Parshat Behar: When is Yovel?

“And you shall number seven shabbats of years to you, seven times seven years. And there shall be to you the days of seven shabbats of years forty-nine years. Then you shall make proclamation with the blast of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land. And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all of its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee to you. And you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family. A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you. You shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines.” (VaYikra 25:8-11)

This week’s parasha discusses the laws of Shemitah and Yovel. The Shemitah – sabbatical year – is observed every seven years. During this seventh year, fields may not be worked and crops may not be harvested. The produce that grows spontaneously is shared by all. In addition, Shemitah cancels outstanding loans. The Jubilee year – Yovel – is described in the above passages. This year is observed at the completion of seven Shemitah cycles. In other words, the fiftieth year is sanctified as Yovel. Yovel is similar to Shemitah in regards to working the land. During Yovel, the land may not be worked; crops are not harvested; and produce is shared by all. However, our passages describe two additional aspects of Yovel. First, all land in the Land of Israel is redistributed to the descendants of those who initially conquered and possessed the land. Second, all Jewish servants are freed and invited to return to the land that is their legacy in the Land of Israel.

The observance of Shemitah and Yovel relies upon the establishment of a definitive cycle of years. However, there is an important dispute in the Talmud regarding the system of cycles. How does the Torah treat the fiftieth year – Yovel – within the cycle of years? Is the Yovel year the first year of the next cycle of seven years or does the next seven-year cycle begin after the completion of the Yovel?

According to Ribbi Yehudah, Yovel is counted as the first year of the next Shemitah cycles. The Rabanan disagree. They contend that the Yovel year is not regarded as the first year of the next cycle. Instead, the next cycle begins with the completion of the Yovel year.[1] The following table illustrates their dispute.

As this table illustrates, Ribbi Yehudah and the Rabanan disagree on the treatment of the Yovel year. According to Ribbi Yehudah, this year is treated as the first year of the next Shemitah cycle. According to the Rabanan, the Yovel year is not treated as part of the next Shemitah cycle. Instead, the new cycle begins in year 51.

It seems that there is a very simple explanation of this dispute. Apparently, Ribbi Yehudah and the Rabanan differ on the relationship between the Yovel cycle and the Shemitah cycle. According to the Rabanan the Torah creates a single cycle. The Yovel year is the culmination of the Shemitah cycle. After seven Shemitah cycles, the Yovel occurs. Yovel is the ultimate year or event within the cycle. With the completion of the cycle – the observance of Yovel – the cycle renews itself. From this perspective, the Yovel cannot be counted as the first year of the next Shemitah cycle. It is the ultimate completion of the previous Shemitah cycle.

However, Ribbi Yehudah seems to present a different perspective. According to Ribbi Yehudah, the Yovel cycle is coincidental but differentiated from the Shemitah cycle. The Shemitah cycle renews itself every seven years – without exception. The Yovel is based on its own independent cycle of fifty years. In other words, it occurs every fiftieth year. Because these two cycles are independent of one another, each Shemitah cycle begins with the end of the one previous. The fact that a Yovel occurs in the fiftieth year does not prevent the new Shemitah cycle from beginning that same year.

Ribbi Yehudah and the Rabanan differ on the treatment of the Yovel year in counting of the Shemitah cycles. But the above explanation of their dispute suggests that they would differ on another important issue. Yovel is only observed when all of the shevatim – the tribes of Bnai Yisrael – are in the Land of Israel and occupy their assigned portion of the land. Once the Bnai Yisrael were exiled from the Land of Israel, Yovel could no longer be observed.[2] What impact does the discontinuance of Yovel have upon the observance of Shemitah?

There are various opinions on this issue. According to some authorities, Shemitah only exists as a Torah obligation when Yovel is observed. When Yovel is discontinued, Shemitah can only be observed on a rabbinic level. Others disagree. These authorities contend that the discontinuation of Yovel does not impact Shemitah. Even after the discontinuation of Yovel, Shemitah continues to be observed on a Torah level.

It would seem that the dispute between Ribbi Yehudah and the Rabanan is relevant to this question. According to Ribbi, the Shemitah and Yovel cycles exist independently of one anther. According to his position, there is no reason to assume that the discontinuation of Yovel should impact the separate cycle of Shemitah years. However, according to the Rabanan, Shemitah and Yovel are elements of a single cycle. Yovel is the culmination of the cycle of seven Shemitah sub-cycles. Without the observance of Yovel the entire system is incomplete. It follows that the discontinuation of the observance of Yovel impacts the observance of Shemitah on a Torah level. When Yovel is discontinued, Shemitah can only be observed on a rabbinic level.

Maimonides seems to support this conclusion. Maimonides rules that the law follows the Rabanan. Yovel is not counted as the first year of the next Shemitah cycle.[3] According to the above analysis, this suggests that Yovel functions as the culmination of the Shemitah cycle. It follows that with the discontinuation of Yovel, Shemitah can only be observed on a rabbinic level.

There is some dispute among the authorities regarding Maimonides’ position on this issue. According to Rav Yosef Karo, Maimonides maintains that even after the discontinuation of Yovel, Shemitah continues to be observed on a Torah level.[4] However, this is not the obvious interpretation of Maimonides’ position and most authorities assert that according to Maimonides, the discontinuation of Yovel prevents the observance of Shemitah on a Torah level. This interpretation of Maimonides’ position also corresponds with the most authoritative versions of the text of his Mishne Torah.[5] In short, Maimonides rules that the law follows the Rabanan. This implies that he maintains that Yovel is the culmination of the Shemitah cycles. Therefore, he rules that the discontinuation of Yovel reduces the observance of Shemitah to a rabbinic level.

Maimonides’ position raises a practical issue. Yovel can no longer be observed. Shemitah continues to be observed on a rabbinic level. How are the Shemitah cycles counted? Does each Rabbinic Shemitah cycle begin immediately after the completion of the previous cycle or is a year skipped between the end of the seventh Shemitah cycle and initiation of the next Shemitah cycle?

Maimonides rules that even after Yovel was discontinued the Yovel continued to be counted as a year within the overall cycle. Every fiftieth year is counted as if Yovel is still observed. Maimonides explains that the counting of the Yovel year within the cycle is necessary in order for the Shemitah years to occur at their proper points in the cycle.[6]

Maimonides’ position is understandable. We observe Shemitah on a rabbinic level. Our observance is designed to replicate the Torah commandment. It is reasonable that we should observe Shemitah during the same year that it would be observed on a Torah level. This requires counting the fiftieth year as Yovel and then beginning the next Shemitah cycle the next year. Without the counting of the Yovel year within the cycle, the Shemitah years will not occur at their proper time.

However, Maimonides acknowledges that the Geonim differ with his opinion.[7] His explanation of the Geonim’s position is not clear. However, it seems that the Geonim maintain that with the discontinuation of Yovel, each Shemitah cycle begins with the completion of the previous cycle. When the seventh Shemitah cycle ends, the next cycle immediately begins. The fiftieth year is not treated as Yovel.[8]

Rabbaynu Avraham ben David of Posquieres (Ra’avad) suggests that the Geonim rule that the law is according to Ribbi Yehudah. Even when Yovel is observed, the Yovel year is the first year of the Shemitah cycle. He offers a compelling argument for his position. He explains that the rabbinic observance of Shemitah is designed to recall the Torah level observance. It follows that the rabbinic observance of Shemitah should take place during the same year that the Torah level observance would have occurred. Therefore, if after the discontinuation of Yovel, each Shemitah cycle immediately follows the completion of the previous cycle – without the skipping of the fiftieth year to accommodate Yovel, the same arrangement must have operated when Yovel was observed.[9]

Apparently, Ra’avad accepts the underlining premise of Maimonides’ position outlined above. The rabbinic observance of Shemitah must imitate the Torah level observance. The year in which the rabbinic observance occurs must be the year in which the Torah observance would have occurred. Maimonides rules that the law follows the Rabanan. This means that the Yovel year must be skipped before initiating the next Shemitah cycle. Even when Shemitah is observed on a rabbinic level the Yovel year must be counted in order to assure the rabbinic observance of Shemitah in the proper year. Ra’avad applies the same reasoning to interpreting the position of the Geonim. If the Yovel year is not skipped in determining the year for observance of the Rabbinic Shemitah, then it was also not skipped when Yovel was observed.

However, Maimonides gives no indication that the Geonim differ on his ruling on the dispute between Ribbi Yehudah and the Rabanan. Most authorities assert that the Geonim agree with Maimonides that the law follows the Rabanan.[10] This position results in exactly the outcome that Ra’avad rejects as untenable! According to the popular interpretation of the Geonim’s position, when Yovel was observed, the years were counted as the Rabanan suggest. Yovel was not the beginning of the next Shemitah cycle. Instead, the Shemitah cycle began with the completion of the Yovel year. However with the discontinuation of Yovel, each Shemitah cycle begins with the completion of the previous cycle. The fiftieth year is the first year of the Shemitah cycle. No year is counted as Yovel. The end result is that the rabbinic Shemitah is not observed the same year as the Torah Shemitah would be observed!

Rav Yosef Karo suggests a simple and eloquent solution to this problem. According to the Rabanan, Yovel is not counted as the first year of the Shemitah cycle. Instead, the fifty-first year is the first year of the next Shemitah cycle. We have suggested a reason for this treatment of Yovel. Yovel is the culmination of the Shemitah cycle. Only after one cycle has been completed can the next cycle begin. Rav Yosef Karo suggests an alternative explanation of the Rabanan’s position. He explains that Shemitah is a sabbatical year. It is year in which the land is rested after six years during which it is worked. Shemitah can only occur after these six years have passed. Yovel cannot be counted as the first year of the new Shemitah cycle because the land cannot be worked during Yovel. Only after Yovel has passed can the six years during which the land is worked begin. Therefore, when Yovel was observed, it could not be counted as the first of the six years leading up to Shemitah.

With the discontinuation of Yovel, the law restricting the working of the land during that year is suspended. The year that was previously observed as Yovel – with its restrictions against working the land – becomes a typical year in which the land is worked. Now, this year is the first of six in which the land is worked that lead up to Shemitah.[11]

According to this interpretation of the Rabanan, the position of the Geonim is reasonable. Like Maimonides, the Geonim rule that the law follows the Rabanan. During the period that Yovel was observed, Yovel could not be counted as the first of the six years leading up to Shemitah. The land was not worked during Yovel. But with the discontinuation of Yovel, the fiftieth year must be counted as the first of these six years! If it is excluded the fundamental nature of the Shemitah cycle will be lost. Shemitah – the sabbatical year – must occur after six years during which the land is worked. Now, the fiftieth year is not observed as Yovel. The land is worked during the fiftieth year. It must be counted as the first of the six years leading up to Shemitah. If it is not counted, the Shemitah will follow seven years during which the land is not worked. This would undermine the fundamental identity of Shemitah as a sabbatical year!

 

[1] Mesechet Rosh HaShannah 9a.

[2] Mesechet Erechin 32b.

[3] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:7.

[4] Rav Yosef Karo, Kesef Mishne, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:9.

[5] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:9. Frankel Edition.

[6] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:3-4.

[7] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides) Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:5.

[8] Rav Yosef Karo, Kesef Mishne, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:5.

[9] Rabbaynu Avraham ben David of Posquieres (Ra’avad) Critique on Maimonides’ Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:6-7.

[10] Rabbaynu David ibn Zimra (Radvaz) Commentary of Radvaz on Mishne Torah, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:7.

[11] Rav Yosef Karo, Kesef Mishne, Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel 10:5.