type of Shmita observance that had emerged from Heter Mechira. Even though he believed it was necessary, he thought it meant much of the spirit of observance was lost. Moreover, it cause him pain to realize this didn’t matter to most.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Yeshivat Har Etzion, Israel (1973) Those who do not wish to rely on this heter mechira have the option of going to the trouble of importing produce from abroad. If they [believe] that the holiness of Shmita does not apply to produce grown by a non-Jew…they may purchase produce from the fields cultivated by Arabs. But what of this running to a lone fruit and vegetable seller in order to pay exorbitant prices for the produce grown by non-Jews, when the people buying are so annoyed by the trip and expenses, on the one hand, and half-proud of themselves for their ‘great righteousness,’ on the other? What has this to do with the biblical rule that “you may eat whatever the land produces during its Sabbath”? Is there any recognizable connection between this pride [of buying kosher Shmita produce] and the feeling of man’s subservience and the Creator’s supremacy, which lies at the heart of the mitzvah of Shmita? Among those who are punctilious about observing the prohibition on uncultivated produce, how many of them accept and live the Shmita Year in simple joy, as opposed to the many who are waiting, with all but bated breath, for it to end?
He revisited the discussion in a talk he delivered about the Shmita year of 5761 (2000-2001): At the moment, no solution appears on the horizon capable of meeting the demands of the entire country, and no “shemitta fund” exists that can supply the needs of the entire population. On the other hand, I do not suggest, Heaven forbid, that we overlook the halakhic obligations, however displeasing to our tastes they may be. We understand full well the absolute responsibility we bear towards even those mitzvot whose reason has disappeared, as it were. I address here but one point: that we acknowledge the reality and weep over it.
Questions for discussion: 1. What is Rav Kook’s concern for the future observance of Shmita? Why does he sense that the Heter Mechira might undermine the values and the practice of Shmita as they were truly intended?
3. Do you think observing the laws of Shmita without a connection to the law’s original intention serves any value?
2. How do we balance the demands of the Torah and the demands of the society that we live in?
Shmita in Israel
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5. Otzar Beit Din The laws of Shmita preclude individuals from planting, harvesting, and trading in produce for their own needs; however, they permit the Beit Din to act on behalf of the community hiring farmers to work for the court. The farmers are paid as agents of the court, and not for the food that they supply; thus, the court is able to sustainably acquire produce without compromising Shmita law. Today, stores and individuals sign up for a subscription or a membership to the court’s distribution system. They pay for that membership and not the food itself. In turn, the food is able to enter the modern marketplace. The roots of the Otzar Beit Din go back to the period of the Sages. The Tosefta describes an Otzar Beit Din system as follows:
Tosefta Sheviit 8
תוספתא שבעית ח
At first, the agents of the Beit Din would sit at the city gates and upon seeing anyone with Shmita produce in their hands, they would take it from them and provide them with enough food for three meals. And they would put the rest of the produce in the storehouse. When it was time for the figs to be harvested, the court’s agents would hire workers to collect them, make them into pressed fig cakes, put them into barrels, and store them in the city’s storehouse [i.e. the otzar]. When it was time for the grapes to be harvested, the court’s agents would hire workers to collect them, press them, put the wine into barrels, and store them in the city’s storehouse. When it was time for the olives to be harvested, the court’s agents would hire workers to collect them, press them, put the oil into barrels, and store them in the city’s storehouse. And every erev shabbat, they would distribute food [from the storehouses] to each participant according to the needs of their home.
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בראשונה היו שלוחי בית דין יושבין על פתחי עיירות כל מי שמביא פירות בתוך ידו נוטלין אותן ממנו ונותנין לו מהן מזון שלש סעודות והשאר מכניסין .אותו לאוצר שבעיר הגיע זמן תאנים שלוחי בית דין שוכרין פועלין ועודרים אותן ועושים אותן דבילה ומכניסין אותן לאוצר שבעיר הגיע זמן ענבים שלוחי ב"ד שוכרין פועלין ובוצרין אותן ודורכין אותן בגת וכונסין אותן בחביות ומכניסין אותן לאוצר שבעיר הגיע זמן זיתים שלוחי בית דין שוכרין פועלין ומוסקין אותן ועוטנין אותו בבית הבד וכונסין אותן בחביות ומכניסין אותן לאוצר שבעיר .ומחלקין מהן ערבי שבתות כל אחד ואחד לפי ביתו
The Shmita Sourcebook
A modern version of the Otzar Beit Din system has been met with widespread approval. In his book on the topic, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon writes that the Otzar Beit Din is a more ideal solution than the heter mechira. However, Rav Rimon notes that the Otzar Beit Din system does not work for everything or solve all problems. It does not give a solution for planting during the Shmita year for later years. And, the realities of agriculture and food storage mean that it works for vegetables only for a few months at the start of the year:
Shemita, R. Yosef Tzvi Rimon (356-357) Otzar Beit Din...has the fundamental approval of both Rav Kook and the Chazon Ish...it does not cancel the Shemita sanctity of the produce. All agree that the heter mechira is a temporary solution, for it is clearly not our desire to abolish the mitzva of Shemita. Otzar Beit Din...allows for the observance of the mitzva of Shemita and for eating of produce that has Shemita sanctity. It should be noted that Otzar Beit Din only solves the problems of harvesting and selling, but it does not permit planting during the Shemita year. Therefore, the solution of Otzar Beit Din only works with respect to fruit. Regarding vegetables, it works only in the first few months of Shemita (when there are still vegetables that were planted in the sixth year, but picked in the seventh year)...We must, therefore, find another solution [for]...growing vegetables during the Shemita year.
Questions for discussion: 1. What are some benefits of the Otzar Beit Din? 2. How does this system reflect communal management of the Shmita year?
3. How does it ensure that everyone is fed during the year, while at the same time upholding the values of the Shmita? 4. Is it beneficial even if it cannot solve all problems?
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6. Matza Menutak: Hothouses, Hydroponics, and Other Solutions to Grow Produce Detached from the Land While we do not have room here to go into detail, it is worthwhile to point out briefly that hydroponics and enclosed hothouses can offer other solutions to food production during Shmita. In the Jerusalem Talmud, the Hazon Ish and others ruled that it would be permissible to plant during the Shmita year inside of containers that do not connect to the ground and are covered by a roof and thick screens. However, not all greenhouses or hothouses would fall under this exemption and, moreover, some labor would still be prohibited even if they were used. Much of the debate is connected to whether the hothouses are beneficial or detrimental to the normal growth of the plants. Still, when done properly, they offer an important solution. Rabbi Rimon notes that these solutions should be prioritized but are expensive to properly implement and therefore costs should be shared.
Shemita, Yosef Tzvi Rimon, 364-365 Doing this [i.e. growing produce in hothouses that can solve problems of Shmita and doing so in a way that obviates those challenges] in a serious and professional manner requires a significant investment of resources. Every acre... costs thousands of shekels. Therefore, if we are to observe Shemita in the best possible manner, consumers must share the costs...Buying vegetables grown in hothouses is an important solution for those who prefer not to rely on the Heter Mechira...Special efforts should be...made to purchase such vegetables even if they are more expensive because of the added costs that growing vegetables in this manner incurs.
Hydroponic systems are easier to permit entirely. Rav Ovadia Yosef ruled that planting and maintaining plants that use hydroponic systems to grow the plants entirely in water is permitted during Shmita.
Kitzur Shulchan AruchYalkut Yosef HaChadash
ילקוט יוסף החדש,קיצור שלחן ערוך
It is permitted to plant fruits or vegetables during the Shmita year in a pool of water that is not mixed with soil. The Torah did not forbid anything except planting in a normal way in dirt that has the legal status of ground; however, planting in only water does not have the status of a field or of land. And one can be lenient about this even if it is done outdoors (without a roof over it), and how much more so if it is done in an enclosed hothouse as is the practice today- this is certainly permissible.
מותר לשתול ולנטוע בשביעית פירות או ירקות בתוך .בריכת מים כשאין שם שום תערובת של עפר כלל שלא אסרה תורה אלא זריעה כדרכה בעפר שיש עליו אבל זריעה במים בלבד אין עליה תורת,תורת קרקע ויש להקל בזה אפילו תחת כפת.שדה ולא תורת ארץ וכל שכן אם עושים זאת בחממות סגורות כפי,השמים . שבודאי מותר,שזה מצוי היום
Questions for discussion: 1. What are the benefits of raised containers and hydroponic systems in hothouses? What are some of the challenges?
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2. Are the cost of these growing systems justified? How much should individuals, communities, and societies pay to maintain a halachically strict Shmita observance?
The Shmita Sourcebook
7. Modern Tensions and Applications Farmers in Israel have responded to modern rabbinic rulings about Shmita in different, and at times conflicting, ways. The articles below showcase a range of ways that Shmita is practiced and experienced in contemporary Israel. Rabbi David Golinkin of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies argues that in modern Israel, proper observance of Shmita would create an impossible economic situation. Drawing on the rulings of R’ Yehudah Ha-Nasi and R’ Yannai, he argues that farmers should observe some Shmita obligations but that they need not burden themselves too greatly.
Rabbi David Golinkin, Jerusalem (1985) [This excerpt is from extensive halachic teshuva/responsa on the question of observing Shmita in modern times.] The mitzvah of Shmita was intended for a simple agricultural society. Most Jews in the Land of Israel in biblical and Talmudic times grew the food they required. During the Shmita Year, it was relatively easy to stop working the land and eat whatever grew on its own. The crops in the field were left unclaimed, and the poor and the city dwellers could come and eat. If we lived in such a society today, we could probably observe the mitzvah of Shmita as it was legislated. But, today, 95% of the country’s inhabitants live in cities, far from food sources. If all the kibbutzim and moshavim observed Shmita as it was legislated, a life-threatening situation would develop. In addition, at the present time, most of Israel’s agricultural produce is destined for export. Agrexco – the Israel Agricultural Export Company – exports 4 billion shekels* (~1 billion dollars) of produce every year. If all the farmers were to observe the mitzvah of Shmita according to biblical law, Israeli agriculture would collapse and this could bring disaster to the State of Israel… If sowing in the seventh year was allowed in order to pay taxes, it is even more justified to allow this to ensure the livelihood of tens of thousands of Jewish farmers and in order to ensure the economic viability of the State of Israel! *Israel had over 2.2 billion in agriculture exports in 2018.
For those who wish to observe a more biblical Shmita today, organizations in Israrel have worked to make that possible. They work to financially support farmers allowing the land to remain fallow while also supporting the forgivness of debt.
Leaving The Land Fallow Organizational Highlight:Keren HaShvi’it is a public fund established in Israel to raise money for religious farmers who choose to follow the practices of the Shmita Year. This fund provides the farmers with financial support to compensate for lost income. In addition, they also offer guidance and advice to make sure the farmers fully understand how they can best prepare for the Shmita (focus on storage crops, perennial plants) and what agricultural practices they can continue, once the Shmita Year has arrived.
Mitzva Makers, Michal Lando, Jerusalem Post, July 24, 2007 Every seven years, an increasing number of farmers defy economic logic and leave their lands fallow for the agricultural sabbatical. In the 1950s and ‘60s, only about 1,000 dunams (250 acres) of land lay fallow. Seven years ago, in 2001, it was about 220,000 dunams. And next year, 3,000-3,500 farmers will observe shmita, and 400,000 dunams will lie fallow, according to Keren Shvi’it. “This is very exciting,” said Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America. “We are hopeful that with the proper support, close to 40 percent of arable land in Israel will be resting this year.” Over the last few decades agriculture in Israel has moved from a mom-and-pop based system, in which individual families tilled a plot of land, to one made up of large-scale operators who work thousands of dunams. On his recent visit in preparation for the coming shmita, Bloom said he spoke to farmers who gross $1.5 million a year who were willing to shut down operations for Shmita.
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Debt Release Organizational Highlight: Keren Nediveh Aretz is a public loan amnesty fund, established to help bail out those in debt. This fund raises money which is distributed as a loan to specific individuals towards the end of the Shmita Year. At the end of the Shmita Year, the ‘loan’ is forfeited, and the recipient uses this money to pay back his or her remaining debts.
Wiping the Slate Clean, Steve Linde, The Jerusalem Post, October 7, 2014 MK Ruth Calderon (Yesh Atid) believes that the biblical concept of a sabbatical year for the land, or shmita, can be perfectly adapted to modern Israeli society. To this end, she has initiated what she calls “The Sabbatical Year Shmita Project.” “In some ways it’s ancient and in other ways it’s very revolutionary,” she tells The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview in English for Succot. “It’s my aim to make shmita relevant to Jews in Israel and throughout the world, even if they’re not religious.” The Shmita Project is a program designed to help 5,000 families extricate themselves from the poverty cycle by providing them with economic guidance and financial assistance. Backed by the Knesset, the government and the business sector, the project is led by non-profit and philanthropic organizations...
How does it actually work? “It’s a program in which we are inviting these 5,000 families in deep debt to go through a process of economic rehabilitation,” Calderon explains. “The families start working with the nonprofits, they have a coach and a program in which they learn how to balance their budget. Once they come to a point where they earn more than they spend, we go with them to the companies to which they owe money and reach a debt settlement agreement. The companies then write off anything from a third to the whole debt, the family takes responsibility by paying a third, and we pay the difference.” Underlying the project is the belief that the sabbatical year is an opportunity to renew the age-old concept of shmita in a way that will reflect the modern Jewish state’s values of democracy, equality and compassion.
There is a growing conversation in Israel that extends Shmita and society beyond, but not exclusive of its halachic dimensions.
Shmita Yisraeli: The Israel Shmita Initiative The Shmita Yisraeli initiative is a platform of individuals, NGOs, government officials, and corporate executives from all points on the Jewish spectrum. The Initiative is coordinated by Einat Kramer, Director of Teva Ivri, who works together with a wide range of organizations that share both the deep values of Shmita and a strong desire for change in Israeli society.
The Next Chapter in the Social Change Movement: Israeli Shmita, Einat Kramer, Times of Israel February 25, 2014 The fringe has made its way into the status quo. The social justice protests of the summer of 2011 heralded a growing (and, some would say, unusually mainstream) openness to questioning the social order, economic system, and political power structure in Israel. In this new reality, it is par for the course to hear ordinary Israelis discussing complex social and environmental issues. Even better, many are even beginning to talk about why it is a “Jewish thing” to work for change. This is an amazing achievement. However, even if we could say “mission accomplished” on a certain stage in Israel’s societal evolution, it seemed clear to me that we are ready to take the conversation one step further…The 5775 Shmita year is timed perfectly to be just the sort of catalyst and medium Israeli society needs right now. The Torah relates to Shmita primarily in the context of an agricultural society. But a contemporary approach understands Shmita as a lens through which to address 114
pressing issues in the realms of education, social equity, culture, industry, and more. Clearly, the above-described ideal has not yet caught on in the modern State of Israel. Instead, Shmita has become mired in legal, political, and economic issues that obscure its historical and ethical origins. For most Israelis, the topic of Shmita has been relegated either to the kitchen (kashrut observers must choose between a complex set of Shmita standards) or the garden (when am I allowed to cut the grass?!). The fierce debates around these issues not only exacerbate tensions between the secular and religious communities, but also detract from the underlying significance of Shmita. It is time that we transcend these conflicts, and return Shmita to its rightful place in Jewish life – as a once-inseven-years chance for reflection and rejuvenation in all sectors of society.
The Shmita Sourcebook
The Israel Shmita Declaration In December 2013, the “Israeli Shmita Declaration” was signed in Tel Aviv by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, as well as tens of representatives of Jewish identity organizations, social activism NGOs, educational institutions, and businesses, marking the launch of the groundbreaking Israeli Shmita Initiative. At the launch event, round table discussion groups addressed the question “What is Shmita?” in the context of education, economy, welfare, environment, social justice, Israel-Diaspora relations, national unity, local community-building, and the business world. Shortly after, a special session in the Knesset featured ministers and MKs (led by MK Ruth Calderon, Chair of the Opposition, and MK Yitzchak Herzog) stating their commitment to promote a meaningful Shmita in Israel. The ancient mandate of Shmita obligates all farmers in the Land of Israel, once every seven years, to leave their fields fallow, relinquish ownership of the produce, let the soil rest, and enable all people (and animals, both wild and domestic) to take part in the land’s blessing. During this year, financial debts are cancelled, and people receive the opportunity to start over in a new period of financial and social freedom. During Shmita, property assumes less importance, time is less pressured, and nature becomes much more than a resource to be exploited. Shmita presents an alternative to the race of modern life and is characterized by love of the people and Land of Israel, a heightened sense of social responsibility, and a framework for environmental practice. Shmita invites us to renew quality of life in all spheres of reality, through a unique public effort. • It is a year of social involvement, spiritual and ethical renewal, and environmental reflection. • It is a year of brotherhood and sisterhood, culture, spirit, family, and community. • It is a gateway in time, once in seven years, to renew the covenant between humans and earth.
• Recognizing that the values of Shmita are fundamental to education in Israel, and with an understanding that with the return of the Jewish people to Zion, the Shmita year can now be actualized, we, the undersigned, seek to revitalize the Shmita year and establish it as a year of individual, social, communal, and national significance.
• It is a year that leaves a distinct impression on the subsequent six years.
Questions for discussion: 1. Do you agree that Shmita is primarily relevant to a rural agricultural society, where most people were engaged in land cultivation and food production? 2. Do you agree with his understanding that economic necessities mean that farmers should not overly burden themselves to observe Shmita today? 3. How does this support allow for observation of the biblical Shmita practices of letting the land lay fallow and debt release? Do you think these tools are effective solutions? Are they scalable?
4. What other types of support could further promote observance of biblical Shmita practice? 5. Do you think Shmita is meant to be followed by the strict letter of the law, or is there room for modern adaptation? Where does the Israeli Shmita Declaration fit in this bigger picture? 6. Do projects like Shmita Israelit further the purpose of Shmita, even though they are non-traditional in their approach?
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. As Israel further develops as a Jewish country, there are opportunities and challenges of building modern systems rooted in Jewish law. Where should these opportunities be celebrated and where should boundaries be placed between halacha and modern life? 2. Is Shmita today a question primarily for Israel, or is this a system that should be considered internationally, for all Jewish communities? What might Shmita look like outside of Israel?
3. How might Jewish communities in the Diaspora play a role in supporting the rise of the Shmita practice in Israel today? 4. If you were a farmer in Israel, what would your approach be during Shmita? And if you were a consumer? What would you add to this debate, if anything?
Before moving on to the next section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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The Shmita Sourcebook
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Section VII: An Ancient Aspiration for Modern Times: The Relationship between Shmita, Everyday Life, and the Pursuit of Justice Introduction In Sections 1 through 6, we presented the rabbinic, legal, canonical, and historical texts that collectively define Shmita. Today’s world is in some ways different from the world of those earlier texts, but Shmita and its underlying values are a constant. In Section 7, we present voices from the 20th and 21st centuries that speak to Shmita as it relates to our modern world. Shmita is not a synonym for “sustainability” or “social justice” in the modern sense of these words, but it offers a frame to explore the relationship between both of those in society. Shmita is a cycle and so by design it is experienced anew in every generation. In our time, ecological, economic, social, and cultural systems are dramatically shifting: the climate crisis accelerates, a global pandemic kills millions and destabilizes economies, and communities continue to grapple with injustices of the past and present. This section is structured differently from the rest of the sourcebook. Instead of teaching you a new concept or set of laws, we present opportunities to apply the concepts and themes to relevant contemporary issues. We claim neither that the ideas and values of Shmita map perfectly to these issues, nor that Shmita observance itself is a solution. We present these texts because Shmita invites us to rethink the world we live in and tune into the ways in which we can make a difference.
This section is divided into two parts: Thematic Exploration: Using contemporary sources, we revisit the four Shmita themes: Work and Rest, Shabbat; Caring for Those in Need, Tzedakah; Between Dominion and Harmony, Yichud; and Responsible Stewardship, Shomrei Adamah. This discussion will delve deeper into the values present in Shmita, distilling them for application to present-day issues. The Issues: We offer a survey of present-day issues into which Shmita provides unique wisdom, insight, and nuance. While many of these sources reference the global COVID-19 pandemic, we know these issues are not new and that the pandemic revealed tensions and inequities that lay just below the surface. Each of the issues offers insights into the universal human experience. The thematic iconography used throughout the sourcebook is also included for each issue to guide your reading and discussions.
How to Use this Section: Section 7 is designed for individuals and educators to accompany the content we have shared in sections 1 through 6. As you begin to explore the themes and applications of Shmita in historical and contemporary contexts, we offer the following sources for bringing Shmita to life today. As you read, remember to reference the themes, core source texts, and commentaries from your earlier readings. We encourage you to think both contextually and abstractly about the ways these themes and issues relate to this ancient Jewish tradition.
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Thematic Exploration: Work and Rest - Shabbat Rabbi David Ingber, Shabbat Behar Sermon, Romemu, 2014 Something miraculous happens when we stop. We get to experience the power that nature knows called dormancy. Dormancy, that which is holding; the heartbeat that rests; the hibernating animals, all of winter; waiting and waiting… There are seeds inside each and every one of us, inside this culture, that cannot emerge because we do not know that dormancy does not mean death, resting does not mean disappearing. What keeps us from stopping is that we are terrified of resting. We are afraid of the imaginative terrible things we will feel in the quiet. We fear that when we stop, even for a moment, the sheer enormity of our lives will overwhelm us. Our outspoken and unspoken fears, they speed up our lives. Like a stone being thrown over a lake, we’ve learned to skip so we don’t get too wet, and we are terrified that if we let the stone fall, we will disappear. And so we think that our speed will save us from the void. We dance around the security that is offered from touching what is underneath the speed. Can we let go of the obsession of finishing what can’t be finished?
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Godwrestling—Round 2, 1995 What would have happened if God had not paused—had become so joyful in the process of creating the Six Days that S/He had continued straight on, into a seventh and an eighth day of work?... An artist will tell you: if you are painting a picture, there comes a moment when one more paint stroke will ruin it. You have to know when to stop, catch your breath, and be at peace with your painting. Then, on another canvas, you can start over. But always, in a rhythm, there must be a pause to not-do. If you will not stop to rest, the work will stop anyway willy nilly. By ruination, if we refuse to rest. We need the Sabbath. It is the acceptance of a Mystery, the celebration of a Mystery rather than of Mastery... This does not mean cursing technology, work, production, consumption, accumulation. It means putting them in their proper place: within the framework of the Sabbath. [And] let it be clear that when I say the Sabbath, I do not mean only the literal Sabbath of the seventh day, nor even the extended Sabbaths of the seventh month, the seventh year, the fiftieth year. I mean a whole approach of mind and practice, a path of life that would affirm the worth of dawdling on the path.
Rabbi Berel Wein, Leap of Faith - Parshas Behar, June 2, 2002 One should not be deterred from Shmita observance by the obvious impracticality of the mitzvah. Shmita, unlike many other mitzvot, becomes a test of belief and faith. The Torah, which otherwise adamantly dictates a practical approach to life, here demands a leap of faith and an abandonment of the everyday practicalities of living. I have felt that the mitzvah of Shmita is the Jewish community’s communal equivalent of the akeidah (sacrifice) of Yitzchak by Avraham, which was ordained on a personal level. The akeidah also was the height of impracticality. It flew in the face of all of the moral teachings and behavior of Avraham until that moment. Thus, it became the supreme test of faith in the lives of Avraham and Yitzchak and remains the symbol of Jewish belief and sacrifice until today… The modern world is long on narcissistic pleasure and short on faith and sacrifice. But without faith, without a feeling of the spiritual and supernatural, life is a very scary place and experience.
Questions for discussion: 1. What possibilities might open up for you, your family, or community if you slow down and maybe even stop? What would you be excited about? What do you fear might happen? 2. If you could craft a full year Sabbatical, how would you fill this time? 3. As a kind of unplanned Shmita, how did you experience the COVID-19 pandemic? What
experiences, insights, and practices do you want to keep from this experience? 4. What is your personal relationship to this rhythm of creation and rest? Are you in tune with this rhythm? 5. Do you agree that Shmita is impractical? Do you think the ancient Hebrews viewed Shmita in the same way? Does Shmita seem impractical because of our current cultural systems?
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Thematic Exploration: Caring for Those in Need - Tzedakah Rav Kook, Shabbat Ha’aretz, 1910 The forcefulness that is inevitably a part of our regular, public lives lessens our moral refinement. There is always a tension between the ideal of listening to the voice inside us that calls us to be kind, truthful and merciful, and the conflict, compulsion, and pressure to be unyielding that surrounds buying, selling, and acquiring things. These aspects of the world of action distance us from the divine light and prevent its being discernible in the public life of the nation. This distancing also permeates the morality of individuals like poison. Stilling the tumult of social life from time to time in certain predictable ways, is meant to move this nation, when it is well-ordered, to rise towards an encounter with the heights of its inner moral and spiritual life. We touch the divine qualities inside us that transcend all the stratagems of the social order, and that cultivates and elevates our social arrangements, bringing them towards perfection.
Ze’ev Jabontinsky, The Political and Social Philosophy of Ze’ev Jabotinsky: Selected Writings, 1999 The Shmita/Jubilee idea is not dissimilar to the Socialist order: for it aims that society should, periodically, institute a great fundamental social revolution; that it should equalize all classes; that it should take from the wealthy and give to the destitute. There is, however, one real difference: the Shmita/Jubilee idea infers that after such a revolution, every man is free to start anew his social battle, free again to aspire, to utilize his energies and talents according to his desire. Here we do not find any “once and for all”; here the reverse is true… This concept of repeated economic upheavals [such as Shmita/Jubilee] is an attempt to correct the ills of economic liberalism, not to forestall them. Quite on the contrary, this concept is clearly based on the conviction that free economic competition is one of the most powerful motivations in life. Let people struggle, lose, and win. It is only necessary to cushion the arena with soft grass, so that whoever falls will not be too painfully injured. This cushion is the Sabbath [and Shmita], the gleanings, the tithes, all the various means by which the State takes pains to prevent use from turning into exploitation, and poverty from becoming destitution.
David Krantz, Shmita Revolution: The Reclamation and Reinvention of the Sabbatical Year, 2016 Through Shmita, the Torah recognizes that capitalism inherently leads to economic disparity, that such disparity worsens over time and is hereditary from one generation to the next — what we know to be true today, as the greatest indicator of one’s economic class is the economic class of one’s parents. The poor breed the poor, the rich breed the rich. But the Torah — which plans a society where no one should become so encumbered in debt as to never escape it — has a solution: debt forgiveness every seven years. Shmita becomes a societal reset button, and Yovel a super-sized reset button.
Questions for discussion: 1. According to Rav Kook, what is the ultimate purpose of Shmita in relation to the other six years? What impact does living the Shmita cycle have on our moral and spiritual lives? 2. Solutions to social ills are often framed in black and white: we are either capitalist or socialist. How does the approach of Shmita complicate this kind of thinking?
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3. Do you agree that the problems with capitalism are inherent to the system? Do social resets sufficiently soften the blow that, together, they can turn capitalism into a just system? 4. How might Shmita be used as a Jewish offering to support the global movement for sustainability today? What about the movements for environmental and climate justice?
The Shmita Sourcebook
Thematic Exploration: Between Dominion and Harmony - Yichud Rabbi Sam Feinsmith, The Land is Our Mother, July 9, 2021 Coming on the heels of seven Shmita (Sabbatical) cycles, Jubilee is the great letting go that reminds us that the land isn’t ours to buy and sell. Land may not be sold in perpetuity (Lev. 25:23); all ancestral lands purchased since the last Jubilee are to be returned to their original tribal landholders (Lev. 25:10, 13). Even when land is sold, the Torah reminds us that what’s being purchased are the number of harvests until the next Jubilee, not the land itself (Lev. 25:14-17). The rationale for all this? “For the land is Mine; you are but strangers and temporary residents with Me.” (Lev. 25:23) The sale of land is thus only provisional in our tradition, as is our very existence on this earth. The claim that the land ultimately belongs to God and not to us, its temporary inhabitants, is meant to engender in us a consciousness of our own evanescence, a recognition that we are but visitors on this earth. Out of this consciousness we might grow into right relationship with the land and our fellow human beings, rightsizing our place in the natural order and relinquishing our desire to take hold of someone else’s God-given ancestral land in order to extract more resources, riches, and profit therefrom. Through the spiritual-ethical practice of Yovel, those dispossessed of their land and livelihood might return home and begin anew.
Avi Sagi and Yedidya Stern, Rest, Share, Release, Ha’Aretz, September 24, 2007 It is difficult not to be impressed by the profundity of the idea that moves cautiously between the desire to preserve private property and the wish not to see property as the be-all and end-all. Shmita is a call to set apart a bubble in time, which slows economic activity down, and which fosters care, compassion, and even partnership between all those who share the earth, including animals. The race will resume in the eighth year, because humanity needs it, but the idea and its memory will linger on beyond the confines of the Sabbatical year, to the other six years of feverish productivity.
Rabbi Jill Hammer, Shabbat Behar Sermon, Romemu, 2014 The land is a resource that belongs to God, not a resource that belongs to us. The land requires redemption. What does that mean? When people require redemption it means they’ve been sold into slavery or they’ve been sent into exile and they are to be brought back. When the land requires redemption, it means restoration to its state of fertility and connection to God. And how does this redemption get accomplished? The land has to be fallow. It needs this period of rest, which is also a period of temporary wildness in order to be whole. And this process of re-entering that state of rest and fallowness is holy, just like the Temple. The Jubilee is a massive Temple in time; it’s a time when all space becomes sacred space that is owned by God... So the rule of the Sabbatical Year is not only a technical mitzvah. It’s a reminder that letting the earth be free of our control is good for us, and it is what God wants. Wild spaces are a delight for God, we need them, and they may save our lives.
Questions for discussion: 1. How would devoting a “seventh” of both public and private land to wilderness perservation alter our landscapes and cultures?
3. Do you “own” land? How do you feel holding a deed for a property, yet Jewish tradition tells us that no human owns land?
2. We often think of nature as being separate and away from us, where in your life do you observe being a part of the natural world? Where can you invite it in?
4. In Genesis 1, we read: “So God [created man and woman to].... fill the earth and subdue it…”, but in Genesis 2, we read “...and God.... placed him in the Garden of Eden to serve it and to keep.” Does Shmita provide a framework that allows humans to both be creatures who “subdue the Earth” while “serving and keeping” it?
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Thematic Exploration: Responsible Stewardship: Shomrei Adamah
Dr. Mirele Goldsmith, Stop Now! “Shmita” and Climate Change, December 27 2014 Imagine that you’re a wealthy landowner in ancient Israel. You know the Shmita year is coming and what’s required: You must stop planting and let your land lie fallow for the year. You must forego a year of profit. Not only that: Over the past few years, you have lent money to your poor neighbors and now you must forgive their debts so that your neighbors can also let their lands lie fallow. If they were obligated to pay you back, they would not be able to participate. These laws are good for the fertility of the land and for your neighbor’s livelihood and dignity. But observing Shmita, and putting the community’s needs ahead of your own, requires a sacrifice from you. Would you do it? Fast forward to today: You live in one of the world’s richest countries and you depend on cheap energy extracted from the earth for your livelihood and your lifestyle. In neighboring countries, though, people are poor. They use little energy and they have little money to invest in new infrastructure. Will you try to use energy more efficiently? Will you invest in renewable energy sources that don’t damage the earth? If you will, further warming of the atmosphere will be prevented. Your neighbors, more vulnerable than you because of their poverty, will be protected from rising seas, heat waves, and drought. But caring for their lives requires a sacrifice from you. Will you do it?
Yigal Deutscher, Envisioning Sabbatical Culture, 2013 Taken on its own, Shmita is a riddle with no answer. In order to begin to understand the intricate puzzle that is Shmita, we must first connect the six years to the seventh, the individual parts of the cycle to its flowering conclusion. The six years of the Shmita cycle are those of cultural design, and the seventh year is the indicator year; the ultimate “check-in” to see how we are collectively doing as a culture. Shmita itself is not an isolated moment in time, but rather a cyclical expression of a vibrant culture rooted in local food systems, economic resiliency, and community empowerment. For us today, the Shmita Cycle can take shape as a story of transition, from the isolated self towards holistic community; from perceived scarcity towards revealed abundance. It is a story so old and ancient that we have forgotten just how much we need it today, now, for our own survival, for our own evolution and growth.
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, The Gifted Economy, The Sova Project, June 9, 2014 Shmita is a check on the market economy. It is a pause from loans and debts; a break in the hegemony of private land ownership; a year in which everyone is to live equally and equitably off the land that is temporarily owned by none and shared by all. It is a form of gift economy, or perhaps better, Gifted Economy – that is, an economy based on the primordial vision that the earth and all its bounty are gifts from God that are to be used by us all but not otherwise possessed, amassed, or hoarded by just some of us. It is a time when the work of the marketplace is held in check, when the dominant economy is one of enoughness and delight as opposed to ever-more and constant desire.
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The Shmita Sourcebook
Gerald Bildstein, Man and Nature in the Sabbatical Year, Judasim and Environmental Ethics, 1966 We have here [with Shmita] more than the commonplace struggle between a radical religious demand and an unconsenting world. Rather we have here an institution that in essence contests the legitimacy of that world, and threatens to become not merely the symbolic repudiation of its normal social and economic patterns, but its real menace and ultimately its victor. The potency of Shmita has been its historical doom.
Jeremy Benstein, Stop the Machine!, The Jerusalem Report, May 21, 2001 What if we looked at Shmita not as a problem, but as a solution, and then considered what problems it’s meant to solve? In that light, Shmita becomes a political statement of social and environmental import, raising deep questions about the nature of a healthy and sustainable life, for individuals, society, and the land. For instance, currently only academics have a sabbatical year. Why? Our “affluent” society actually decreases leisure and family time, as more people not only choose to work to fulfill what they want to be, but feel compelled to work, in order to afford what society says they should have. Consumerism necessitates “producerism” to keep both supply and demand high. Yet as Shmita hints, people are indeed like the land, in ways that are more obvious in the modern world: For both, when overwork leads to exhaustion, we engineer continued “vitality” not with true renewal, but with chemicals… Just as silence is an integral part of speech, punctuated periods of fallowness are crucial for guaranteeing continued fertility.
Questions for discussion: 1. Modern markets are generally understood to be driven by scarcity. How does Shmita challenge us to experience resources as being “enough”? In what ways might Shmita reinforce a sense of scarcity?
4. How does Judaism ask us to be responsible stewards at all times? In what ways do the values of Shmita change your understanding of what it means to be “shomrei adamah“/ “guradian of the earth”?
2. How would fostering a sense of “enoughness” impact your life? What are the psychological, economic, and cultural barriers that might prevent you from embracing “enoughness” as a paradigm?
5. In what areas of your life do you engage in multiyear planning? How different or similar was your life seven years ago? What about fifty years ago?
3. How might we design our economies, food systems, and communities to center “enoughness” rather than “scarcity”?
6. Do you think wrestling with the challenges of Shmita today will help to create healthier, more abundant lives for our children’s children?
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The Issues: Patterns of Work and Burnout Every seven years, Shmita calls for a rest, but modern professional life has no such equivalent. In the sources that follow, we explore the physical, social, and mental health tolls of excessive work culture and how that can affect everyday life for billions of people. With rising costs of health care and retirement we have also seen a rise in the “gig” economy and a fall in benefits and worker protections - particularly in the United States. We are left wondering, ultimately, who pays the price?
Bill Chapell, Overwork Killed More Than 745,000 People In A Year, WHO Study Finds, May 17, 2021
Aidan Harper, It’s Not Enough to Defend the Five-Day Week – We Must Demand Four, Novara Media, February 1, 2021
People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week, the WHO says in a study that was published [today] in the journal Environment International...
High working hours are not good for workers, and this has ramifications on the economy. Since 2010, mental ill-health has made up an increasing proportion of workrelated illness. In 2018-19, stress, depression, or anxiety accounted for 44% of all work-related illness, and 54% of all working days lost to ill health; poor mental health at work is estimated to cost £45bn each year. One in four of all days lost – 5.6m days over the course of the year – were the direct result of overwork...
The global study, which the WHO calls the first of its kind, found that in 2016, 488 million people were exposed to the risks of working long hours. In all, more than 745,000 people died that year from overwork that resulted in stroke and heart disease, according to the WHO. “Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%,” the WHO said as it announced the study, which it conducted with the International Labour Organization. The study doesn’t cover the past year, in which the COVID-19 pandemic thrust national economies into crisis and reshaped how millions of people work. But its authors note that overwork has been on the rise for years due to phenomena such as the gig economy and telework — and they say the pandemic will likely accelerate those trends.
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The eight-hour day and the weekend were once seen as utopian ideas, but they were won by workers who refused to be satisfied with what they were offered. We must channel that spirit, and recognise that the fight for free time must be offensive rather than defensive. We should not accept the measly guarantee of a 48-hour week, but must instead demand what we deserve: a 32-hour, fourday week with no reduction in pay.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Constance Grady, The Uneasy Intimacy of Work in a Pandemic Year: How Capitalism and the Pandemic Destroyed Our Work-Life Balance, Vox, March 19, 2021 Jenny Odell’s 2019 book How to Do Nothing, is a manifesto of sorts against what Odell calls “the attention economy.” That’s the idea that we should be caught up in our work, our screens, and everything else that capitalism wants to sell to us or extract from us at all times. “We know that we live in complex times that demand complex thoughts and conversations,” Odell writes, “and those, in turn, demand the very time and space that is nowhere to be found.” And so the “nothing” in Odell’s title is not really nothing. It’s time apart to think, reflect, connect, and converse. Time that does not go into producing goods to be sold or into buying goods from other people. Odell argues that we can create that time through a conscious turning away from our screens and the pursuit of physical context, both in our neighborhoods and in our natural landscapes. “I propose that rerouting and deepening one’s attention to place will likely lead to awareness of one’s participation in history and in a morethan-human community,” she writes. “From either a social or ecological perspective, the ultimate goal of ‘doing nothing’ is to wrest our focus from the attention economy and replant it in the public, physical realm.”
Odell’s logic suggests that to prevent work from invading the time in which we are not paid to do it, we must be intentional about what we do in our leisure time. So instead of scrolling listlessly through Facebook and Twitter and Instagram in search of frictionless connection with other people, we can join mutual aid groups and form genuine bonds with our actual neighbors, in person. Instead of passively accepting whatever entertainment our screens offer us while we plug away at off-hours work, we can become interested in the natural landscape all around us, in the weeds that sprout up from the cracks of our sidewalks and the birds that nest on our telephone wires. And this shift in attention, Odell argues, will allow us the time and space to form richer, more nourishing connections with the world in which we live.
Shmita offers us an intentional practice that encourages or even forces a reset and revaluation of priorities. If we were to collectively enter into an observance of Shmita every seventh year we would be required to work less, prioritize relationships by sharing what resources we have, and begin the process of preparing for the next cycle. By approaching life through this lens of intentionality we can learn to slow down, learn from the lessons of nature, and reconsider the supposedly urgent call of our cultural narrative.
Questions for discussion: 1. It’s easy to mistakenly understand Shmita to be about only agriculture. In the biblical agrarian world, Shmita impacted the entire economy (see section 2.9). How might Shmita be adapted for today’s economy? Which jobs would continue unaffected? Which jobs would techniclly be able to continue and should they?
2. Is it possible to reshape our relationship with work in a culture of urgency? What is one thing you can do to bring balance to your life?
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The Issues: Disproportionate Impact of the Climate Crises Climate change is a universal issue, but it’s affecting certain groups more than others. In the sources that follow, we take a look at the disproportionate impact of the climate crises on low-income communities and communities of color, and some of the policies that perpetuate these inequities. . During the Shmita year, when property ceases to belong to any one person, we have an opportunity to understand the power of the collective commons and get a sense of what it means for our land to be truly communal.
Dorceta E. Taylor, The Future of Environmental Justice is True Equality, Sierra Magazine, December 22, 2020 The environmental justice movement arose because of the urgent need to make connections between racism, discrimination, equity, justice, and the environment. Published in 1962, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s brilliantly crafted exposé about the dangers of pesticides, helped usher in the modern environmental movement. But the book focused on wildlife and human health without accounting for how pesticides disproportionately harmed farmworkers—particularly seasonal-immigrant laborers of color. When the United Farm Workers fought indiscriminate organophosphate use on the grounds of worker safety, the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund declined to support them, since organophosphates caused less harm to wildlife than DDT. In 1972, Sierra Club members were asked to vote on the question “Should the Club concern itself with the conservation problems of such special groups as the urban poor and ethnic minorities?” Most members voted
no. But there was a generational divide—the younger the members, the more likely they were to agree that they should. Bringing on employees and board members of color— and treating them as authorities—could have prevented the environmental movement from alienating some of the most skilled organizers in US history. Instead, environmental organizations have shied away from collaboration and continue to stereotype people of color vis-à-vis their engagement with environmental issues. Within these organizations, there are no (or very few) people who know what it’s like to be afraid for their lives when interacting with the police or jogging down the street. Most of the people in these organizations don’t know what it’s like to see the look of fear on white hikers’ faces when these hikers encounter them on the trail, or to have their intelligence and accomplishments questioned by whites on a routine basis.
Jacqui Patterson, At the Intersections, All We Can Save, 2020 I pursued a master’s degree in social work and wrote my thesis on the role of race in the high incidence of infant mortality in African American women. I examined the role of neighborhood indicators on birth outcomes in Baltimore, a predominately African American city, and helped carry out the Baltimore Fetal-Infant Mortality Review. We documented what is still true today: Where you live is a powerful indicator of health and well-being, due to social, economic, and environmental factors, such as air pollution. Place matters... Now, as the senior director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, I am often asked why the NAACP would be working on environmental issues and climate change. People express bemusement that a civil rights organization, founded in 1909 out of the struggle for equal rights of Black people in the United States, would have a program focused on climate. My response is that with our mandate to advocate on the behalf of the oft voiceless, the reasons are innumerable. The most polluting coal plants are disproportionately located in communities where residents are predominantly low income or people 126
of color. Burning fossil fuels is resulting in sea level rise, which is displacing communities from Kivalina Island, Alaska to Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana. Shifting rainfall patterns and extreme weather are disrupting agriculture, deepening existing food insecurity in too many communities. Climate change is absolutely a civil rights issue.... We must make fundamental shifts: from a society that drills and burns to power our communities to one that harnesses the sun and the wind; from a society that buries or burns our waste to one that recovers, reuses, and recycles; from a society that genetically modifies, trucks, and ships food to one that advances local production of food that is nutritious and accessible for all. We must have a radical transformation from extracting, polluting, and dominating policies and practices that negatively impact our communities to regenerative cooperative systems that uplift all rights for all people, providing sovereignty, wealth and asset building, and local control for our communities while nurturing and preserving the environment upon which we all rely.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Krista Karlson, Urban Heat Islands Are Not an Accident, Sierra Magazine, February 10, 2020 [A 2020 study published in Climate] is the first to explicitly link a racist government policy to unequal exposure to extreme heat. Ninety-four percent of the cities included in the study exhibited higher land-surface temperatures in formerly “redlined” areas compared with non-redlined areas and with the city average. Redlining was a federal housing policy in the 1930s that diverted funds from low-income neighborhoods of color while drawing large infrastructure projects like highways and landfills to these same areas. The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) refinanced mortgages and doled out loans according to color-coded maps of 239 cities that graded neighborhoods between A and D. Neighborhoods scoring A were “best,” B were “still desirable,” C were “definitely declining,” and D were “hazardous.” The policy induced systemic disinvestment from areas deemed “declining” and “hazardous.” Redlining was banned in the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but its legacy remains written on the landscape. “Its
tentacles are everywhere,” says Cate Mingoya, director of capacity building at Groundwork USA, which educates and mobilizes communities on climate resilience. The Climate study performed a GIS analysis of 108 urban areas using digitized HOLC maps and land-surface temperature data from the US Geological Survey. It found that Portland, Oregon, and Denver, Colorado, had the greatest temperature differences between formerly A and D rated neighborhoods, while the formerly redlined neighborhoods in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Baltimore, Maryland, were warmest relative to the city average. Across the country, D rated neighborhoods were on average 2.6°C warmer than A rated neighborhoods. Heat waves exacerbated by climate change smother these urban heat islands, killing more people every year than any other natural disaster. Many fatalities occur at night, since the body can’t thermoregulate during REM sleep. People simply don’t wake up.
Catrin Einhorn, What Technology Could Reduce Heat Deaths? Trees, New York Times, July 3, 2021 At a time when climate change is making heat waves more frequent and more severe, trees are stationary superheroes. Research shows that heat already kills more people in the United States than hurricanes, tornadoes, and other weather-events, perhaps contributing to 12,000 deaths per year. Extreme heat this week in the Pacific Northwest and Canada has killed hundreds. Trees can lower air temperature in city neighborhoods 10 lifesaving degrees, scientists have found. They also reduce electricity demand for air conditioning, not only sparing money and
emissions, but helping avoid potentially catastrophic power failures during heat waves. “Trees are, quite simply, the most effective strategy, [the most effective] technology, we have to guard against heat in cities,” said Brian Stone Jr., a professor of environmental planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology... Planting in Des Moines will resume in the fall, focusing on formerly redlined communities most in need of trees. Around the country, racist policies have left these neighborhoods especially bare and hot.
Questions for discussion: 1. Shmita raises issues about land use, food access, debt, and consumption in the pursuit of creating a more just society. Similarly, the environmental and climate justice movements ask us to consider how some races, genders, and classes are disproportionately impacted by the climate crises. What people and communities are left out of decisionmaking in your area? Does your community consider how its policies affect all people? 2. What are the consequence of not centering the voices and perspectives of those most affected by climate change in our conversation about solutions?
3. What changes when we think of climate solutions as rectifying injustices? 4. In what ways does Shmita allow you to step outside your typical experiences in order to care for others? 5. Climate justice issues include the disproportionate impact a rising urban heat index, of sea level rise, unequal access to green space, higher air pollution, and incidences of asthma in communities of color. These climate justice issues tend to be specific to local and regional communities. Does this knowledge surprise you? Who in your community is working to combat these issues?
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The Issues: Rising Debt In the sources that follow, we examine the reality of rising debt and explore some alternative models for loaning and repaying money. While blame of debt tends to fall on those who owe, the fact that debt is so widespread points to the existence of a larger, systemic problem. It is also important to recognize that abusive debt collection takes a particularly heavy toll on people of color and marginalized communities. Between credit cards, mortgages, and other common loans (like student loans), more and more American consumers are finding themselves in debilitating debt with no way out. Perhaps the economic model of debt forgiveness found in the Torah can guide us in today’s debt-burdened society.
The Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual, Strike Debt, 2014 Everyone seems to owe something, and most of us (including our cities) are in so deep it’ll be years before we have any chance of getting out—if we have any chance at all. At least one in seven of us are already being pursued by debt collectors. We are told all of this is our own fault, that we got ourselves into this and that we should feel guilty or ashamed. But think about the numbers: 76% of Americans are debtors. How is it possible that threequarters of us could all have just somehow failed to figure out how to properly manage our money, all at the same time?
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David Muoio, Charity Plans to Wipe out $278M of Ballad Health’s Outstanding Patient Medical Debts, Fierce Healthcare, June 15, 2021 Founded in 2014 by former debt collectors, [RIP Medical Debt] uses donated funds to purchase medical debts from other buyers and collection agencies. The nonprofit claims it is generally able to clear $100 of debt for each dollar it spends. To date, RIP said it has wiped out more than $4.5 billion in medical debts belonging to over 2.7 million families with financial burdens, sometimes through charity campaigns focused on specific geographic regions and other times through single donations as large as $250 million… The partners suggested that their newly announced arrangement could act as a “test case” for RIP to make similar deals with other health systems across the country. “Collaborating directly with healthcare providers allows us to abolish burdensome medical debts earlier in their life cycles and we encourage other communityminded doctors and hospitals to explore partnering with us so that together we can continue to relieve the debt burden on individuals, and families, so they can have a fresh start,” Allison Sesso, executive director of RIP Medical Debt, said in a statement.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Key Figures Behind America’s Consumer Debt, Debt.org, 2021 The modern-day credit card — which entered the scene in the late 1950s — has meant far greater buying power for U.S. consumers, but also financial disaster for many individuals and families. Consider these statistics about personal debt in America: • More than 191 million Americans have credit cards. • The average credit card holder has at least 2.7 cards. • The average household credit card debt is $5,315. • Total U.S. consumer debt is at $14.9 trillion. That includes mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and student loans.
Consumer debt reached $14.56 trillion after the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the New York Federal Reserve. The debt for Q4 was up $414 billion from the previous year and up nearly $1.9 trillion over the previous record high of $12.68 trillion in the third quarter of 2008. There has been consistent growth in four main areas of debt — home, auto, student loans, and credit cards. Nonhousing debt has risen faster, increasing 51% since 2013 compared with a 24% increase in mortgage debt. Home — Total mortgage debt rose to $10.4 trillion, an increase of $1 trillion from the same quarter in 2017. Student Loans — They continue to escalate, growing to a record $1.56 trillion in Q4 of 2020, up $100 billion from the same quarter in 2018. The average student debt in 2020 was $38,792.
Protect Against Abusive Debt Collection: Working Families Need Wage Protection and a Chance to Save, Center for Responsible Lending, October 13, 2020 Debt collectors, including debt buyers, have weaponized the courts and frequently sue the wrong consumer for the wrong amount. Armed with a judgment, they use wage garnishment orders and bank account levies to seize money from families who are the least able to afford it.... Systemic racism has fostered a debt collection landscape in which people of color are more likely to be contacted by collectors and more likely to be impacted by lawsuits resulting in wage garnishment and bank levies. State laws differ in terms of how much money is “protected,” or is unable to be seized by a debt collector, to leave money for a family’s basic needs. Federal protection is urgently needed. Financial experts recommend that families have enough savings to cover three to six months of living expenses, yet a report from the Financial Health Network shows that almost half (45%) of Americans do not have enough savings to cover this amount. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, which has created high unemployment and rising poverty, robust bank account and wage garnishment protections are necessary and urgent.
Never in United States history have Black and other families of color experienced a fair financial playing field. This reality has resulted in a wide and persistent racial wealth gap: In 2016, the median white household had over $300,000 in wealth, whereas Black households had less than $50,000. Differences in typical net worth and average wealth are even more stark, and the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing disparities. Recent research has found that cash reserves, a crucial source of liquidity in emergencies, follow a similar pattern: On average, Black households have just over $8,500 in cash on hand compared to almost $50,000 for white households— indicating that in many cases, white families will have 5.5 times more savings than Black families to financially withstand the pandemic. Thus, protecting even $12,000 will provide a meaningful opportunity to help these families weather emergencies and build wealth.
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The Evolution of the G’Mach & Free Loan Societies The G’mach (which stands for Gemilut Chasidim and literally means acts of kindness/generosity) is a model of Jewish based lending, which emerged in a time of recent necessity, similar to a Shmita year. In this case, it was immigration from Europe to North America and the financial aid was not in the form of debt release but through interest-free microlending. According to Shana Novick, the director of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, “the G’mach was transplanted to America at the end of the 19th century, with the first great wave of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. They provided interest-free loans to pay the rent or buy medicine at a time when there was no government-funded safety net, and provided capital to enable thousands of microentrepreneurs to stock a pushcart or buy a sewing machine in an era when their only alternative source of credit was
loan sharks. These organizations often became founding or early members of their local Jewish federations.” An article in the New York Times, “Society Makes NoInterest Loans to New York’s Immigrants” (May 1, 1983), shows how successful this system became: “On a December evening in 1892, 11 men met at the Wilner Synagogue on Henry Street in Manhattan and pooled their savings - $95 - to establish a free loan society similar to those they had known in their native eastern European countries… The first year the society lent $1,205 in amounts of $5 and $10. By 1905, some 15,000 families, mostly Jewish immigrants living on the Lower East Side, had borrowed $364,480.” Today, Hebrew Free Loan societies exist all over the world to help borrowers through interest-free borrowing and generous repayment schedules.
Letter on Student Debt to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris, Americans for Financial Reform, November 18, 2020 We, the 238 undersigned community, civil rights, climate, health, consumer, labor, and student advocacy organizations write to urge you to boost the economy, tackle racial disparities, and provide much-needed stimulus to help all Americans weather the pandemic and the associated recession by using executive authority to cancel federal student debt on Day One of your administration. Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, weighing heaviest on Black and Latinx communities, as well as women. That weight is likely to be exponentially magnified given the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 is taking on both the health and economic security of people of color and women. To minimize the harm to the next generation and help narrow the racial and gender wealth gaps, bold and immediate action is needed to protect student loan borrowers, including Parent PLUS borrowers, by cancelling existing debt…
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Student debt exacerbates existing racial inequities; cancellation will help reduce the racial wealth gap. The disproportionate impact of student debt on borrowers of color exacerbates existing systemic inequities and widens the racial wealth gap. Black Americans—and particularly Black women—are more likely to take on student loan debt and struggle with repayment. This burden is particularly acute for those Black students who are targeted by forprofit institutions, which also target veterans and often deliver poor instructional quality and outcomes at a high cost, causing a high proportion of students to drop out. Even for those students who do graduate, gainful employment in the field that they trained for is frequently elusive, leaving students with a lot of debt but not much to show for it. Student debt cancellation has the potential to increase the net wealth of Black households and could even help reduce the racial wealth gap.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Myriam Angel, Shmita and Free Loan Societies, Jewish Education Loan Fund The Torah expresses regulations against the charging of interest numerous times. In Leviticus, loans themselves are encouraged, whether for money or food, emphasizing that they allow the poor to regain their independence. As the sages say, “Greater is he who lends – because the poor person is not embarrassed in the matter.” The Torah teaches us to understand debt – both what it does to individuals and what it does to society. It sees debt not just as a financial issue, but as a moral one and encourages compassion and assistance to those who find themselves
in this position. As we seek more ways to prevent the injustices of our capitalistic society, we are told not to do away with capitalism but rather make us more responsive to the economic injustices that arise. Combating inequality requires nonprofits and interest-free loan providers to provide assistance to those most vulnerable in our Jewish communities. Doing this also makes financial sense: [The Jewish Loan Fund] default rate on loans is 1% while the national average rate of default currently stands between 11-16%.
Questions for discussion: 1. What is your relationship with debt? Do you experience it as a person failing, a systemic injustice, or something in-between? Is debt common among your family and friends? In your community? 2. When you acquired this debt, did you feel like you had a choice? What would it look like for you if you had? 3. What would happen if debts were released today? How can it occur at different scales: individual, institutional, or governmental? How might it impact the economy? What doors might open, and for whom?
4. Are you open to practicing debt forgiveness personally? As a society? What might be the impact, positive or negative? Remember that debt forgiveness was a challenging concept to the ancients as well. In announcing debt remission, the Torah comments “If, however, there is a needy person among you... Beware lest you harbor the base thought, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is approaching,’ so that you are mean to your needy kinsman and give him nothing.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-9) Later, during the rabbinic period, the Prozbul was enacted, which effectively nullified debt remission out of fear of its economic impact.
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The Issues: Slavery and Human Trafficking As much as we’d like to relegate slavery to a closed chapter in global history, enslavement and human trafficking are pervasive modern issues that affect hundreds of thousands each year. The unrelenting desire for goods and services— the cheaper the better—coupled with the goal of driving as much profit as possible, has created a system that is sustainable only through enslavement and exploitation of workers driven so deeply into debt that they have no other recourse. In the sources that follow we confront that reality and consider how slavery might be reaching us in unexpected ways.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, February 8, 2012 At its heart, slavery is an inhuman perversion of a simple economic principle: the best way to maximize profits is by minimizing the cost of labor. In today’s global economy, the seemingly inexhaustible demand for cheap goods and services has created a vast, largely invisible market for easily replenished supplies of men, women, and children who are forced to work against their will, for little or no pay, and under constant threat of violence or intimidation… Forced labor is present throughout the
world and takes many forms. The enslaved work as field hands harvesting crops, as seamstresses in back-alley sweatshops, as kidnapped fishermen or child soldiers, and as common laborers so deeply in debt that their obligation can never be repaid. Increasingly, the enslaved are women and children—mostly teenage girls and younger—caught up in the global sex industry of prostitution, pornography, and pedophilia.
Ronny Marty, Slavery survivor: Escaping a Trafficker Shouldn’t be Left to Chance, February 7, 2017 As a survivor of human trafficking here in the United States, it is difficult to hear people talk about the issue as if it only happens in some remote part of the world. It’s difficult because I know that a lack of awareness contributes to the persistence of human trafficking in the United States, and is a barrier to prevention in the form of appropriate policies. In some ways, I consider myself a “blessed” survivor of labor trafficking in the U.S. because my ordeal was relatively short. In 2009, I responded to an ad for a housekeeping job in a Kansas hotel while living in my native Dominican Republic. When I arrived, however, I was told by my trafficker that the only available job was in a Huntsville, Alabama DVD-manufacturing company. Once I was lured by the hotel job advertisement, I borrowed $4,000 to pay my recruiter, purchase airfare, and pay necessary visa fees. While working at the manufacturing company I was charged high fees and deductions from my low salary, which kept me too poor to flee or return home. I had become a slave to my employers. During that time, I lived in a very small one-bedroom apartment with
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two other people. We each paid $300 in rent per month to our employer, though the employer paid just $450 in total to the landlord. After living with intimidation, withheld wages and threats of deportation and violence against my family, I escaped a few months later... I have heard countless stories similar to mine with victims being lured to the United States with promises of good jobs only to be forced into labor in hotels, restaurants, factories or farms, or into the sex industry. Investigations are critical to ensuring that employers are not engaging in human trafficking when they hire seasonal, low income, or temporary workers. Investigations of workplaces where employees make under the minimum wage and are not hired directly by the company they work for, but by a third party or contractor, are particularly critical – I know firsthand how vulnerable these workers are to human trafficking.
The Shmita Sourcebook
Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, International Labour Organization, 2017 Facts and Figures • At any given time in 2016, an estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage. • That means there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. • 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
• Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction, or agriculture; 4.8 million persons in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million persons in forced labour imposed by state authorities. • Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.
Questions for discussion: 1. Modern slavery is often hidden, meaning we are likely to unknowingly benefit from it. Do you know the ways that you may benefit from modern slavery? How can you respond as a consumer? As an advocate?
2. How does the Torah treat the issue of slavery through the discussion of Shmita? What lessons from Shmita can we apply to this crisis and its relationship to our modern economy?
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The Issues: Erosion of Workers’ Rights With a widening wealth gap and what seems like, for many, a decrease in employer compassion, the state of working conditions around the world lies in stark contrast to the ideals we study with Shmita. In the sources that follow we explore workers’ rigths today and share dreams of better days. The mistreatment of undocumented workers has become especially clear in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. While white-collar offices shortened their hours or went remote in response to the pandemic, undocumented workers shouldered the burden of essential physical labor, often in unsafe or overworked conditions. Part of economic justice is creating space for immigrant workers to speak for themselves in safety to ensure that their rights are met. Related to issues of overconsumption, work and rest, and enslaved peoples, the erosion of workers rights is perhaps one of the most overlooked issues in our conversations. Shmita provides a lens to look directly at these injustices and consider better alternatives.
Rhiana Gunn-Wright, A Green New Deal for All of Us, All We Can Save, 2020
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), 2021
For most people in this country, we are not a nation of prosperity. We are a nation of lack, and a world where resources are increasingly constrained by the climate crisis. If we do not counter this scarcity, how will we build anything but a society of fortresses as the planet continues to warm?...
• Zero: The number of states where a minimum wage worker can afford a two-bedroom apartment working a 40-hour week. • 39 million: the number of workers earning less than $15 an hour in 2019, representing about 28% of the workforce. • Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would lift 900,000 people out of poverty. • $2.6 million: The amount the average S&P 500 CEO’s pay has increased in the past decade. • Sixty of some of the largest U.S. companies paid zero federal income taxes in 2018 despite being profitable. • 7: The number of additional months a black woman would have to work to earn what a white man in the same job makes in one year. • Women lose an average of $406,000 to the wage gap in their lifetime.
Over the last forty years, the top 1 percent - whom we will refer to as “the elite” - have captured “more unfettered political, cultural, and intellectual power than at any point since the 1920s,” according to Naomi Klein. This has happened, at least in part, because deregulation and other neoliberal policies allowed elites to accrue nearly all of the economic gains since 1980. They have used those gains in turn to finance campaigns - and politicians - and to decimate organized labor. The result has been wage stagnation and rampant economic inequality, with declines in union membership alone accounting for as much as one-third of the growth in income inequality for men and one-fifth for women since 1972. The erosion of worker power particularly decimated communities of color as the 2008 household crisis, itself a product of deregulation, wiped out generational wealth, leaving many communities of color no better off than they were prior to the civil rights movement.
Basic Income in Cities, National League of Cities and Stamford Basic Income Lab, 2021 [Universal Basic Income] is a cash payment granted to all members of a community on a regular basis, regardless of employment status or income level. It is meant to be individual, unconditional, universal, and frequent… UBI raises the floor so people can live with dignity. It also empowers individuals to make choices with greater liberty. With a sufficiently high guaranteed income, recipients would have more freedom to say no to abusive, demeaning, or dull jobs; and they would have the freedom to say yes to a multi-sided existence with more time for care, education, and training.
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The Growing Generational Wealth Gap, Visual Capitalist, 2020 As young generations usher into adulthood, they inevitably begin to accumulate and inherit wealth, a trend that has broadly remained consistent [across generations]. But what has changed recently is the rate of accumulation. In the U.S. household wealth has traditionally seen a relatively even distribution across different age groups. However, over the last 30 years, the U.S. Federal Reserve shows that older generations have been amassing wealth at a far greater rate than their younger cohorts. Relative to younger generations growing up, the Silent Generation and Greatest Generation before them...total wealth has gone from $16 trillion in 1989 to $19 trillion in
2019. Considering this cohort has understandably shrunk over time - from an estimated 47 million to 23 million in 2019 - their individual shares of wealth have actually increased. With $29 tirllion held in 2019, Generation X has also been gaining in wealth over the last 30 years. It’s good enough for five times the wealth of Millenials, through at just $440k/person, they’ve fallen far behind Baby Boomers in rate of growth. Finally, trying to catch up to their older cohorts are Millenials, who held the least amount of household wealth ($5 trillion) for the greatest population (73 million) in 2019, an average of just under $69k/person.
Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, Written Testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, May 12, 2021 An estimated 2.4 million farmworkers labor on the nation’s farms and ranches. The vast majority are immigrants and at least one-half are undocumented. Nearly 30% are women, and an estimated 4 out of 5 are Latino. Most have been living and working in the U.S. for more than 15 years. They are vital members of our communities... I think we all remember the widespread fear of food shortages last year as grocery store shelves went bare [due to the Covid pandemic]. People who had never struggled to purchase food suddenly feared they wouldn’t be able to feed their families… In response, the government designated farmworkers as essential workers. As other businesses shut down or shifted to telework, farmworkers were told to keep going to work, in person, on the nation’s farms and ranches. Why? Because strawberries cannot be harvested -- and cows cannot be milked – over Zoom… The broken immigration system has intensified the pandemic’s harms for undocumented farmworkers and their families. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible
for most of the public benefits created to confront the pandemic. They often work in fear that they will be fired in retaliation for requesting safety precautions. Many undocumented farmworkers are reluctant to get tested, fearing that a positive result could cost them their job – or that immigration enforcement agents might arrest them at a testing or vaccination site and separate them from their children... The pandemic confirmed that immigrant farmworkers – many of them undocumented – are essential to our food system and our nation’s stability. They have labored through the pandemic to feed us and many have suffered greatly. In return, they deserve a greater measure of justice from our government through: more effective responses to the pandemic, ending discriminatory labor laws, and reforming the immigration system to grant undocumented farmworkers and their families an opportunity to obtain immigration status and citizenship.
Questions for discussion: 1. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, front-line workers were celebrated as the ones keeping “normal life” on track. What hidden work goes into maintaining your standard of living? How can we begin to acknowledge and compensate the people doing that work?
2. Do you experience America as a “nation of prosperity” or a “nation of lack”? How are you, your family, and people in your community part of the statistics above?
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The Issues: Food Insecurity Like many of the issues we’ve discussed so far, food insecurity and disproportionately affects marginalized communities and is a prime theme of our Shmita texts. People who are food-insecure may not be starving, but they are still lacking physical or financial access to healthy amounts of nutritious food. In the sources that follow, we discuss both local and systemic solutions for easing food insecurity.
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2019 After a decade of steady decline, the number of people suffering from hunger in the world has slowly increased for several years in a row, underscoring the immense challenge of hunger by 2030… A broader look at the extent of food insecurity, beyond hunger, shows that 17.2 percent of the world population, or 1.3 billion people, have experienced food insecurity at moderate levels. This means that they do not have regular access to nutritious and sufficient food – even if they are not necessarily suffering from hunger, they are at greater risk of various
forms of malnutrition and poor health. The combination of moderate and severe levels of food insecurity brings the estimate to 26.4 percent of the world population, amounting to a total of about 2 billion people. In highincome countries, too, sizeable portions of the population lack regular access to nutritious and sufficient food. Eight percent of the population in Northern America and Europe is estimated to be food insecure, mainly at moderate levels of severity.
Covid, Community Food Insecurity, and Disproportionate Impacts, A Letter from Hazon Detroit, June 22, 2020 Over the last number of months, and more recently the last number of weeks, we have seen crisis pile up upon crisis… Because the residents of Detroit have seen their community divested from for over 50 years, the current infrastructure, systems, and city support networks are severely lacking and inequitable, making everyone in Detroit more susceptible to COVID-19. With little access to convenient transportation for most Detroiters, it can be difficult to shop for healthy food, or travel to the hospital. Water being shut off in thousands of homes means no ability to practice proper hygiene or stay adequately hydrated to help fight the virus. Detroit having the lowest percentage of residents connected to broadband internet of any major city in the country means that staying informed on the latest news and public health recommendations is exceedingly difficult. Diminished health care coverage or access to health care means that those who do get sick are often scared to go to the hospital because they can’t afford
treatment. Or when they do go, they are ignored or sent back home until it’s too late. Of course, Detroit schools suffer tremendously under inadequate funding, which leads to stark shortages in equipment and technology, which has meant that Detroit Public School students have had a hard time continuing their learning without the ability to learn together online. And the highest asthma rates in Michigan are just one example of the many underlying health conditions caused by environmental racism that generations of Detroiters face. Although it has the 24th highest population of any city in the country, for weeks Detroit had suffered the 3rd most COVID-19 related deaths of any city in the country. A partner that we work with personally lost 14 family members to the virus. So with all of this in mind, Hazon Detroit saw it as our mission to jump into action in whatever ways we could to support the residents of Detroit and those in the surrounding areas suffering the most.
Response to Detroit’s Covid Food Insecurity: The Numbers, March 2021 By the end of March 2021, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Hazon Detroit and their mutual aid partners across 49 distribution sites rescued over 620,000 pounds of food, which is approximately 413,000 meals. Hazon Detroit’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is an 136
example of how much good can be done when a dedicated organization directly addresses and attempts to rectify food insecurity. Charities can’t do it all, but even a little local action can go a long way towards easing inequality.
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MAZON’s Values and Vision for Ending Hunger, 2021 The ongoing and growing rates of food insecurity in the United States cannot be solved by charity alone… We know that hunger impacts Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color at a disproportionate rate due to factors like systemic racism and sexism in economic opportunity and housing… [M]arginalized communities should be at the center of policymaking discussions in order to address systemic failures that have left BIPOC communities behind. At the same time, Congress and the Administration must work to end the stigma surrounding those who rely on social safety net programs.
“Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Following this wise and sacred charge, justice must be at the core of our national approach to ending hunger.
1. Advance proven and effective policy solutions to address hunger that respect human dignity and recognize the individual needs of our diverse communities.
Eliminate the systemic racism and sexism that drive people into and exacerbate food insecurity – It is critical that our federal government address the systemic racism that has historically limited opportunities and compounded discrimination and hardships for Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, as well as the forces that have reinforced the feminization of poverty.
Expand and support SNAP – ...Strengthening [federal safety net] programs is the best way to fully and effectively meet critical needs, help lift people out of challenging circumstances, repair the gaps that have allowed far too many people to fall through, remove barriers to assistance, and eliminate the unfortunate shame and stigma that persist... 2. Shift from a misguided emphasis on charity to strengthening safety net programs that assist millions of Americans. Charity alone cannot address hunger – We must prioritize a justice-centered approach that appropriately centers systemic changes and policy priorities... In Deuteronomy 16:20 we are commanded with repetitious emphasis:
3. Center marginalized voices and the experiences of those left behind due to systemic failures. Highlight the unique needs of special populations that have long been overlooked – The injustices that some groups have faced over many years represent urgent problems, often with solutions within close reach...
4. Reframe the public narrative in how the media portrays hunger and how policymakers approach it. End demonization of the poor – Our nation’s leaders must set an example and work to reverse the demonization of the poor that has contributed to the erosion of public support for critical safety net programs. Public discussions and policy debates should not judge people nor create responses based on who is the “deserving poor.” … We must change the story away from the false myths of “welfare queens” and “takers,” instead shining a light on the life-saving support for individuals who are unable to fully provide for their basic needs and the helpful hand-up for those who have experienced setbacks...
Questions for discussion: 1. A Jewish response to hunger and food insecurity is often discussed as tzedakah, which some translate to mean charity. Tzedakah is related to the word tzedek, which is generally translated to mean justice. How is justice different from charity? What is the difference between a justice-centered approach and a charity-centered approach?
2. Hunger impacts people daily at every meal, which means the opportunity to respond is renewed each day. What are some practical ways you can help get food to people who need it in your community?
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The Issues: Animal Treatment in Agriculture While consuming animals for sustenance is approved by the Torah, treating those animals with cruelty and disregard is assuredly not. In the sources that follow, we confront the brutality of the modern factory farm and reflect on kinder models of animal husbandry. Shmita inspires a compassionate and measured response to such cruelty by centering the voices and experiences of those often overlooked. Today these practices continue by relying on willful ignorance and inaction. As long as we look away, the brutal practices will persist for convenience and economic gain. Additionally, it is clear that industrial animal agriculture is a leading cause of climate change and we are invited to confront our role in that as we face life-threatening changes.
Michael Pollan, An Animal’s Place, The New York Times Magazine, November 10, 2002* To visit a modern CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) is to enter a world that, for all its technological sophistication, is still designed according to Cartesian principles: animals are machines incapable of feeling pain. Since no thinking person can possibly believe this any more, industrial animal agriculture depends on a suspension of disbelief on the part of the people who operate it and a willingness to avert your eyes on the part of everyone else. From everything I’ve read, egg and hog operations are the worst. Beef cattle in America at least still live outdoors, albeit standing ankle deep in their own waste eating a diet that makes them sick. And broiler chickens, although they do get their beaks snipped off with a hot knife to keep them from cannibalizing one another under the stress of their confinement, at least don’t spend their eight-week lives in cages too small to ever stretch a wing. That fate is reserved for the American laying hen, who passes her brief [life]span piled together with a half-dozen other hens
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in a wire cage whose floor a single page of this magazine could carpet. Every natural instinct of this animal is thwarted, leading to a range of behavioral “vices” that can include cannibalizing her cagemates and rubbing her body against the wire mesh until it is featherless and bleeding. More than any other institution, the American industrial animal farm offers a nightmarish glimpse of what capitalism can look like in the absence of moral or regulatory constraint. Here in these places life itself is redefined–as protein production–and with it suffering. *When revising this guide for Shmita Year 5782, we thought about updating this excerpt because it is 19 years old. With sadness, frustration, and disappointment, we found that it is not outdated and that made the citation that much more potent. There has been growing awareness and action around farmed animal welfare. However, according to numerous sources, including the EPA and USDA, in the United States in 2019, 99% of meat, dairy, and eggs come from factory farms.
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Regenerative Agriculture and Pasture-Raised Animals, 2021 The idea of raising your animals on pasture is actually a portal into a wider scope of holistic land management. Many farmers who raise their animals on pasture tend to see themselves as grass farmers, because this becomes the main food source for their animals. In such systems, farmers manage their pasture as a bio-diverse ecosystem in itself, creating a plant diet rich in nutrients for their animals. And the animals play a part, too, in growing their own food. Free-range animals tend to be managed in rotational blocks. With the help of portable fencing, flocks
of chickens or herds of cattle remain on a piece of grass until they have eaten their fair share, and are then rotated to a fresher area. The continual shearing of the grass keeps the growth healthy, and the animal manure dropped in the fields adds to the natural fertility of such fields. The build-up of organic matter in the soils creates stronger grasslands, which feeds healthier animals. In recent years, this kind of holistic land management has gained traction and is often referred to as regenerative agriculture.
Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals, 2009 It’s clear enough that factory farming is more than something I just personally dislike, but it’s not clear what conclusions follow. Does the fact that factory farming is cruel to animals and ecologically wasteful and polluting mean everyone needs to boycott factory farms’ products all the time? Is a partial withdrawal from the system good enough – a sort of preferred purchasing program for nonfactory food that stops short of a boycott? Is the issue not our personal buying choices at all, but one that needs to be resolved through legislation and collective personal
action? Where should I respectfully disagree with someone and where, for the sake of deeper values, should I take a stand and ask others to stand with me? Where do agreed-upon facts leave room for reasonable people to disagree and where do they demand we all act? I’ve not insisted that meat eating is always wrong for everyone or that the meat industry is irredeemable despite its present sorry state. What position on eating animals would I insist are basic to moral decency?
Questions for discussion: 1. How can we use the Shmita year as an inspiration to support healthy forms of animal husbandry practices, which truly honor the life of such animals, and respect the dignity of their wildness?
2. Foer illustrates the complexity of the issue. Where do morals end and responsibilities begin? Who exactly is in the wrong here, and what solutions lie ahead?
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The Issues: Access to Ancestral Lands Part of Shmita law is land redemption: every seven years, tracts of land revert back to their original owners, reminding us that “ownership” is ephemeral. In the sources that follow, we consider what true land stewardship might look like by examining the plight of two displaced peoples: diasporic Jews and Indigenous Americans. In the Jewish diaspora, Israel is often imbued with conceptual or spiritual meaning as a symbol of Jewish freedom. Shmita encourages a return to the land by bringing the abstract significance of Israel quite literally down to earth, grounding it in the farm and field. Similarly, Indigenous people have a direct connection to the land on which they live, having cared for it devotedly for thousands of years. When considering ethical land stewardship, it’s essential to acknowledge the rights, history, and expertise of Indigenous communities who, along with their land, have been mistreated.
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, The Ecological Roots of the Passover Haggadah, Faithlands Toolkit, 2021 In the Bible, the passage boils the exodus story down into a few verses (Deuteronomy 26:5– 10). The verses go something like this: “My ancestors were wanderers. They went down to Egypt. They were oppressed by the Egyptians. They cried out to God. God heard their cries and led them out of Egypt.” These are the verses that comprise the central core of a Conservative or Orthodox haggadah. However, there are two more verses that the early rabbis cut before the passage ever made its way into the traditional haggadah. The verses continue: “And God gave us a land. And we brought back the first fruits of that land to God.”... While the sages of the Jewish tradition did not explain why they deleted these two verses from the haggadah, we can infer a possibility. The very first instructions for the
seder, including the two verses, were probably written a generation or two after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Though many Jews scattered to other lands, there was still a sizable Jewish population in Israel. These two verses assume the Israelites were living in the land of Israel and offering the fruits of that land in the Temple in Jerusalem. By the time the haggadah was written down several centuries later, most Israelites were no longer living in that land. Perhaps the rabbis deleted these land-centered verses because they no longer reflected the reality of the Israelites, now living in exile, displaced from their place and their spiritual center. And perhaps they too were so oriented to the economic and political significance of Israel that they did not discern a deeper spiritual and ecological meaning of land.
Rabbi Julian Sinclair, Rav Kook’s Introduction to Shabbat Ha’Aretz, 2014 Holiness is present when the spiritual and the material are unified and the connections between them are made manifest. Only through the return of the Jewish people to its own land and the embrace of life in all its dimensions— including, crucially, the aspect of agriculture—could the people’s holiness be realized and its spiritual character and mission be articulated. As Rav Kook wrote of the Jewish role in history, “We began to say something of immense importance among ourselves and to the entire world, but we have not yet finished it… The truth is so rich that we stammer; our speech is still in exile…. In the course of time, we shall be able to express what we seek with our entire being.”
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The most important things in the universe, then, were at stake in the Zionist farmers’ struggles to survive by working the land in the Land of Israel. They were gaining a precious physical foothold that would one day lead to the full-fledged flowering of redemption. By returning to agricultural work, they were opening new pathways of holiness, and, as Rav Kook makes clear in the introduction to Shabbat Ha’aretz, the unique rhythm of economic life patterned by the laws of Shmita and Yovel is a prominent part of the unique message that the Jewish people is called upon to articulate to the world.
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Waziyatawin, Being in Good Relationship: Land, Life, and Indigenous Peoples, FaithLands Toolkit, 2021 For Indigenous Peoples, the destruction of our homelands directly coincides with our dispossession. On a global level, wherever Indigenous populations have been displaced or removed, biodiversity suffers. Over millennia, Indigenous people learned to live on the same landbase without destroying it. An ethic of sustainability is rooted in our spirituality and our recognition that we are related to all of creation. In today’s context, this means that conversations about restoring health to land are inseparable from issues of Indigenous land justice. First and foremost, Indigenous
people must have access to our Indigenous homelands. As faith communities grapple with issues of ethical land stewardship, I invite them to consider Indigenous connection to whatever land they attempt to steward. Some Indigenous nation was displaced for settlers to access that land. Those same displaced nations now often suffer from food insecurity and poor health, even when much of what is grown today in what is now known as the United States originally came from Indigenous peoples.
Rabbi Dev Noily, Chesed + Emet = Teshuva: A Practice for the Heart and the World, On Chochenyo Ohlone Land, Faithlands Toolkit, 2021 I’ve lived almost all my life in California, and though I learned “California history” in school, I was never taught about the lives of Indigenous people and what really happened here. When I ask kids about what they are learning now, I hear it hasn’t changed much. The California Indian History Curriculum Coalition is fighting to bring this history into the state’s public schools. Rose Borunda, a coordinator of the coalition, recently said, “Our story has never been present. It’s often sidestepped because it’s inconvenient. But it’s the truth, and students should learn it.” We should know the truth of the dozens of distinct, thriving Indigenous communities—including the Ohlone—who lived here from time immemorial. We should know how those communities were decimated by waves of conquest and how the survivors have kept their cultures and stories alive while struggling to heal from past and ongoing trauma, violence, and disruption. The first academic book to fully document the genocide of Indigenous people in what is now known as California was not published until 2016. An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe,
written by Benjamin Madley, confirms that between 1846 and 1873 at least 80 percent of Indigenous peoples there were exterminated by colonialist settlers. “State and federal policies, in combination with vigilante violence, played major roles” in their near-annihilation, Madley writes. Genocide here was state-sanctioned, it was legal, and it was lied about for decades... For me the thriving of diaspora depends on our connection to both the Traveling Homeland of text, community and holy time, and on our connection to the physical homeland of the place where we live – right here, right now. Part of what we’re doing, and growing, at Kehilla is a new weaving together of our traveling Jewish homeland and our home on ancestral Ohlone land. We are weaving together emet and chesed: The emet of white people’s genocide of Indigenous people here, and our accountability for its legacy, with the chesed of the Ohlone invitation to create a healing for all the people that exist on this land. As we follow Indigenous leadership, and as we learn about the sacred sites and stories of this land, we are also starting to see new possibilities emerge for our healing, and for our place-specific, diaspora Jewish identity.
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David Treuer, Return the National Parks To The Tribes, The Atlantic, May 2021 More than a century ago, in the pages of this magazine, [John] Muir described the entire American continent as a wild garden “favored above all the other wild parks and gardens of the globe.” But in truth, the North American continent has not been a wilderness for at least 15,000 years: Many of the landscapes that became national parks had been shaped by Native peoples for millennia. Forests on the Eastern Seaboard looked plentiful to white settlers because American Indians had strategically burned them to increase the amount of forage for moose and deer and woodland caribou. Yosemite Valley’s sublime landscape was likewise tended by Native peoples; the acorns that fed the Miwok came from black oaks long cultivated by the tribe. The idea of a virgin American wilderness—an Eden untouched by humans and devoid of sin—is an illusion.
spiritual leader Black Elk noted darkly that the United States “made little islands for us and other little islands for the four-leggeds, and always these islands are becoming smaller.”
The national parks are sometimes called “America’s best idea,” and there is much to recommend them. They are indeed awesome places, worthy of reverence and preservation, as Native Americans like me would be the first to tell you. But all of them were founded on land that was once ours, and many were created only after we were removed, forcibly, sometimes by an invading army and other times following a treaty we’d signed under duress. When describing the simultaneous creation of the parks and Native American reservations, the Oglala Lakota
The American story of “the Indian” is one of staggering loss. Some estimates put the original Indigenous population of what would become the contiguous United States between 5 million and 15 million at the time of first contact. By 1890, around the time America began creating national parks in earnest, roughly 250,000 Native people were still alive. In 1491, Native people controlled all of the 2.4 billion acres that would become the United States. Now we control about 56 million acres, or roughly 2 percent.
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Many of the negotiations that enabled the creation of these islands took place in English (to the disadvantage of the tribes), when the tribes faced annihilation or had been weakened by disease or starvation (to the disadvantage of the tribes), or with bad faith on the part of the government (to the disadvantage of the tribes). The treaties that resulted, according to the U.S. Constitution, are the “supreme Law of the Land.” Yet even despite their cruel terms, few were honored. Native American claims and rights were ignored or chipped away.
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Dorceta Taylor, Euro-Indian Relations and the Ideology of Conquest, The Rise of the American Conservation Movement, 2016 Native Americans and whites had differing views of the land, and this led to many conflicts and the disenfranchisement of indigenous peoples. Indians viewed themselves as custodians and stewards of the earth, not masters with dominionsover it. By contrast, white settlers saw the land as a commercial product best suited for private ownership and exploitation; consequently, they cleared forests for cultivation and the development of towns, and private property was essential to their entrepreneurial ventures. Whites were also disdainful of the Indian custom of sharing undeveloped, common land. These differences formed the philosophical basis of the Euro-American seizure of Indian lands. The justification for seizing land was articulated early on when the first governor of Massachusetts, John
Winthrop, expressed a view that was typical of the European perspective on Indian land-use practices... He argued that Native Americans had a natural right to the land, but Europeans in settling and developing the land had a civil right to it. The civil rights, in his view, superseded the natural rights. In 1629, Winthrop argued that the earth was the “Lord’s garden” and that the earth was given to the “sons of Adam to be tilled and improved by them.” Winthrop justified the taking of Indian lands arguing: “That which is common to all is proper to none. This savage people ruleth over many lands without title or property; for they enclose no ground, neither have they cattle to maintain it, but remove their dwellings as they have occasion… And why may not Christians have liberty to go and dwell among them in their waste lands and woods... there is more than enough for them and us.”
Questions for discussion: 1. Before Jews became the “People of the Book” they were a “People of the Land” with an intimate knowledge and wisdom of their ancestral lands, which is deeply reflected in the biblical tradition. What is the significance of having an ancestral homeland? What might be the impact of being removed from a place of ancestry, a place with which we have an intimate, understanding relationship? In what ways is the trauma of being exiled from the land in 70 CE present in Jewish memory and culture today? 2. Why do you think Rav Kook has such reverence for the Land of Israel and ascribes the possibility of healing and redemption by returning to it? Are any places sacred to you? What makes them so? 3. In the centuries since being exiled from the Land of Israel, many peoples have inhabited that land and called it home. What challenges arise when multiple peoples establish a heritage and culture in relationship with the same land?
4. Who are the Indigenous peoples that stewarded the land you live on? What is their history and where are they today? How might their relationship with land be different from your own? 5. In your U.S. or World history education, were Indigenous stories the focus of the narrative, at the fringes, or entirely absent? If they were included at all, were they victims, enemies, heroes, or something else? Does the acknowledgement of Indigenous narratives challenge any of your ideas, beliefs, or values? 6. Over the centuries, Jewish refugees have found safe haven in America after being driven out of their respective homelands – a safe haven that has been stolen in turn from Indigenous people. How do you relate to these two truths?
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The Issues: Land Degradation While there are many spiritual and conceptual lessons that can be learned from Shmita, some Shmita practices are also quite practical. In the sources that follow, we explore the effects of overworked land. Modern, industrial, agriculture has disrupted the natural cycle of life and soil. We are using too much soil, and we are also overworking what little we have. The global food system, in which every region produces cheap massive amounts of a single crop, was meant to benefit the public. Instead, it is gobbling resources and stamping out biodiversity. The resulting monocultures have negative social and environmental effects, feeding a bottom line rather than nourishing people. Regenerative agriculture calls for a more sustainable approach by introducing carbon–the stuff of life–back into the soil. This practice aims to revert some of the damage that has already been done and establish a better farming model for the future, but will it be enough?
David R. Montgomery, Dirt: the Erosion of Civilizations, 2007 Life makes soil, soil makes more life. Put simply, that is the story of the past billion years… Life and soil were partners until modern agriculture changed the game. How long can modern agriculture keep us alive by breaking the soil-life bond? Viewed over any geologically meaningful time scale – it cannot last if it destroys its own foundation. In the 1990s, researchers reported that since the Second World War, soil erosion caused farmers to abandon an area equivalent to about one-third of all present cropland… The estimated rate of world soil erosion now exceeds new soil production by as much as 23 billion tons per year, an annual loss of not quite one percent of the world’s agricultural soil inventory. At this pace the world would
literally run out of topsoil in little more than a century. It’s like a bank account from which one spends and spends, but never deposits. We can be sure that the disruptive effects of depletion and degradation will become apparent well before we actually run out of fertile soil, just as dwindling supplies and rising oil prices are already disrupting oil-addicted societies even though we may never literally run out of crude. The key question remains when will we run out of enough fertile soil to feed everybody? Before we reach that point it would be wise to implement agricultural reforms to head off a crisis and build a sustainable foundation for a global civilization.
Jude Boucher, Soil Health & Deep Zone Tillage, University of Connecticut, 2008 Between plowing, harrowing, subsoiling, bedding, and cultivating, we are literally working the life out of our soils. Constant tillage oxidizes soil organic matter away as CO2. As the organic matter (OM) disappears, so do the earthworms and other beneficial organisms that depend on OM to survive. Many of these organisms provide the “glue” that hold the soil aggregates together to give us good soil structure. As the aggregates are broken down
by tillage, and not replaced due to loss of OM and soil organisms, the soil air pores associated with the aggregates disappear too… Loss of organic matter can also cause the soil on the surface to plate or crust, making an almost impenetrable barrier, which prevents seed emergence and leads to water pooling, low oxygen conditions, and even lower biological activity.
Helena Norberg-Hodge, Think Global… Eat Local, The Ecologist, September 2002 Global food is based on an economic theory: instead of producing a diverse range of food crops, every nation and region should specialize in one or two globally-traded commodities—those they can produce cheaply enough to compete with every other producer. The proceeds from exporting those commodities are then used to buy food for local consumption. According to this theory, everyone will benefit. Rather than providing universal benefits, the global food system has been a major cause of hunger and environmental destruction around the world… The global food system demands centralized collection of tremendous quantities of single crops, leading to the 144
creation of huge monocultures. Monocultures, in turn, require massive inputs of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. These practices systematically eliminate biodiversity from farmland, and lead to soil erosion, eutrophication of waterways, and the poisoning of surrounding ecosystems. Because of the global food system, people around the world are induced to eat largely the same foods. In this way, farm monocultures go hand in hand with a spreading human monoculture, in which people’s tastes and habits are homogenized—in part through advertising, which promotes foods suited to monocultural production, mechanized harvesting, longdistance transport and long-term storage.
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Sarah DeWeerdt, Is Local Food Better?, Organic Consumers Association, April 2009 In the United States, the most frequently cited statistic is that food travels 1,500 miles on average from farm to consumer. That figure comes from work led by Rich Pirog, the associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. In 2001, in some of the country’s first food-miles research, Pirog and a group of researchers analyzed the transport of 28 fruits and vegetables to Iowa markets via local, regional, and conventional food distribution systems. The team calculated that produce in the conventional system – a national network using semi trailer trucks to haul food to
large grocery stores – traveled an average of 1,518 miles (about 2,400 kilometers). Pirog’s team found that the conventional food distribution system used 4 to 17 times more fuel and emitted 5 to 17 times more CO2 than the local and regional (the latter of which roughly meant Iowa-wide) systems. Similarly, a Canadian study estimated that replacing imported food with equivalent items locally grown in the Waterloo, Ontario, region would save transport-related emissions equivalent to nearly 50,000 metric tons of CO2, or the equivalent of taking 16,191 cars off the road.
Regenerative Agriculture, Project Drawdown, 2021 Conventional wisdom has long held that the world cannot be fed without chemicals and synthetic fertilizers. Evidence points to a new wisdom: The world cannot be fed unless the soil is fed. Regenerative agriculture enhances and sustains the health of the soil by restoring its carbon content, which in turn improves productivity— just the opposite of conventional agriculture. Regenerative agricultural practices include no tillage, diverse cover crops, in-farm fertility (no external nutrients), no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and multiple crop rotations.
Together, these practices increase carbon-rich soil organic matter. The result: vital microbes proliferate, roots go deeper, nutrient uptake improves, water retention increases, plants are more pest resistant, and soil fertility compounds. Farms are seeing soil carbon levels rise from a baseline of 1 to 2 percent up to 5 to 8 percent over ten or more years, which can add up to 25 to 60 tons of carbon per acre. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of the carbon in the earth’s soils has been released into the atmosphere over the past centuries. Bringing that carbon back home through regenerative agriculture is one of the greatest opportunities to address human and climate health, along with the financial well-being of farmers.
Questions for discussion: 1. Based on what you understand about modern agriculture, how does regnerative land stewardship differ? Do you think it is a practical solution for feeding the world’s population? 2. Shmita commands us to let the land rest every seven years, how does regnerative agriculture embrace this concept? If you practice farming this way, do you still need the laws of Shmita to govern your field management?
3. Does regnerative agriculture seem like a practical solution to the global climate crisis? Why or why not? How does this reconcile with the prior discussion about land ownership and ancestral connection?
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The Issues: Loss of Biodiversity and Wildlife As of 2020, about 2% of the U.S. remains wilderness. Here we discuss the causes and consequences of an increasingly diminished ecosystem; exploring the ways that a competitive approach to land management has caused the destruction of entire ecosystems, actively contributing to global climate change. About half of all land on earth is currently devoted to destructive agriculture practices, a good deal more to urban citites and houses. What remains is overtaxed, unable to keep up with our growing demand. Shmita invites us to consider the implications of our actions on the land and asks that every seven years, we take action, attempting to give back what we have extracted.
Niles Eldredge, Life on Earth: An Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, 2002 Pesticides have impacts far beyond their target organisms. Scientists at Cornell University estimate that 67 million birds are killed each year in the United States from pesticides. Many individuals of some bird species have died after eating sprayed insects. Pesticides from agriculture flow into aquatic systems via runoff of surface water, soil erosion, and drainage into groundwater. Pesticide residues in streams, lakes, bays, and coral reefs kill aquatic plants and zooplankton (microscopic animals) that fish require for food. More directly, very low concentrations of pesticides in water have been shown to increase the mortality of young fish and amphibians.
Pesticides and other toxins have an important effect on wildlife through “bioaccumulation.” Certain kinds of pesticides are persistent, that is, they do not break down as they pass through the food chain. They can be taken up by small aquatic organisms and insects and are then passed on to the fish that eat them. Those fish are eaten by larger fish, which are eaten by predators such as eagles, pelicans, seals, and bears. The toxins become increasingly concentrated in the higher levels in this food chain, so top predators accumulate dangerous concentrations.
Jerry Adler, Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard, Smithsonian Magazine, 2020 Tallamy is 68, graying, soft-spoken and diffident... [He often says] “When do you get a rash from poison ivy?”... “When you try to pull it out! Ignore your poison ivy. You can run faster than it can.” To which many people would reply: “Nature had plenty of poison ivy and insects in it the last time I was there.” But to Tallamy, that attitude is precisely the problem. It speaks to a definition of “nature” as co-extensive with “wilderness,” and excludes the everyday landscape inhabited by virtually all Americans. The ecosystem cannot be sustained just by national parks and forests. A statistic he frequently cites is that 86 percent of the land east of the Mississippi is privately owned. A large fraction of that acreage is either under cultivation for food
or planted in a monoculture of lawn, a landscape that for ecological purposes might as well be a parking lot. Tallamy incorporated his thinking into “Homegrown National Park,” an aspirational project to repurpose half of America’s lawnscape for ecologically productive use. That would comprise more than 20 million acres, the equivalent of nearly ten Yellowstones. The intention is to unite fragments of land scattered across the country into a network of habitat, which could be achieved, he wrote in Bringing Nature Home, “by untrained citizens with minimal expense and without any costly changes to infrastructure.” The plots wouldn’t have to be contiguous, although that would be preferable. Moths and birds can fly, and you’re helping them just by reducing the distance they have to travel for food.
Douglas W. Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard, 2020 Ninety-five percent of the country has been logged, tilled, drained, grazed, paved, or otherwise developed. Our rivers have been straightened and dammed (damned?), and several no longer reach the sea. Our air has been polluted, our aquifers pumped nearly dry, and our climate changed for centuries to come. We have purposefully imported thousands of species of plants, insects, and diseases from other lands, which have decimated many native plant communities on which local food webs depend, and we have carved the natural world into tiny remnants, each too small and too isolated to support the variety of species required to sustain the ecosystems that support us... 146
Our environmental boat has sprung a leak. Many of us are trying to repair the leak; others are bailing to keep us afloat until the leak is plugged. What is baffling, though, is that far too many of us are dumping new buckets of water into our boat, as if sinking it will not be a problem for them. At this point, each of us must decide what role we will play in the future: Will you be a bailer or a dumper? Your choice of plants in your yard will determine what role you have chosen.
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Ecosystem Services, The National Wildlife Federation, 2021 Wildlife is important to the heritage, culture, and heart of America, and we want to preserve it as a legacy for our children. Although you cannot put a value on all the ways the natural world enriches our lives, there are many tangible benefits to living in a world with strong and healthy ecosystems. We have a stronger economy, diverse food products, and advancements in medical research as a result of wildlife and natural ecosystems. The value of nature to people has long been recognized, but in recent years, the concept of ecosystem services has been developed to describe these various benefits. An ecosystem service is any positive benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provide to people. The benefits can be direct or indirect—small or large. Four Types of Ecosystem Services The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a major UN-sponsored effort to analyze the impact of human actions on ecosystems and human well-being, identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. 1. Provisioning Services
3. Cultural Services
When people are asked to identify a service provided by nature, most think of food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish, and livestock are available to us as direct products of ecosystems. A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature. Along with food, other types of provisioning services include drinking water, timber, wood fuel, natural gas, oils, plants that can be made into clothes and other materials, and medicinal benefits.
As we interact and alter nature, the natural world has in turn altered us. It has guided our cultural, intellectual, and social development by being a constant force present in our lives. The importance of ecosystems to the human mind can be traced back to the beginning of [hu]mankind with ancient civilizations drawing pictures of animals, plants, and weather patterns on cave walls. A cultural service is a non-material benefit that contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people, including how ecosystems play a role in local, national, and global cultures; the building of knowledge and the spreading of ideas; creativity born from interactions with nature (music, art, architecture); and recreation.
2. Regulating Services Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for people. Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees pollinate flowers, and tree roots hold soil in place to prevent erosion. All these processes work together to make ecosystems clean, sustainable, functional, and resilient to change. A regulating service is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena. Regulating services include pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion and flood control, and carbon storage and climate regulation.
4. Supporting Services The natural world provides so many services, sometimes we overlook the most fundamental. Ecosystems themselves couldn’t be sustained without the consistency of underlying natural processes, such as photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, the creation of soils, and the water cycle. These processes allow the Earth to sustain basic life forms, let alone whole ecosystems and people. Without supporting services, provisional, regulating, and cultural services wouldn’t exist.
Question for discussion: 1. Think of the last time you felt connected to the natural world. Where were you and how did you feel? 2. One of the reasons we take down fences during the Shmita year is to allow wildlife to enter fields and eat. How can we create an environment that invites non-human wildlife onto private lands during the Shmita year? What benefits does this offer?
3. “Homegrown National Park” offers an individual and community based response to a global crisis how does this approach sit with you? Do you feel a call to collective action? If not, what societal structures do you think play into your response?
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The Issues: Poorly Managed Common Resources The primary Shmita texts speak to the importance of common resources for nations and individuals. In the sources that follow, we explore who should be responsible for managing common resources such as ocean or air and what the implications of those practices might be on our local, national, and global communities.
Michelle Nijhuis, The Miracle of the Commons, Aeon, 2021 In December 1968, the ecologist and biologist Garrett Hardin had an essay published in the journal Science called The Tragedy of the Commons. His proposition was simple and unsparing: humans, when left to their own devices, compete with one another for resources until the resources run out. “Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest,” he wrote. “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” Hardin’s argument made intuitive sense, and provided a temptingly simple explanation for catastrophes of all kinds. While Hardin speculated that the tragedy of the commons could be avoided only through total privatisation or total government control, Elinor Ostrom had witnessed groundwater users near her native Los Angeles hammer out a system for sharing their coveted resource. Over the next several decades, as a professor at Indiana University Bloomington, she studied collaborative management
systems developed by cattle herders in Switzerland, forest dwellers in Japan, and irrigators in the Philippines. These communities had found ways of both preserving a shared resource – pasture, trees, water – and providing their members with a living. Some had been deftly avoiding the tragedy of the commons for centuries. The features of successful systems, Ostrom and her colleagues found, include clear boundaries (the “community” doing the managing must be well-defined); reliable monitoring of the shared resource; a reasonable balance of costs and benefits for participants; a predictable process for the fast and fair resolution of conflicts; an escalating series of punishments for cheaters; and good relationships between the community and other layers of authority, from household heads to international institutions.
Overfishing, National Geographic, 2020 In the mid-20th century, international efforts to increase the availability and affordability of protein-rich foods led to concerted government efforts to increase fishing capacity. Favorable policies, loans, and subsidies spawned a rapid rise of big industrial fishing operations, which quickly supplanted local boatmen as the world’s source of seafood. These large, profit-seeking commercial fleets were extremely aggressive, scouring the world’s oceans and developing ever more sophisticated methods and technologies for finding, extracting, and processing their target species. Consumers soon grew accustomed to having access to a wide selection of fish species at affordable prices. But by 1989, when about 90 million metric tons of catch were taken from the ocean, the industry had hit its highwater mark, and yields have declined or stagnated ever since. Fisheries for the most sought-after species, like orange roughy, Chilean sea bass, and bluefin tuna have
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collapsed. In 2003, a scientific report estimated that industrial fishing had reduced the number of large ocean fish to just 10 percent of their pre-industrial population... Over the past 55 years, as fisheries have returned lower and lower yields, humans have begun to understand that the oceans we’d assumed were unendingly vast and rich are in fact highly vulnerable and sensitive. Add overfishing to pollution, climate change, habitat destruction, and acidification, and a picture of a system in crisis emerges. Many scientists say most fish populations could be restored with aggressive fisheries management, better enforcement of laws governing catches, and increased use of aquaculture. And in many regions, there is reason for hope. But illegal fishing and unsustainable harvesting still plague the industry. And a public grown accustomed to abundant seafood and largely apathetic about the plight of the oceans complicates efforts to repair the damage we’ve done.
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Liz Hollaway, Jenna Jambeck, Ellie Moss and Brajesh Dubey, How to Reduce Plastic and Other Ocean Pollution Simultaneously, World Resources Institute, 2020 Plastic has gone from the greatest invention of the modern era to one of the most challenging materials to manage. Each year, up to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean, the equivalent of one garbage truck of waste every minute. The world has responded with countless initiatives, campaigns, and agreements to ban plastic straws and bags; 127 countries have introduced legislation to regulate plastic bags. But here’s the thing: Plastic bags and straws aren’t the ocean’s only pollution problem. Visible plastic waste near the surface of the ocean — the kind that makes up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and garners the most attention — makes up just 3% of total plastic in the ocean. Plastic also sinks to the ocean floor, stays suspended in the water column, or gets deposited out of the ocean in remote places, making clean-up difficult. The UN Environment Programme estimated the global damage to marine
environments from plastic pollution to be a minimum of $13 billion per year. And there are a whole host of non-plastic pollutants such as nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous that fuel harmful algal blooms, antibiotics, heavy metals, pesticides, oil and gas, and other debris. These pollutants enter the ocean directly, through rivers, stormwater or the wind. [They often share] root causes, such as a lack of access to sanitation and wastewater processing or inefficient use of natural resources. Tackling these root causes can have a compounding effect. For example, improving wastewater management at scale in a city or region can reduce plastic entering the ocean while also reducing nutrient pollution, which in turn improves the health of fisheries and coral reefs. This means that there is an opportunity to capitalize on the attention being paid to plastic pollution in order to tackle multiple ocean pollutants at once.
Air Pollution, Natural Resources Defense Council, 2021 Some four out of ten U.S. residents—135 million people—live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the 2021 State of the Air report by the American Lung Association (ALA). Since the annual report was first published, in 2000, its findings have shown how the Clean Air Act has been able to reduce harmful emissions from transportation, power plants, and manufacturing... The latest report—which focuses on ozone, year-round particle pollution, and short-term particle pollution— also finds that people of color are 61 percent more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade in at least one of those categories, and three times more
likely to live in a county that fails in all three...No one wants to live next door to a polluting site. Yet millions of people around the world do, and this puts them at a much higher risk for respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, neurological damage, cancer, and death. In the United States, people of color are 1.5 times more likely than whites to live in areas with poor air quality, according to the ALA. [Zoning policies] have turned communities of color—especially poor and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it.
Questions for discussion: 1. The concept that resource commons are doomed to fail is entrenched in modern environmental thought as the “Tragedy of the Commons.” This idea is both intellectually flawed and has been used to justify morally corrupt and racist ideas and policies, by an outspoken Hardin. How has “Tragedy of the Commons” impacted your understanding of commons? How does Shmita challenge this, or not?
2. Ostrum advocates for a well-regulated commons. Does that feel too optimistic for today or does it feel possible? Are the commons created by Shmita like Ostrum’s idea of well-regulated? 3. The images of polluted oceans and diminshed air quality are tragic, and yet, we are often not moved to act. Why do you think that is? What narrative (subconsious or consious) plays in your head when you contemplate “environmental racism”, “not in my back yard (NIMBY)”, or actually changing your behaviors to combat these issues?
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The Issues: Private Land Ownership and Inequity So much of our time and effort is directed towards acquisition and ownership. Land ownership in the United States has been largely white and European since settlers were encouraged to stake their claims on the land in the 16 and 1700s, often at the expense of Indiginous people. Private land ownership persists to this day, but the white landowners are now less likely to work their own land. Instead, immigrants work land they cannot own. Our modern mindsets have turned everything into a commodity, an opportunity for ownership or personal gain. Our current economic culture holds up private ownership as the ultimate achievement, even when individual or corporate holding is actually to public detriment. Shmita challenges these notions of indefinite private ownership and invites us to relenquish control in favor of collective well-being.
Partnering with a Land Trust: Gifting, Selling, Protecting, or Managing Your Land, Faithlands Toolkit, 2021 Land ownership is at the heart of America’s perennial farm crisis, and the history of land ownership is at the heart of the social injustices that cause conflict and division among citizens and neighbors. The Homestead Act of 1862 advertised “free” land in the Western United States to any qualifying citizen willing to till it. Though aimed to encourage small family farms and counter plantationstyle farming that depended on the labor of the enslaved, homesteading depended on the continued theft of land from Indigenous peoples. At the peak of this era, the vast
majority of land deeded was to immigrants and citizens of European ancestry; as a result of this and other factors, including discrimination against African Americans and a broad range of racist immigration policies, white landownership increased over generations, even as the demographics of immigrants changed. Today, immigrants often work the land, supporting the industrial food system with long hours of underpaid labor, but are still disenfranchised from ownership.
About Farming and Farmers, Faithlands Toolkit, 2021 Across the US and regardless of the type of farmer or farm operation, access to land is one of farmers’ biggest challenges. This is where owners of agriculturally suitable land can play a crucial role in our local food systems. • In 1920, there were 926,000 Black-operated farms in the US, managing 41.4 million acres of land. In 2017, just under 49,000 farmer operators identified as Black; together, they managed 4.7 million acres, less than half a percent of US farmland. • There is a growing movement to support Black farmers, both in accessing land for new farms and in holding onto land that families have managed to pass down through generations. • In colonizing the North American continent, the US has taken some 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous communities. • While the US government ratified more than 350 treaties with Native American tribes, they have often been violated, and all required concessions from the signing tribe. Under
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duress, tribes relinquished vast tracts of land in exchange for sovereignty and/or reservation lands, sometimes located at a great distance from their ancestral homelands. • Every day, 2,000 acres of agricultural land are paved over, fragmented, or converted to uses that jeopardize farming. In 2017, the average age of farmers was 57.5; 400 million acres of farmland are expected to exchange hands as these long-time farmers age, retire, and sell their land. This farmland is at risk of being lost even as the need for food production and land stewardship increases. • Between 2012 and 2017, the number of primary producers under 35 increased by nearly 2,000—but primary producers over 65 now outnumber farmers under 35 by more than six to one. • Over 60 percent of farmworkers are people of color, but white people own 98 percent of all farmland.
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Vandana Shiva, Corporate Monopoly of Seeds Must End, The Guardian, October 8, 2012 In our times some corporations think it is all right to own life on Earth through patents and intellectual property rights (IPR). Patents are granted for inventions, and life is not an invention. These IPR monopolies on seeds are also creating a new bondage and dependency for farmers who are getting trapped in debt to pay royalties… Seed slavery is ethically important to address because it transforms the Earth family into corporate property. It is ecologically
important because with seeds in the hands of five corporations, biodiversity disappears, and is replaced by monocultures of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). It is socially important because without seed sovereignty, there is no food sovereignty. After all, seeds are the first link in the food chain.
Michal Fox Smart, Institute of Jewish Spirituality, 2021 By renouncing private ownership of land, the practice of Shmita countered the commodification of food in ancient society, returning it to its natural state as a source of nourishment available to all life, for its own sake. The modern economic marketplace so dominates our culture and mindset, we are not always aware of its impact on our thinking and experience. We look at the Earth itself and the other creatures with whom we share it as “natural resources” to be utilized and consumed. Too often we look upon fellow human beings as a means to some end, what Buber called an “I-It” relationship as opposed to “I-Thou.” Our own bodies are commodified, and we are constantly urged to alter or mask them in any number of ways to increase their value, particularly if we are “on the market.” Our very lives have been commodified—
we speak of our time in economic terms. Time can be spent, wasted, invested, priced and compensated, under or overvalued. In the tumult, we can lose sight of our own inherent worth and the precious opportunity we are given simply to be here in this wondrous world. Shmita invites us to pause the frenzy of activity, to step back from our habits of mind and action, and encounter the world as it is in its natural, essential state. It permits us to stop doing and be. To accept things as they are, without needing to change them into something else. To stop hoarding and competing and instead to share freely, trusting there is enough for all. It invites us to see other creatures, other human beings, and ourselves as beloved creations of God, not to be used but appreciated and embraced.
Questions for discussion: 1. What are the house/land ownership and rental trends in your community? How might this be related to race and class?
2. Separately, are you aware of who owns the agricultural land in your area? If your food is not sourced locally, what do you know about who owns and works the land where it is produced? 3. What is the relationship between property ownership and power? How does this take shape today in our modern economy?
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The Issues: Food Waste Food waste is extremely prevalent and presents a major loss of resources. It is also one of the leading anthropogenic causes of climate change with an estimated 40% of all food produced in the United States ending up as methaneproducing waste in landfills. All while millions go hungry each night. Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital—and generates greenhouse gases at every stage. The food we waste is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions. Shmita opens fields and stores of food to all ensuring that no one goes hungry, but also that no one has more than they need. In these sources we explore some of the statistics and causes of food waste as well as solutions for this global problem.
The Problem of Food Waste, FoodPrint, 2021
Farm-Based Gleaning & Food Rescue Programs
America wastes roughly 40 percent of its food. Of the estimated 125 to 160 billion pounds of food that goes to waste every year, much of it is perfectly edible and nutritious. Food is lost or wasted for a variety of reasons: bad weather, processing problems, overproduction, and unstable markets cause food loss long before it arrives in a grocery store, while overbuying, poor planning, and confusion over labels and safety contribute to food waste at stores and in homes.
Gleaning has ancient, biblical roots, and there are plenty of opportunities to keep this practice alive today. On production-scale farms, where there is pressure to have the freshest, prettiest harvest, it is not uncommon for older or imperfect crops to get ignored. What is otherwise nutritious and edible is left to rot in the fields, or gets tilled into the soil as it’s prepared for the next planting cycle. Farm-based gleaning programs are volunteer-led initiatives where groups connect with willing farmers to arrange for the harvest and delivery of such produce to those in need. Groups arrange with the farmers when to come, and how many harvesters are needed.
There are two main kinds of wasted food: food loss and food waste. Food loss is the bigger category, and incorporates any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage... This includes crops left in the field, food that spoils in transportation, and all other food that doesn’t make it to a store... Food waste is a specific piece of food loss, which in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, defines as “food discarded by retailers due to color or apperance and plate waste by consumers.” ... Only five percent of food is composted in the U.S. and as a result, uneaten food is the single largest compoent of municipal solid waste. In landfills, food gradually breaks down to form methane, a greenhoue gas that’s up to 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. According to a report from the U.K. based organization WRAP, if food were removed from U.K. landfills, the greenhouse gas abatement would be equivalent to removing one-fifth of all the cars in teh U.K. from the road. In addition, food waste is responsbile for more than 25 percent of all the freswater consumption in the U.S. each year, and is among the leading causes of freshwater pollution
Beyond the fields, there is plenty of urban gleaning to do from grocery stores, farmers markets, and restaurants. For a range of reasons, food that is still safe and nutritious can often end up in the dumpster. Farm and urban gleaning groups directly redistribute these foods to soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, senior centers, and children’s daycare centers. Larger gleaning organizations have fleets of their own trucks and warehouses where they sort these foods, and are diverting millions of pounds of food waste every year.
What’s Driving All This Food Waste? Unfortunately, there’s plenty of blame to spread around: at the individual level, and also at the systemic level (stemming from legal and logistical challenges and more). For instance, low commodity prices on certain foods can mean that it’s cheaper for a farmer to leave a field unharvested than to pay for labor, packaging, and shipping to a distributor. Grocerystores follow the “pile it high, watch it fly” philosophy, which means they stock shelves to overflowing in an effort to get people to buy more food. Restaurants serve enormous portions, and 55 percent of diners’ leftovers are left behind. However, it is the residential sector – our homes – where the most food is wasted. According to a January 2020 study published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the average U.S. household wastes 31.9 percent of the food that its members obtain.
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Not all food waste solutions are equal. The most preferred way to reduce food waste is to only produce what is going to be consumed. That’s followed, in decreasing order of preference, by: feeding hungry people, feeding animals, usiing food waste for industrial uses, and composting. The top levels are best because they create the most benefits for society, the economy, and the environment.
Food Recovery Hierarchy
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Cutting Food Waste at Home Create an “eat me first” shelf in your fridge and keep on it food that needs to be eaten in the next two days. Then, plan your meals by first considering what’s on that shelf. Trust your senses! Sell by/Best by/Use by dates are not legislated, have no oversight, and are not standardized (except on baby formula). Hence, these dates do not mean that food tastes bad or is unsafe after the date. Learn to use your eyes, nose, and mouth to determine if food is safe and tasty and stop throwing food out just because of the date. The freezer is your friend. Whether it’s leftovers you just can’t bring yourself to eat another meal, or food you just aren’t going to eat before it goes bad, freeze it! Not everything will return to its original glory, but frozen bread makes great toast or croutons, and frozen fruit is perfect in smoothies, frozen veggies are delicious when tossed into soups, sauces, and casseroles.
Questions for discussion: 1. How would you treat food differently if the harvests were considered “sacred”?
3. How can you support the reduction of food waste in the broader food system?
2. Have you ever, or do you now, think about your personal food waste? If you haven’t thought about it, why do you think it was invisible before now? If you do think about it, why does it matter to you?
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The Issues: Overconsumption One of the core causes of climate change is overconsumption - from our individual purchasing habits of food and clothing to our inefficeint use of energy for buildings and transportation. In the sources that follow, we explore overconsumption as both an economic phenomenon and a cultural attitude, the causes and consequences of each, and how adoption of Shmita can reduce collective consumption. We believe that changes made at home can contribute significantly to wider culture change. Traditionally, the climate movement has placed a lot of emphasis on individual action and what each of us can do to create change. These sources explain that overconsumption is centered largely in industrial urban areas and the collective buying power of these larger entities will ultimately tip the scales in the right direction. Urgent action is needed in order to curb consumption-based emissions and “preserve a livable planet,” - cities might play a key role in this critical action.
Neva Goodwin, Consumption and the Consumer Society, Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, 2019
Emily Atkin, Climate Change Is the Symptom. Consumer Culture Is the Disease, The New Republic, June 19, 2019
Regarding the view that “consumer sovereignty” is the fundamental mechanism that guides economies, we need to recall that consumers—as members of complex larger organizations including families, communities, corporations, and nations—are subject to many influences from social institutions. The idea of a “sovereign consumer” implies someone who independently makes decisions. But what if those decisions are—instead of being independent—heavily influenced by community norms and aggressive marketing by businesses? Who “rules” then? When we look at an economy from this perspective, we can see that consumer behavior is often cultivated as a means to the ends of producers, rather than the other way around.
If consumption-based emissions in those big cities continue on their current track, they will “nearly double between 2017 and 2050—from 4.5 gigatons to 8.4 gigatons per year,” the report [released by C40 says. That means the cities would not be able to achieve reductions necessary for the world to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, which the scientific community says is necessary to preserve a livable planet. In fact, they would use up their budget for that target in the next 14 years. For cities to do their part to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the report says they must limit their consumption-based emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050. That will be extremely challenging. It will require changes in how goods and services are produced on the industrial level, which will likely require policy intervention by national governments. Scientific advancements must be made as well, including “sweeping decreases in the carbon-intensity of industrial processes such as the making of steel, cement, and petrochemicals,” the report reads.
Questions for discussion: 1. In what ways are consumption habits a product of individual choices? In what ways are they the product of cultural and economic forces?
2. If change must begin at the municipal level, what can you as an individual do? Do you feel a responsibility to act?
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Regine Clement, CEO of climate non-profit CREO, offers a narrative that ties the threads of inequality and the climate crisis to the same flawed source: capitalism. We learn from the biblical texts that Shmita offers a way to reframe our consumption habits and reassess our relationship with money, economic growth, and personal action. These texts offer a perspective on our economies and the root of our overconsumption.
Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
Regine Clement, Catalytic Capital, All We Can Save, 2020
The conflict between economic growth and environmental protection is becoming more apparent as the oversized economy bumps up against limits. From depletion of ocean fisheries to loss of pollinators, from groundwater drawdown to deforestation, from climate change to increasing concentrations of toxic pollution, from massive urban slums to degraded rural lands, the consequences of too much economic growth are observable all around us…We find ourselves in a global state of overshoot, accumulating ecological debt by depleting natural capital to keep the economy growing. Continuing to grow the economy when the costs are higher than the benefits is actually uneconomic growth.
Put simply, we are a society overly driven by capital and wealth; many of our values and mindset are rooted in the desire for money. Social identity is in many ways calculated by wealth and channeled through our consumer purchases and employment. At the same time, rapid global economic growth has led to mass inequality. And it’s all entangled with climate change. The time has come to rethink the relationship among our economy, social progress, and ecological system... According to [Rosa] Luxemburg, economic expansion and the resulting devastation of the environment and communities is not a defect of capitalism but an inherent feature of it. Climate change is the most extreme manifestation of that and requires us to address it not urgently but systematically. The challenge of climate change is perhaps best defined as our challenge to end destructive capitalism.
Questions for discussion: 1. What are the features that define capitalism? Is overconsumption a necessary element of capitalism?
3. What are the economic lessons of Shmita? How do they relate to our capitalist economy?
2. In what ways are attitudes towards consumption baked into”destructive capitalism” and “economic growth”?
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Consumption is a mindset and a habit, as well as a systemic issue. It affects the sustainability of our planet, our happiness, and our spritual life. In our final look at overconsumption, we explore the more unexpected ways our consumption habits affect our lives.
Tshering Tobgay, This Country Isn’t Just Carbon Neutral - Its Carbon Negative, TED 2016
Annie Raser-Rowl and Adam Grubb, The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More, 2016
The reality is that there are barely 700,000 of us [in Bhutan] sandwiched between two of the most populated countries on earth, China and India. The reality is that we are a small, underdeveloped country doing our best to survive. But we are doing OK. We are surviving. In fact, we are thriving, and the reason we are thriving is because we’ve been blessed with extraordinary kings. Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to develop our country, balancing economic growth carefully with social development, environmental sustainability, and cultural preservation, all within the framework of good governance. We call this holistic approach to development “Gross National Happiness,” or GNH. Back in the 1970s, our fourth king famously pronounced that for Bhutan, Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.
It is easy to use spending money as mental confirmation that something of value is being obtained. We can equally choose to relish and recognize value in experience, atmosphere, sensuality, or company. The more we make such choices, the less urge we have to treat ourselves by “buying something nice” when life feels hard. That urge might become transformed into a yen to go lie in the park on a blanket and watch clouds for an hour. And before you protest that such experiential pleasures take time that most modern humans don’t have, let us remind you that time is exactly what you can choose to have more of when you spend less money.
Ever since, all development in Bhutan is driven by GNH, a pioneering vision that aims to improve the happiness and well-being of our people. But that’s easier said than done, especially when you are one of the smallest economies in the world. Our entire GDP is less than two billion dollars.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Who Is Man?, 1965
So our economy is small, but here is where it gets interesting. Education is completely free. All citizens are guaranteed free school education, and those that work hard are given free college education. Healthcare is also completely free. Medical consultation, medical treatment, medicines: they are all provided by the state. We manage this because we use our limited resources very carefully, and because we stay faithful to the core mission of GNH, which is development with values. Our economy is small, and we must strengthen it. Economic growth is important, but that economic growth must not come from undermining our unique culture or our pristine environment.
Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement, to look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; to be spiritual is to be constantly amazed… Wonder, or radical amazement, is a way of going beyond what is given in thing and thought, refusing to take anything for granted, to regard anything as final.
Questions for discussion: 1. How does this image of Bhutan relate to your preconcieved notions of the “global south”? What can we learn from their model? 2. What aspects of your life seem richer when viewed with “radical amazement?”
3. How could “radical amazement” transform the way you move through life and how does it relate to the invitation of the Shmita year to sow down, release, and reset?
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Closing questions for discussion: 1. How would you apply the themes of Shmita to contemporary issues? In what ways does Shmita deepen your engagement with these issues? 2. How well does Shmita align with modern values of sustainability and social justice? How is it different?
3. Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon observes, “Today we do not live in an agricultural society and the Shemita has lost much of its unique national flavor. Commerce continues as usual, people retain possession of their property. Serious consideration must be given to the question of how we can best develop the important ideas that characterize the Shemita year.” How would you respond to Rabbi Rimon? What aspects of Shmita do you feel drawn to in particular?
Before completing this section - pause - take a moment to reflect on your impressions of the sources in this section. What questions did you begin with? Were they answered? What questions are you left with? If you are studying with others, what ideas or disagreements arose in your conversation? What themes, principles, or values about Shmita are emerging for you?
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Additional Resources Throughout this book, we have asked you to consider the many ways Shmita is applicable to modern life. As you continue your journey bringing ancient Jewish wisdom to life we offer the following resources and partners as as starting point. Climate Justice Alliance (CJA)
The Green Sabbath Project
Formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force. Their translocal organizing strategy and mobilizing capacity builds a Just Transition away from extractive systems of production, consumption and political oppression, and towards resilient, regenerative and equitable economies. They believe that the process of transition must place race, gender and class at the center of the solutions equation in order to make it a truly Just Transition.
The Green Sabbath Project focuses on education and advocacy with a mission to spark a mass movement of observance of a weekly day of rest on which impact on the environment is minimized as much as possible.
Climatejusticealliance.org Equal Exchange Worker cooperatives are for-profit businesses that are owned and democratically managed by their employees. Worker co-ops simultaneously aim to create job satisfaction and improve quality of life for their workers, while becoming a financially successful company. EqualExchange.coop Fair Trade Certification and Certifed B Corps The Fair Trade Certification serves to inform and educate consumers about trade practices and standards associated with the products they are buying. The mission of Fair Trade is to support small-scale farmers and local farm-cooperatives that would otherwise be misrepresented in the trade contracts of multinational corporations or agribusiness. B-Corps Certification elevates businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. FairTradeCertified.org FairTradeJudaica.org BCorporation.net 160
GreenSabbathProject.net Jewish Free Loan Association The Jewish Free Loan Association offers interestfree loans on a non-sectarian basis to individuals and families whose needs are urgent and who may not qualify through normal financial channels. Interestfree loans, instead of charity, fill an important gap in our social system by promoting self-sufficiency with dignity. They affirm the biblical mandate, by enacting it. JFLA.org JOFEE Jewish Outdoor Food Farming and Environmental Education organizations work to promote a connection to ancient Jewish wisdom through earthbased learning today. Learn more about organizations in your area JOFEE.org Mazon Mazon is a leading voice in the anti-hunger field, developing strategic initiatives focused on communities that are at particular risk of hunger and have often been overlooked. MAZON provides training and resources to anti-hunger organizations in the most food insecure states in the U.S., maintaining a network of hundreds of partners and developing strategic initiatives to advance policies that end hunger and the systems that allow it to persist.
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Mazon.org
Regnerative International
The Shmita Project
Regenerative International works to promote, facilitate, and accelerate the global transition to regenerative food, farming, and land management for the purpose of restoring climate stability, ending world hunger and rebuilding deteriorated social, ecological, and economic systems.
The Shmita Project is working to expand awareness about the biblical Sabbatical tradition, and to bring the values of this practice to life today to support healthier, more sustainable Jewish communities. The Shmita Project works across the Jewish landscape to elevate the role the Shmita - the year of rest in a seven year cycle of Jewish life - plays in today’s society.
RegenerationInternational.org
ShmitaProject.org
Rolling Jubilee The Rolling Jubilee is a project of the Debt Collective which emerged after the financial crisis of 2008. With individuals struggling with debt unable to access real support, Rolling Jubilee began buying debt for pennies on the dollar - then abolishing it. A bailout of the people, by the people, entirely supported by individual donations. Their work continues today on a broader scale. DebtCollective.org
Shuumi Land Tax The Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that helps fund the rematriation (return of Indigenous land) of parts of California to its original stewards, the Ohlone people. These funds go towards gardens, a cemetery, and other communal spaces, to counter and acknowledge the damage done to the Ohlone people over the past several hundred years by settlers and a culture of colonization. Sogoreate-landtrust.org/shuumi-land-tax
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• Lando, M. (2007, July). Mitzva Makers. Jerusalem Post. https://www.jpost.com/features/mitzva-makers • Levine, B. (1989). The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus. The Jewish Publication Society. • Linde, S. (2014, October). Wiping the Slate Clean. The Jerusalem Post. https://www.jpost.com/not-just-news/ wiping-the-slate-clean-378253
• Roach, B., Goodwin, N., & Nelson, J. (2019). Consumption and the Consumer Society. Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. • Safran Foer, J. (2009). Eating Animals. Little, Brown and Company. • Sagi, A., & Stern, Y. (2007, September). Rest, Share, Release. Haaretz.
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• Waskow, A. (1995). Godwrestling― Round 2: Ancient Wisdom, Future Paths. Jewish Lights. • Wein, B. (2002, June 2). Leap of Faith - Parshas Behar. Torah.org. https://torah.org/torah-portion/rabbiwein-5760behar/ • What’s Driving Deforestation?. (2016, February 8). Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/ whats-driving-deforestation
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Translated as “Release,” Shmita is integral to the Torah’s vision of a just society. Though the specifics of Shmita observance have changed throughout Jewish history, its inherent values remain prescient. Shmita, with its dual acknowledgment and transcendence of the agricultural and economic realm, offers an opportunity for social reset and renewal to the entire Jewish world - and beyond. The Hazon Shmita Sourcebook presents a guided exploration of the history, concepts, and practices of Shmita, from debt forgiveness to agricultural rest, economic adjustment to charitable giving. The updated sourcebook explores texts and commentaries that build the framework of Shmita within the biblical and rabbinic tradition, as well as contemporary voices that speak to Shmita as it relates to our modern world. This 3rd edition is completely redesigned with the user experience in mind, many additional sources, and more thorough commentary and explanations. This comprehensive, accessible sourcebook is well-suited for individual, partnered, and group study, with guiding text and discussion questions to enhance your learning, regardless of educational background. The Hazon Shmita Sourcebook offers a holistic understanding of Shmita, from the depth of Jewish tradition to the most pressing issues of our time.