Parshat Behar: "The Old Shall be Renewed and the New Made Holy"

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: (2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the LORD. (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 a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the LORD: 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 year of complete rest for the land. (6) But you may eat whatever the land during its sabbath 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. (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 release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family. (11) That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, neither shall you reap the aftergrowth or harvest the untrimmed vines, (12) for it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you: you may only eat the growth direct from the field. (13) In this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his holding. (14) When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. (15) In buying from your neighbor, you shall deduct only for the number of years since the jubilee; and in selling to you, he shall charge you only for the remaining crop years: (16) the more such years, the higher the price you pay; the fewer such 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 the LORD am your God. (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. (23) But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine; you are but strangers resident with Me.

(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 harvest 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.

(3) Luf which has remained [in the ground until] after the passing of the seventh year:Rabbi Eliezer says: if the poor had gathered its leaves, then they have gathered. If not, then an account must be made with the poor. Rabbi Joshua says: if the poor had gathered its leaves, then they have gathered. If not, the poor have no account with him (the field owner).

(4) Luf of the sixth year that has entered the seventh year, similarly summer onions and puah (madder) grown in good soil:Bet Shammai says: they must be uprooted with wooden rakes. Bet Hillel says: [even] with metal rakes. They agree in the case of puah with strong roots, that they may be uprooted with metal spades.

(5) From when may one buy luf after the seventh year? Rabbi Judah says: immediately. But the sages say: [only] after the new crop has appeared.

(6) These are the implements which a craftsman may not sell in the seventh year:A plow and all its [accompanying] implements, a yoke, a winnowing-fan, and a pickax. But he may sell a sickle used by hand, a scythe, and a cart with all its implements. This is the general principle: any tools designed for work involving a transgression [in the seventh year] is prohibited; but if for a forbidden and a permissible purpose, it may be [sold].

(7) The potter may sell five oil-jars and fifteen wine-jars, for this is the usual amount one collects from ownerless produce. But if he brought more, it is still permitted. He may also sell [more jars] to Gentiles in the land of Israel and to Jews outside of the land.

(8) Bet Shammai says: one must not sell him a plowing cow in the seventh year. But Bet Hillel permits, since he may slaughter it. One may sell him produce even at sowing time. And one may lend him a seah measure, even though he knows that he has a threshing-floor. One may exchange coins for him, even though he knows that he has workers. But all these things, if he expresses [that they will be used for unlawful purposes], then they are forbidden.

(9) A woman may lend to her neighbor who is suspect of transgressing the laws of the sabbatical year, a sifter, a sieve, a hand-mill, or an oven. But she may not sift or grind with her. The wife of a haver may lend to the wife of an am haaretz a sifter and a sieve and may even sift, grind, or sift flour with her. But once she poured water [over the flour], she may not touch [it] with her, for one may not aid those who commit a transgression. And all these things were only allowed in the interests of peace. They may offer encouragement to Gentiles during the sabbatical year, but not to Jews. In the interests of peace, one may also offer greetings to Gentiles.