3,794. Why We Don't Observe Yoveil Today

Hilchos Shemittah v’Yoveil 10:7

Yoveil (the Jubilee year) isn’t counted among the shemittah years. Rather, the forty-ninth year is shemittah and the fiftieth year is yoveil, after which the fifty-first year is the first of the six years of the next shemittah cycle. This is true of every yoveil.

Hilchos Shemittah v’Yoveil 10:8

The observance of yoveil stopped when the Tribes of Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe were exiled. This is based on Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof.” We see that this mitzvah only applies when all of the inhabitants live in the land. Not only that, the Tribes may not be mixed with one another; rather, each Tribe must be living in its designated territory. When yoveil is observed in Israel, it is also observed elsewhere. This is derived from the aforementioned verse, which continues “it is yoveil,” meaning everywhere. This is so regardless of whether the Temple is standing or not.