The sabbath year (shmita Hebrew: שמיטה, literally "release") also called the sabbatical year or sheviit (Hebrew: שביעית, literally "seventh") is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel,[1] and still observed in contemporary Judaism.This seventh year of a seventh year begins in 2015, as Rabbi Cahn has pointed out. This 49th year (a Sabbath year) is the year just prior to the 50th, or Jubilee year. I have pointed out many times on the blog that this year is the 2500th year since the Babylonians released the Jews and they finished their second temple. They will again come into captivity by a resurrected Roman Empire, complete with a Czar (Ceasar) who will rule with an iron fist. I think we are just about there right now in Russia. We are on the cusp of AMAZING things. Are you ready for it? I am working as hard as I can to be ready for it.
During shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by halakha (Jewish law). Other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as a preventative measure only, not to improve the growth of trees or other plants. Additionally, any fruits which grow of their own accord are deemed hefker (ownerless) and may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of shmita produce. All debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted.[2]
Chapter 25 of the Book of Leviticus promises bountiful harvests to those who observe the shmita, and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. There is little notice of the observance of this year in Biblical history and it appears to have been much neglected.[3]
So, we have a Shabbat year followed by a Jubilee Year, the 50th, 50th year. This is going to be a significant year, for sure.
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