TODAY'S LAWS & CUSTOMS:
• COUNT "FORTY-NINE DAYS TO THE OMER" TONIGHT
Tomorrow is the forty-ninth -- and last -- day of the Omer Count. Since, on the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening, we count the omer for tomorrow's date tonight, after nightfall: "Today is forty-nine days, which are seven weeks, to the Omer." (If you miss the count tonight, you can count the omer all day tomorrow, but without the preceding blessing).
The 49-day "Counting of the Omer" retraces our ancestors' seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer; the 50th day is Shavuot, the festival celebrating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai which commences tomorrow at nightfall.
Tonight's Sefirah: Malchut sheb'Malchut -- "Receptiveness in Receptiveness" (also: "Sovreignty in Sovereignty")
The teachings of Kabbalah explain that there are seven "Divine Attributes" -- Sefirot -- that G-d assumes through which to relate to our existence: Chessed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut ("Love", "Strength", "Beauty", "Victory", "Splendor", "Foundation" and "Sovereignty"). In the human being, created in the "image of G-d," the seven sefirot are mirrored in the seven "emotional attributes" of the human soul: Kindness, Restraint, Harmony, Ambition, Humility, Connection and Receptiveness. Each of the seven attributes contain elements of all seven--i.e., "Kindness in Kindness", "Restraint in Kindness", "Harmony in Kindness", etc.--making for a total of forty-nine traits. The 49-day Omer Count is thus a 49-step process of self-refinement, with each day devoted to the "rectification" and perfection of one the forty-nine "sefirot."
Links:
How to count the Omer
The deeper significance of the Omer Count
TODAY IN JEWISH HISTORY:
• MOSES TRANSCRIBES (FIRST PART OF) TORAH (1313 BCE)
On Sivan 4 of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE)--two days before the revelation at Mount Sinai--Moses wrote down the first 68 chapters of the Torah, from Genesis 1:1 ("In the Beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth") to the Giving of the Torah in Exodus 19 (Exodus 24:4; Rashi ibid.).
Link: How and When was the Torah Written?
• FORCED CONVERSION IN CLERMONT (576)
A mob, accompanied by the bishop of Clermont-Ferrand, France, razed the local synagogue to the ground. The bishop then informed the Jews that he, as bishop, could have but one flock, and unless they were willing to embrace Christianity, they must leave the city. Five hundred Jews were forced to be baptized and the remainder fled to Marseilles.
• JEWS RETURNED TO SPAIN (1481)
Pope Sixtus IV instructed his local bishops that all Jews who had fled the Spanish Inquisition (see "Today in Jewish History" for Adar 7) should be sent back to Spain.
• CHMIELNITZKI MASSACRES (1648)
The Cossack rebellion against Polish rule in Ukraine, under the leadership of Bogdan Chmielnitzki (may his name be blotted out) began on the 4th of Sivan of the year 5408 from creation (1648 CE). In their bloody march through the Ukraine, Volhynia, Podolia, Poland proper and Lithuania, Chmielnitzki's peasant army massacred between 100,000 and 300,000 Jews. Three hundred Jewish communities were destroyed.
Links: Rabbi Abraham Abele Gombiner
DAILY QUOTE:
The Jewish people are compared to the stars sparkling in the high heavens; by their light, even he who walks in the darkness of night shall not blunder. Every Jew possesses enough moral and spiritual strength to influence friends and acquaintances, and bring them into a place of light.(Hayom Yom, Cheshvan 5)
DAILY STUDY:
CHITAS AND RAMBAM FOR TODAY:
Chumash: Behaalotecha, 2nd Portion Numbers 8:15-8:26 with Rashi
• Chapter 8
15. Following this, the Levites shall come to serve in the Tent of Meeting. You shall cleanse them and lift them as a waving. טו. וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יָבֹאוּ הַלְוִיִּם לַעֲבֹד אֶת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְטִהַרְתָּ אֹתָם וְהֵנַפְתָּ אֹתָם תְּנוּפָה:
16. For they are wholly given over to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of those that open the womb all the firstborn of Israel I have taken them for Myself. טז. כִּי נְתֻנִים נְתֻנִים הֵמָּה לִי מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תַּחַת פִּטְרַת כָּל רֶחֶם בְּכוֹר כֹּל מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לָקַחְתִּי אֹתָם לִי:
wholly given over: Hebrew נְתֻנִים נְתֻנִים, [the double expression denoting] given over for [the service of] carrying and given over for the singing [in the Temple]. - [Midrash Aggadah]
נתנים נתנים: נתונים למשא נתונים לשיר:
that open: פִּטְרַת, the opening of.
פטרת: פתיחת:
17. For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine whether man or beast since the day I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt; I have sanctified them for Myself. יז. כִּי לִי כָל בְּכוֹר בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּאָדָם וּבַבְּהֵמָה בְּיוֹם הַכֹּתִי כָל בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּי אֹתָם לִי:
For all the firstborn… are Mine: The firstborn are Mine by right, for I protected them among the Egyptian firstborn, and I took them for Myself-until they erred through the golden calf; so now “ I have taken the Levites” (verse 18).
כי לי כל בכור: שלי היו הבכורות בקו הדין, שהגנתי עליהם בין בכורי מצרים ולקחתי אותם לי עד שטעו בעגל, ועכשיו ואקח את הלוים:
18. And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. יח. וָאֶקַּח אֶת הַלְוִיִּם תַּחַת כָּל בְּכוֹר בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
19. I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to perform the service for the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting and to atone on behalf of the children of Israel, so that the children of Israel will not be inflicted with plague when they approach the Sanctuary. יט. וָאֶתְּנָה אֶת הַלְוִיִּם נְתֻנִים | לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲבֹד אֶת עֲבֹדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּלְכַפֵּר עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶף בְּגֶשֶׁת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ:
I have given…: “The children of Israel” is mentioned five times in this verse, thus declaring the affection [God has] for them, for their mention is repeated in one verse as many times as the five books of the Torah. I saw this in Gen. Rabbah [3:5]. [Note that this is not found in Gen. Rabbah, but in Lev. Rabbah 2:4]
ואתנה וגו': חמשה פעמים נאמר בני ישראל במקרא זה, להודיע חבתן שנכפלו אזכרותיהן במקרא אחד כמנין חמשה חומשי תורה, וכך ראיתי בבראשית רבה:
so that the children of Israel will not be inflicted with plague: So that there will be no need for them to approach the holy [Sanctuary], for if they do approach, there will be a plague.
ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף: שלא יצטרכו לגשת אל הקדש, שאם יגשו יהיה נגף:
20. So Moses, Aaron, and the entire congregation of Israel did [this] to the Levites; the children of Israel did [in accordance with] all that the Lord had instructed Moses regarding the Levites. כ. וַיַּעַשׂ משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וְכָל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַלְוִיִּם כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֶת משֶׁה לַלְוִיִּם כֵּן עָשׂוּ לָהֶם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
So Moses, Aaron and all the congregation: Moses presented them, Aaron lifted them up, and the Israelites rested their hands [on them].
ויעש משה ואהרן וכל עדת וגו': משה העמידן ואהרן הניפן וישראל סמכו את ידיהם:
21. The Levites cleansed themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron lifted them as a waving before the Lord, and Aaron atoned for them to cleanse them. כא. וַיִּתְחַטְּאוּ הַלְוִיִּם וַיְכַבְּסוּ בִּגְדֵיהֶם וַיָּנֶף אַהֲרֹן אֹתָם תְּנוּפָה לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם אַהֲרֹן לְטַהֲרָם:
22. After that, the Levites came to perform the service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and before his sons; they did to them just as the Lord had commanded Moses regarding the Levites. כב. וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן בָּאוּ הַלְוִיִּם לַעֲבֹד אֶת עֲבֹדָתָם בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִפְנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְלִפְנֵי בָנָיו כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֶת משֶׁה עַל הַלְוִיִּם כֵּן עָשׂוּ לָהֶם:
they did to them just as the Lord commanded Moses: [This is written] to extol those who performed [this rite] and those upon whom it was performed, [for] none of them objected.
כאשר צוה ה' וגו' כן עשו: להגיד שבח העושין והנעשה בהן, שאחד מהן לא עכב:
23. The Lord spoke to Moses saying: כג. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
24. This is [the rule] concerning the Levites: From the age of twenty five years and upwards, he shall enter the service to work in the Tent of Meeting. כד. זֹאת אֲשֶׁר לַלְוִיִּם מִבֶּן חָמֵשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה יָבוֹא לִצְבֹא צָבָא בַּעֲבֹדַת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
This is the rule concerning the Levites: Age disqualifies them, but physical blemishes do not disqualify them. — [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:10, Chul. 24a]
זאת אשר ללוים: שנים פוסלים בהם, ואין המומים פוסלים בהם:
From the age of twenty-five years: Elsewhere (4:3) it says, “From the age of thirty.” How can this be reconciled? However, from the age of twenty-five they came to study the laws of the service; they would study for five years, and at the age of thirty they would [begin] work. From here we learn that a student who does not experience success in his learning for five years, will never experience it. — [Chul. 24a]
מבן חמש ועשרים: ובמקום אחר אומר (במדבר ד, ג) מבן שלשים שנה, הא כיצד, מבן כ"ה בא ללמוד הלכות עבודה ולומד חמש שנים, ובן שלשים עובד, מכאן לתלמיד שלא ראה סימן יפה במשנתו בחמש שנים, ששוב אינו רואה:
25. From the age of fifty he shall retire from the work legion, and do no more work. כה. וּמִבֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה יָשׁוּב מִצְּבָא הָעֲבֹדָה וְלֹא יַעֲבֹד עוֹד:
and do no more work: [I.e.,] the work of carrying on the shoulders; however, he can return to [the work of] locking the gates, singing, and loading the wagons. This is the meaning of“He shall minister with his brethren (אֶתאֶחָיו)” [in the next verse]-with his brethren, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders (עִם אֲחוֹהִי).
ולא יעבוד עוד: עבודת משא בכתף, אבל חוזר הוא לנעילת שערים ולשיר ולטעון עגלות, וזהו ושרת את אחיו עם אחוהי, כתרגומו:
26. He shall minister with his brethren in the Tent of Meeting to keep the charge, but he shall not perform the service; thus shall you do for the Levites regarding their charge. כו. וְשֵׁרֵת אֶת אֶחָיו בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִשְׁמֹר מִשְׁמֶרֶת וַעֲבֹדָה לֹא יַעֲבֹד כָּכָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לַלְוִיִּם בְּמִשְׁמְרֹתָם:
to keep the charge: To camp around the Tent and to assemble and dismantle [it] at the time of the travels.
לשמר משמרת: לחנות סביב לאהל, ולהקים ולהוריד בשעת המסעות:
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Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 23 - 28
• Chapter 23
When King David was in the forest of Cheret and nearly died of starvation, God provided nourishment for him with a taste of the World to Come. David then composed this psalm, describing the magnitude of his trust in God.
1. A psalm by David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
2. He lays me down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
3. He revives my soul; He directs me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name.
4. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they will comfort me.
5. You will prepare a table for me before my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup is full.
6. Only goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for many long years.
Chapter 24
If the fulfillment of one's prayer would result in the sanctification of God's Name, he should pray that God act for the sake of the holiness of His Name. One should also invoke the merit of his ancestors, for we know that "the righteous are greater in death than in life"
1. By David, a psalm. The earth and all therein is the Lord's; the world and its inhabitants.
2. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
3. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who may stand in His holy place?
4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not used My Name in vain or sworn falsely.
5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and kindness from God, his deliverer.
6. Such is the generation of those who search for Him, [the children of] Jacob who seek Your countenance forever.
7. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
8. Who is the glorious King? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.
9. Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
10. Who is the glorious King? The Lord of Hosts, He is the glorious King for all eternity.
Chapter 25
The verses in this psalm are arranged according to the alphabet, excluding the letters Bet, Vav, and Kuf, which together equal the numerical value of Gehenom (purgatory). One who recites this psalm daily will not see the face of purgatory.
1. By David. To You, Lord, I lift my soul.
2. My God, I have put my trust in You. May I not be put to shame; may my enemies not gloat over me.
3. Indeed, may all who hope in You not be put to shame; let those who act treacherously without reason be shamed.
4. O Lord, make Your ways known to me; teach me Your paths.
5. Train me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I yearn for You all day.
6. O Lord, remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses, for they have existed for all time.
7. Do not recall the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; remember me in accordance with Your kindness, because of Your goodness, O Lord.
8. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He directs sinners along the way.
9. He guides the humble with justice, and teaches the humble His way.
10. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and truth for those who observe His covenant and testimonies.
11. For the sake of Your Name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12. Whoever is a God-fearing man, him will He teach the path that he should choose.
13. His soul will abide in well-being, and his descendants will inherit the earth.
14. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
15. My eyes are always turned to the Lord, for He releases my feet from the snare.
16. Turn to me and be compassionate to me, for I am alone and afflicted.
17. The sufferings of my heart have increased; deliver me from my hardships.
18. Behold my affliction and suffering, and forgive all my sins.
19. See how numerous my enemies have become; they hate me with a violent hatred.
20. Guard my soul and deliver me; may I not be put to shame, for I place my trust in You.
21. Let integrity and uprightness guard me, for my hope is in You.
22. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its afflictions.
Chapter 26
In this psalm King David inundates God with prayers and acts of piety, because he envies those who are his spiritual superiors, saying, "If only I were on their level of piety and virtue!"
1. By David. Judge me, O Lord, for in my innocence I have walked, and in the Lord I have trusted-I shall not falter.
2. Try me, O Lord, and test me; refine my mind and heart.
3. For Your kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked constantly in Your truth.
4. I did not sit with men of falsehood, and with hypocrites I will not mingle.
5. I detested the company of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not sit.
6. I wash my hands in purity, and circle Your altar, O Lord,
7. to give voice to thanks, and to recount all Your wonders.
8. I love the shelter of Your House, O Lord, and the place where Your glory resides.
9. Gather not in my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10. In whose hands are schemes, and whose right hand is filled with bribes.
11. But I walk in my innocence; redeem me and show me favor.
12. My foot stands on level ground; in assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Chapter 27
King David acknowledges and praises God, placing his trust in Him because of his victories in war. "Nevertheless, it is not wars that I desire, for I cannot gain perfection with them. Only one thing do I ask: to abide day and night in the study hall studying Torah, to gain perfection so that my soul may merit the life of the World to Come."
1. By David. The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life-whom shall I dread?
2. When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh, my oppressors and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
3. If an army were to beleaguer me, my heart would not fear; if war were to arise against me, in this I trust
1
4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord, and to visit His Sanctuary.
5. For He will hide me in His tabernacle on a day of adversity; He will conceal me in the hidden places of His tent; He will lift me upon a rock.
6. And then my head will be raised above my enemies around me, and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of jubilation; I will sing and chant to the Lord.
7. Lord, hear my voice as I call; be gracious to me and answer me.
8. In Your behalf my heart says, "Seek My countenance"; Your countenance, Lord, I seek.
9. Do not conceal Your countenance from me; do not cast aside Your servant in wrath. You have been my help; do not abandon me nor forsake me, God of my deliverance.
10. Though my father and mother have forsaken me, the Lord has taken me in.
11. Lord, teach me Your way and lead me in the path of righteousness, because of my watchful enemies.
12. Do not give me over to the will of my oppressors, for there have risen against me false witnesses, and they speak evil.
13. [They would have crushed me] had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14. Hope in the Lord, be strong and let your heart be valiant, and hope in the Lord.
Chapter 28
A prayer for every individual, entreating God to assist him in walking the good path, to prevent him from walking with the wicked doers of evil, and that He repay the wicked for their wickedness and the righteous for their righteousness.
1. By David. I call to You, O Lord; my Strength, do not be deaf to me; for should You be silent to me, I will be like those who descend to the pit.
2. Hear the sound of my pleas when I cry out to You, when I raise my hands toward Your holy Sanctuary.
3. Do not draw me along with the wicked, with evildoers who speak of peace with their companions, though evil is in their heart.
4. Give them according to their deeds, and the evil of their endeavors; give them according to their handiwork, render to them their just deserts.
5. For they pay no heed to the acts of the Lord, nor to the work of His hands; may He destroy them and not rebuild them.
6. Blessed is the Lord, for He has heard the voice of my pleas.
7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusted and I was helped; my heart exulted, and with my song I praised Him.
8. The Lord is a strength to them; He is a stronghold of deliverance to His anointed.
9. Grant salvation to Your people and bless Your heritage; tend them and exalt them forever.
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Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 53
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Monday, Sivan 4, 5774 • June 2, 2014
Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 53
ובבית שני, שלא היה בו הארון והלוחות
As for the Second Temple, in which the Ark and the Tablets did not repose, these being among the five things found in the First Temple and lacking in the Second,
אמרו רז״ל שלא היתה שכינה שורה בו, פירוש: מדרגת שכינה שהיתה שורה בבית ראשון, שלא כדרך השתלשלות העולמות
our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said1 that the Shechinah did not abide there. This means not that, G d forbid, the Shechinah did not abide there at all, rather it speaks of the category of the Shechinah which used to abide in the First Temple — which was not in the manner of the ordinary descent of the Worlds.
It was this level of Shechinah that did not abide in the Second Temple, but only a far lesser level.
אלא בבית שני היתה שורה כדרך השתלשלות והתלבשות: מלכות דאצילות במלכות דבריאה, ודבריאה במלכות דיצירה, ודיצירה בהיכל קדשי קדשים דעשיה
But in the Second Temple it abided according to the order of gradual descent, of Malchut of Atzilut vested in Malchut of Beriah and the latter in Malchut of Yetzirah, and the latter in the shrine of the Holy of Holies of Asiyah, that shrine being ChaBaD of Asiyah.
וקדשי קדשים דעשיה היה מתלבש בקדשי קדשים שבבית המקדש שלמטה, ושרתה בו השכינה: מלכות דיצירה, המלובשת בקדשי קדשים דעשיה
And the Holy of Holies of Asiyah was clothed in the Holy of Holies of the Temple below. In it rested the Shechinah, i.e., Malchut of Yetzirah, which was clothed in the Holy of Holies of Asiyah.
ולכן לא היה רשאי שום אדם ליכנס שם, לבד כהן גדול ביום הכפורים. ומשחרב בית המקדש
Therefore, because the Shechinah resided in the Temple’s Holy of Holies, no man was permitted to enter there, except the High Priest on Yom Kippur. And since the destruction of the Temple,
of which the Sanctuary was a part, G d resides in the shrine of Holy of Holies of Torah and the mitzvot, for as mentioned earlier, the Shechinah must reside in the Holy of Holies:
אין לו להקב״ה בעולמו אלא ד׳ אמות של הלכה בלבד
“HaKadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed be He) has but the four cubits of Halachah alone.”2
Torah is the shrine of the Holy of Holies that connects G d with the world, so that HaKadosh (the illumination of the Shechinah, which is Kadosh, i.e., separated and apart from the world) should become Baruch (from the Hebrew root meaning “to draw down”) — drawn down into the world.
ואפילו אחד שיושב ועוסק בתורה, שכינה עמו, כדאיתא בברכות, פרק קמא. פירוש שכינה עמו
And even if one Jew sits and engages in Torah study, the Shechinah is with him, as is stated in the first chapter of Berachot.3 The phrase, “the Shechinah is with him” means that although he is a being of this material world, the Shechinah is nevertheless with him.
The level of Shechinah that is with him is:
כדרך השתלשלות והתלבשות מלכות דאצילות במלכות דבריאה ויצירה ועשיה
in order of the gradual descent and investment of Malchut of Atzilut in Malchut of Beriah and Yetzirah and Asiyah.
It is thus inferior even to the indwelling of the Shechinah in the Second Temple, an indwelling that did not require the vestment in Malchut of Asiyah.
It differs from the drawing down of the Shechinah in the world in general, in which case the identical progressive descent occurs, in that the Shechinah which resides in the world passes through the additional “garment” of kelipat nogah, while Torah and the mitzvot do not.
The reason that it must go through Malchut of Asiyah is that the overwhelming majority of the mitzvot of the Torah involve physical action. The Shechinah therefore descends into the level of action — Asiyah, as shall now be explained.
כי תרי״ג מצות התורה רובן ככולן הן מצות מעשיות, וגם התלויות בדבור ומחשבה, כמו תלמוד תורה, ברכת המזון, קריאת שמע ותפלה
For the 613 commandments of the Torah are by and large precepts which involve action, including even those mitzvot which are fulfilled by word and thought, such as Torah study, the Grace after Meals, the recital of the Shema, and prayer,
This is so even though these mitzvot involve thought — seeking to grasp the concepts in one’s studies, and to experience the kavanot of the Shema and prayer — and as such they are not bound up with action,
הא קיימא לן דהרהור לאו כדבור דמי, ואינו יוצא ידי חובתו בהרהור וכוונה לבד, עד שיוציא בשפתיו
for it has been ruled that meditation has not the validity of speech, and one does not fulfill one’s obligation by meditation [in a manner of hirhur] and kavanah alone, even when his manner of meditation is close to speech, as is the case when one thinks about the way in which he will utter certain words, which is called hirhur, until he gives it utterance with his lips;
וקיימא לן דעקימת שפתיו הוי מעשה
moreover, it has been ruled that the motion of the lips while one is speaking is considered an “action” — in which case all these mitzvot involve a form of action.
The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe will now anticipate the following question: It still remains to be understood why specifically the four cubits of Halachah take the place of the Holy of Holies; why should this be not so when a Jew studies a subject in Torah which is not Halachah, for there too the Shechinah is with him? The Alter Rebbe therefore explains that Halachah possesses the especial merit of expressing the Divine Will (as explained at length in Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 29).
ותרי״ג מצות התורה, עם שבע מצות דרבנן, בגימטריא כת״ר, שהוא רצון העליון ברוך הוא
And the 613 commandments of the Torah, together with the seven commandments of our Rabbis, combine to total the numerical equivalent of Keter (“crown”), which is the Supernal Will,
Will is called a crown, for like a crown it encompasses the head and brain; Iggeret HaKodesh, loc. cit., where this is discussed at length.
המלובש בחכמתו יתברך
which is clothed in His wisdom,
Thus, in addition to the fact that Torah is G d’s wisdom, which in its descent in the downward progression of Worlds becomes the shrine of the Holy of Holies for the Shechinah, there is the additional quality of its being the Supernal Will, which is even loftier than wisdom. This is uniquely found in the Halachah and the mitzvot, as they are expressions of the Supernal Will.
המיוחדות באור אין סוף ברוך הוא בתכלית היחוד
and they (G d’s Will and wisdom) are united with the light of the Ein Sof in a perfect union.
Further to an earlier statement that Torah derives from Supernal Wisdom, the Alter Rebbe will now say that the Oral Law also emanates from that source.
וה׳ בחכמה יסד ארץ, היא תורה שבעל פה דנפקא מחכמה עילאה, כמו שכתוב בזהר, דאבא יסד ברתא
“G d founded the earth with wisdom.”4 This refers to the Oral Law that is derived from Supernal Wisdom, as it is written in the Zohar, “The father (Chochmah) begat the daughter” (i.e., Malchut, the Oral Law; as it is written, “Malchut — the mouth, which we call the Oral Law”).
* * *
FOOTNOTES
1. Yoma 9b.
2. Berachot 8a.
3. Berachot 6a.
4. Mishlei 3:19.
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Rambam:
• Daily Mitzvah - Sefer Hamitzvos:
Monday, Sivan 4, 5774 • June 2, 2014
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Negative Commandment 223
Harvesting Fields during the Sabbatical Year
"Nor shall you gather the grapes of the un-pruned vine"—Leviticus 25:5.
It is forbidden to harvest – in normal fashion – the fruit of the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year. One may only harvest it as if it was ownerless, i.e. without extensive preparation or arrangement, and not in bulk.
Harvesting Fields during the Sabbatical Year
Negative Commandment 223
Translated by Berel Bell
The 223rd prohibition is that we are forbidden from gathering in the normal manner fruit which trees produce during shemittah. We must make a change in order to demonstrate that it is considered ownerless [rather than the owner's personal property].
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not gather the grapes on your unpruned vines."
Our Sages2 explain: "You may not gather them as gatherers do normally." Based on this principle, they said: "Figs which grew during shemittah may not be cut with the normal fig-knife, only with a regular knife. Grapes may not be crushed in a wine-press, only in a trough. Olives may not be prepared in a bad or a kutbi, but they may be crushed and placed in a bodeidah.3
The details of this mitzvah and the one which precedes it are explained in tractate Sh'vi'is.
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 25:5.
2.Sifra, Behar 1:3. Sh'vi'is 8:6.
3.A bodeidah is a small olive-press, whereas the bad and kutbi are larger and therefore regularly used. Regarding these objects and the others mentioned above, see Bartenura, Sh'vi'is 8:6.
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Positive Commandment 134
Rendering Fields Ownerless during the Sabbatical Year
"But [during] the seventh year you shall let it rest and abandon it"—Exodus 23:11.
We are commanded to render ownerless all that the land produces during the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year, making all the fields' output free for all to take.
This mitzvah, according to biblical law, applies only to the produce of the Land of Israel.
Rendering Fields Ownerless during the Sabbatical Year
Positive Commandment 134
Translated by Berel Bell
The 134th mitzvah is that we are commanded to disown everything which the land produces during the shemittah year; to release everything which grows on our property for the use of any living creature.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "During the seventh year, you must let it be public and withdraw from it."
The Mechilta [D'Rashbi] says: "Grapes and olives were already included [in the general command]. Why were they singled out? To make a comparison — just as grapes, which are covered by the positive commandment, also have a prohibition, so too everything covered by the positive commandment also has a prohibition."
I will explain the meaning of this statement. The verse, "During the seventh year, you must let it be public and withdraw from it" includes the release of everything which grows during shemittah: grapes, figs, peaches, pomegranates, wheat, barley, etc. Therefore the release of all produce is a positive commandment. Afterwards, the verse continues, "This also applies to your vineyard and your olive grove." But they were already included in this commandment, which covered everything which grows from the ground! [Our Sages therefore explain that] grapes and olives are mentioned separately because there is a special verse2 which explicitly creates a prohibition on grapes: "Do not gather the grapes on your unpruned vines." [The comparison therefore teaches us that] just as releasing grapes is a positive commandment, and holding them is a prohibition, so too anything which grows during shemittah — which, as explained above, there is a positive commandment to release — there is a prohibition to hold. Therefore the law regarding olives is identical to that regarding grapes — there is a positive commandment and a prohibition; and other types of produce have the same law as olives.
From the above discussion it is clear that the release of produce which grows during shemittah counts as a positive commandment.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractate Sh'vi'is. It is a Biblical commandment only for produce of Eretz Yisrael.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 23:11.
2.Lev. 25:5.
3.Outside Eretz Yisrael it is obligatory by Rabbinic decree.
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Positive Commandment 141Forgoing Loans on the Sabbatical Year
"But if you have any claim against your brother, you must relinquish it"—Deuteronomy 15:3.
During the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year, we are commanded to cancel any debts owed to us [by fellow Jews].
Biblically, this mitzvah only applies when the Jubilee laws regulating agricultural are in effect (see The Jubilee Year).
Collecting Debts following the Sabbatical Year
Forgoing Loans on the Sabbatical Year
Positive Commandment 141
Translated by Berel Bell
The 141st mitzvah is that we are commanded to cancel during the shemittah year all debts that we are owed.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "If you have any claim against your brother for a debt, you must relinquish it." This commandment is repeated in the verse,2 "The idea of the shemittah year is that every creditor shall remit any debt [owed by his neighbor]."
The Tosefta says: "Scripture speaks of two types of shemittah (release) — one regarding land and one regarding money."
The mitzvah of releasing debts is only a Biblical commandment when the mitzvah of shemittah of the land is in effect — at which time it applies everywhere.3
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the last chapter of tractate Sh'vi'is.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 15:3.
2.Ibid. 15:2.
3.Not only in Eretz Yisrael.
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Negative Commandment 230
Translated by Berel Bell
The 230th prohibition is that we are forbidden from collecting debts in the shemittah year; they must be completely released.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Every creditor shall remit any debt owed by his neighbor. He may not collect from his neighbor or his brother."
This is a Biblical commandment only in Eretz Yisrael when the mitzvah of shemittah of the land — i.e. the jubilee year — is in effect. However, there is a Rabbinic prohibition in effect at all times and in all places. Therefore, one may not collect a debt once the shemittah year has passed; it must be released.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the end of tractate Sh'vi'is.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ibid.
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Negative Commandment 230Collecting Debts following the Sabbatical Year
"Every creditor that lends anything to his neighbor shall release it"—Deuteronomy 15:2.
We are forbidden from demanding payment of a debt once the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year has passed. Rather, all debts must be cancelled.
This biblical prohibition applies only in the Land of Israel, and only when the Jubilee laws regulating agricultural are in effect (see The Jubilee Year). The Sages, however, extended this prohibition to apply to all locations and all times.
Collecting Debts following the Sabbatical Year
Negative Commandment 230
Translated by Berel Bell
The 230th prohibition is that we are forbidden from collecting debts in the shemittah year; they must be completely released.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Every creditor shall remit any debt owed by his neighbor. He may not collect from his neighbor or his brother."
This is a Biblical commandment only in Eretz Yisrael when the mitzvah of shemittah of the land — i.e. the jubilee year — is in effect. However, there is a Rabbinic prohibition in effect at all times and in all places. Therefore, one may not collect a debt once the shemittah year has passed; it must be released.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the end of tractate Sh'vi'is.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ibid.
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Negative Commandment 231Refusing to Lend Money in Anticipation of the Sabbatical Year
"Beware lest there be an [unworthy thought in your heart...]"—Deuteronomy 15:9.
It is forbidden to refuse to lend money to another before the advent of the Shemitah (Sabbatical) Year, for fear that the debt will be cancelled.
Refusing to Lend Money in Anticipation of the Sabbatical Year
Negative Commandment 231
Translated by Berel Bell
Negative Commandment 232
The 231st prohibition is that we are forbidden from not lending money to one another with the intention of avoiding its release in the shemittah year.
The Torah prohibited us from having this concern in the verse,1 "Be very careful lest you...[say to yourself, 'the seventh year is approaching, and it will be the shemittah year.']"
The Sifri says: "The expressions 'hishomer' ("be very careful") and 'pen yi'hiyeh' ("lest") indicate prohibitions." This means that the usage of both expressions regarding this mitzvah gives added emphasis.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ibid. 15:9.
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Rambam:• 1 Chapter: Zechiyah uMattanah Zechiyah uMattanah - Chapter Six
Zechiyah uMattanah - Chapter Six
Halacha 1
Whenever a gift is given, we assess the intent of the giver. If the situation indicates his ultimate intent, we act according to that intent, even if it is not stated explicitly.
What is implied? A person's son traveled overseas and the father heard a report that his son had died. The father then signed over all his property as a public and binding gift to a third party, and afterwards his son returned. The gift is not binding, for the situation indicates that if the father had known that his son was alive, he would not have signed over all of his property to the third party. Therefore, if he retained ownership over any of his property -whether landed property or movable property - the gift is binding.
Halacha 2
Similarly, when a person assigns all his property to one of his sons, whether the giver is healthy or on his death bed, we assume that he merely made that son the executor of the estate. He receives the same share as the other sons in his estate. It can be presumed that the father's intent was merely that the other brothers should listen to this son. This assumption is followed even if the son in question is an infant, lying in a cradle.
If, however, he retained any of his property - whether landed property or movable property - the son acquires the gift given him.
Halacha 3
When does the above apply? When he mentioned one son among many sons. If, however, he mentioned one son among many daughters, one daughter among many daughters, or one or another heir among many others, the gift is binding even though he did not retain any property.
Halacha 4
Similarly, when a person assigns all his property to his wife - whether the husband is healthy or on his death bed - we assume that he merely made his wife the executor for the heirs. This applies even when he confirmed this with a kinyan.
Moreover, this applies regardless of whether the husband's heirs are her descendants, those of another wife or other relatives. If, however, he retained ownership of any property - either landed property or movable property - his wife acquires everything he assigned to her.
Halacha 5
To whom does the above apply? To a woman who has already been married. If, however, a person assigns all his property to his wife whom he has merely consecrated or to his divorcee, even if he did not retain any property, she is considered as any other person, and the gift is binding.
Halacha 6
When a person assigns all his property to one of his sons and another person, that other person acquires half of the property, and the other half is given to all his sons. The son who is assigned the property is appointed an executor for the other sons.
Halacha 7
Similarly, if a person assigns all his property to his wife and to another person, the other person acquires half, and his wife is appointed as an executor for the other half.
Halacha 8
Whenever a woman acquires all her husband's property as a gift, o she forfeits her right to the money due her by virtue of her ketubah. Therefore, the ketubah should be torn.
Accordingly, if a promissory note is claimed against her deceased husband's estate, and the entire estate is expropriated to pay the debt that predated the gift, she is left without anything. She does not collect the money due her by virtue of her ketubah.
The rationale is that we presume that the satisfaction she receives upon hearing that her husband assigned all his property to her is sufficient to cause her to forfeit any other claim she has to his property with the exception of this gift.
Halacha 9
Similarly, when a man assigns property to his children - either his sons or his daughters, whether he does so while healthy or on his death bed - and assigns even the slightest amount of landed property to his wife together with them, if she does not protest she forfeits her right to the money due her by virtue of her ketubah.
The rationale is that the satisfaction she receives from being made a partner together with his children is great enough to cause her to forfeit her rights to this property. She may not expropriate anything from the property in the estate at the time of her husband's death. She may, however, collect the money due her by virtue of her ketubah from money accrued by his estate afterwards.
Halacha 10
If, however, the husband merely assigned movable property to her, or he retained a certain portion of his landed property for himself, her ketubah is still valid.
It is an enactment of the Geonimw that even if he retained some movable property, she is given the right to collect the money due her by virtue of her ketubah . The rationale is that she will say: "I will collect the money due me from what he retained." Since she is allowed to expropriate from what he retained, she is also given the privilege of expropriating from the remainder of the estate.
Halacha 11
When a person assigns all his property to his children and assigns a portion of his property to his wife together with them, and then one of the children dies during his father's life, the woman is allowed to collect the money due her by virtue of her ketubah from the share of the child who died. For she forfeited only her right to collect the money due her by virtue of her ketubah from the property inherited by her husband's heirs at the time of his death.
Halacha 12
When a woman desires to marry, she may assign all her property to her son or to another person. If afterwards she marries and becomes divorced or her husband dies, the gift she gave is nullified. For she was merely attempting to circumvent the laws of inheritance. She assigned her property to the other person solely so that her husband would not inherit it. Implicit in the agreement was that if she needed it at any time, it would be returned to her. Therefore, if she died during her husband's lifetime, the recipient of the gift inherits it in its entirety. If she retained anything for herself, even movable property, her gift is binding. Even if she is divorced, the property does not revert to her ownership.
Halacha 13
Whenever a person gives away all his property, when the gift is nullified and the property reverts to the original owner, the recipient of the gift is not required to return the produce that he ate. For even if a person explicitly states that he is giving a gift with the intent that it be returned after the duration of so and so's life, the recipient is entitled to derive benefit from the fruits produced by the gift, as we have explained.
Halacha 14
The following rules apply when a person sends articles from overseas to his household and instructs: "Give these to my children." They should be given to both his sons and his daughters. The gifts that are appropriate for the sons - e.g., books or weapons - should be given to the sons. Those that are appropriate for the daughters - e.g., colored silk garments and golden bracelets - should be given to the daughters. If they are appropriate both for sons and daughters, they are taken by the sons.
Similar laws apply when a person sends articles to his home without any instructions. If there are utensils that are appropriate for his daughters, they should be taken by his daughters. It is logical to assume that he sent the gifts for them. If he does not have daughters, or his daughters are married, they may be taken by the wives of his sons, for it is logical to assume that he sent them for them.
Halacha 15
When a person celebrates the marriage of his eldest son to a virgin maiden in a home, the son acquires the home. This applies when this is the first time this son is marrying, the father did not marry off another son before him, and the father did not leave any property of his own in the home designated for the son.
This ruling resembles a halachah instituted without a reason. Our Sages came to this decision put of their assessment of the person's attitude, feeling that because of his great happiness and love, he decided to transfer the house to him. This is indicated by the fact that he did not leave any of his own property in the home. For this reason, if he left anything of his own, even a small cruse, the son does not acquire the home.
If the father designated for the wedding a house and household utensils, although he left a utensil in the home belonging to himself or he kept a storeroom or the like in that home, the son acquires the household utensils he designated. He does not, however, acquire the house.
Halacha 16
If he designated both a house and a loft for his son, he acquires the house, but he does not acquire the loft.
Similarly, if he designated both a house and a porch, he acquires the house, but not the porch. If the house contained two apartments, one behind the other, the son acquires only the one in which he was married.
Halacha 17
With regard to marriages, we have already explained that a special indulgence is granted when a couple is engaged, and the father 1 of the son and father of the bride make commitments, saying: "How much will you give to your son?", "So and so much. And how much will you give for your daughter?", "So and so much." If, afterwards, the groom consecrates the bride, the couple acquire what the parents promised by virtue of their statements alone.
Nevertheless, the transfer of property brought about by this consecration does not take effect until the time of the couple's marriage. For the intent of the promise was that the property be given to the couple when married.
Also, for the transfer to be effective, the articles that the person promised must exist within his domain, for a person may not transfer an article that does not as yet exist, as we have explained.
These promises may not be written down so that the commitment would have the power of a legal document. Therefore, if such a record is made, it is not considered to be a legal document that would give the couple the power to expropriate the property if sold to others.
Halacha 18
When a man consecrates a woman, even if he consecrates her by giving her 1000 dinarim, whether she retracts, he retracts, he dies or she dies, the money or article given to effect the consecration never needs to be returned. Instead, it is considered to be an outright gift, which need not be returned.
Halacha 19
If the consecration was made erroneously, the money given for that purpose must be returned.
Halacha 20
When a man consecrates his sister, the money he gives her is a gift. The rationale is that every man knows that the consecration of one's close relatives is not valid; the person is not making an error. We therefore assume that he made up his mind to give her the money as a gift.
Halacha 21
When a person sends betrothal gifts to his intended bride while she is in his father-in-law's home, whether significant or insignificant in size, whether he partook of a betrothal feast there or not, whether he died, she died, or he retracted, all the engagement gifts should be returned with the exception of food and drink.
Halacha 22
Similar principles apply with regard to garments of minor value that the prospective groom sent his prospective bride to wear while she was living in her father's home. If she used them and they became worn or lost, they need not be returned. If, however, they are still intact, everything should be returned. They may be expropriated in court. For it is well known that he sent them only as a complimentary gesture.
Halacha 23
If, by contrast, the woman retracts, everything must be returned, even the food and drink. For the latter, however, she is required only to pay a lesser amount. The Geonim have agreed that if the food and the drink were worth six zuz, she should pay four if she retracts. For he gave her these gifts only with the understanding that she would not retract.
Halacha 24
My masters ruled that when the local custom is that when an engagement is announced every prospective groom makes a feast and hosts all his friends or distributes funds to his helpers, attendants and the like, if he follows the popular custom and she retracts, she should pay the entire amount. For she caused him a financial loss, and whoever causes money belonging to a colleague to be lost must reimburse him.
This applies provided he has witnesses to how much he spent. For we do not allow him the option of taking an oath and collecting the sum he claims.
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Rambam:
• 3 Chapters: Shemita Shemita - Chapter 3, Shemita Shemita - Chapter 4, Shemita Shemita - Chapter 5
Shemita - Chapter 3
Halacha 1
It is a halachah conveyed to Moses at Sinai1 that it is forbidden to work the land2 in the last 30 days of the sixth year, just before the Sabbatical year, because one is preparing for the Sabbatical year. This concept - i.e., the prohibition [to work the land] established by tradition - applies in the era of the Temple [alone]. Our Sages [extended that prohibition], decreeing that one should not plow an orchard in the year preceding the Sabbatical year in the era of the Temple after Shavuot, nor a field of grain after Pesach. In the era where the Temple does not stand, we are permitted to perform agricultural work until Rosh HaShanah, as [permitted by] Scriptural Law.3
Halacha 2
What is meant by an orchard?4 Any place where there are three trees in an area large enough to sow a se'ah of grain.5 Whether these are fruit-bearing trees or not and even when they belong to three different people, we consider them as if they were fig trees.6 If they were fit to produce a mass of dried figs of a weight of 60 maneh,7 we may plow the entire field because of them. [This applies] provided there is sufficient distance between them that cattle can pass through together with their implements.8
Halacha 3
[Different laws apply] if there were less than three trees in an area fit to sow a se'ah or there were three, but [only] one was fit to produce 60 maneh or more and the other two were not fit to produce [a significant amount]9 or there were two fit to produce even 100 maneh and one is not fit to produce [a significant amount]. We may plow only the portion of the field necessary for [these trees], i.e., [an area whose radius is the space in which could stand] a person picking figs together with his basket.
Halacha 4
If there were between three and nine trees and they were fit to produce 60 maneh, we may plow the entire field for their sake, even though there are some trees that are not fit to produce [a significant quantity of] fruit.10
Halacha 5
When there are ten or more trees in an area fit to sow a se'ah, whether they are fit to produce [the above quantity of fruit] or not, we may plow the entire area for their sake [until Shavuot].11 If there were ten plantings12spread out13 in an area fit to sow a se'ah, we may plow the entire area for their sake until Rosh HaShanah.14 This is a halachah conveyed to Moses at Sinai.
Halacha 6
If [the plantings] were planted in a row or in a semi-circle,15 we may only plow what is necessary for each of their needs.16 If there are squash plants together with the plantings, they can be counted in the sum of ten [plantings].17
Halacha 7
What is meant by a planting? A sapling for as long as it is called a planting.18
Halacha 8
[The following rules apply when] a tree was cut off and a new tree grew from its stump. If it was cut off a handbreadth or more above the ground, it is considered as a tree. If it was cut off lower than a handbreadth, it is considered as a planting.19
Halacha 9
All of the above applies in the era of the Temple, as we stated.20 In the present era, by contrast, we are permitted to work the land until Rosh HaShanah. [Moreover,] even in the era of the Temple, it is permitted to remove stones from fields and fertilize them21 and to hoe22 in zucchini and squash gardens23and in parched land until Rosh HaShanah. Similarly, one may fertilize saplings,24 remove dried leaves and branches from them, apply dust to them, smoke under them, rip off stalks, trim their far-spreading branches, and apply foul-smelling matter to them. We may wrap their branches, trim them, make shelters around them,25 place water upon them, apply oil to the unripened fruit and perforate them. All of these tasks are permitted in the year preceding the Sabbatical year until Rosh HaShanah of the Sabbatical year even in the era of the Temple.
Halacha 10
When unripened fruit from the sixth year enter the Sabbatical year or such fruit from the Sabbatical year enter the eighth year, we may not26 apply oil to them or perforate them.27 In the era of the Temple, one may not build steps at the entrance to valleys in the sixth year after the rains cease, because he is preparing for the seventh year.28
Halacha 11
Even in the present age, we may not plant trees, graft trees, or extend vines29 in the sixth year unless there is time for the planting to become rooted30 and remain after taking root thirty days before Rosh HaShanah of the Sabbatical year. Usually, it takes two weeks [for a plant] to take root.
This is forbidden at all times, because of the impression that might be created, lest an observer think that they were planted in the Sabbatical year.31 Thus if a person planted, grafted, or extended [a tree of vine] in the sixth year, 44 days before Rosh HaShanah, he is allowed to maintain it. If he did so for a lesser time, he must uproot it. If he did not uproot it, however, the fruit it produces is permitted. If he dies before he uprooted it, we obligate the heir to uproot it.32
FOOTNOTES
1.I.e., a tradition conveyed by the Oral Law, for which there is no explicit reference in the Written Law.
2.The Rabbis debate whether this prohibition applies to work with the land alone or also to work with trees. See Halachah 9 and notes.
3.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 1:1), the Rambam explains that Rabban Gamliel released this prohibition after the destruction of the Temple, because he maintained that the prohibition applied only when the Temple was standing.
4.Which is allowed to be plowed until Shavuot.
5.I.e., 50 cubits by 50 cubits.
6.I.e., we estimate whether a fig tree with dimensions similar to this tree would produce 60 maneh of figs.
7.A maneh is one pound in contemporary measure (Shiurei Torah, p. 118). Rav Kehati (Sh'vi'it 1:2) considers it to be 400 grams, a slightly smaller measure.
8.Our Sages determined this to be four cubits. The rationale is that if they are grouped closer together the cattle will uproot them when trying to pass. See Bava Batra 83a.
9.Although the one tree produced the amount required of the entire orchard, since the other trees are not fit to produce any produce at all, they are not considered significant.
10.The Rambam interprets this as referring to a situation where all the trees together are fit to produce 60 maneh, although some individual trees are not fit to produce a significant amount. The Ra'avad offers a different interpretation of Sh'vi'it 1:3, the Rambam's source. Rabbenu Shimshon also interprets the mishnah in that manner and the Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh agree that, at first glance, their interpretation fits the wording of the mishnah more easily than the Rambam's.
11.For even if they are not fit to produce fruit, such a large amount of trees is significant.
12.Saplings that were recently planted [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 1:6)]. See also Halachah 7.
13.Since they are saplings, they do not derive nurture from as wide an area as mature trees with longer roots do. Hence unless the saplings are spread out, this leniency is not granted (Radbaz).
14.More leniency is granted with regard to the saplings, because they need greater care (ibid.).
15.Our translation is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 1:6).
16.For they will not derive nurture from the entire field and it would appear that one is plowing the field for its own sake (Radbaz, Kessef Mishneh).
17.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (ibid.:7), the Rambam quotes the Jerusalem Talmud which states that this applies only to a Greek squash plant which is large like a tree. The Radbaz states that the majority of the ten must be saplings.
18.This is Rabbi Akiva's opinion in (Sh'vi'it 1:8). Others maintain it is given that status until three years (or seven) years have passed.
19.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (ibid.), the Rambam states that this view is accepted, because it is supported by a Tosefta. The commentaries have questioned which Tosefta the Rambam is referring to.
The Rambam's ruling has also attracted attention, because it appears to contradict his ruling in Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 10:13 which states: "When a tree was cut down from above the earth and [a new tree grew from its roots], the prohibition of orlah applies." The implication there is that as long as the stump of the tree is above the earth, the laws of orlah do not apply. Only when it is cut down from below the earth is it considered like a new tree. Here, by contrast, even a handbreadth above the ground is considered as an existing tree.
The rationale for the distinction can be explained as follows: In this context, we follow the figures of speech employed by people at large. As long as the stump is within a handbreadth of the ground, people will consider any new growth as a new entity. When, by contrast, the stump is more than a handbreadth, it is significant and any new growth is considered as an extension of the existing plant (Rav Yosef Korcus).
20.Halachah 1.
21.These and the following activities are forbidden in the Sabbitical year itself only by virtue of Rabbinic decree. Our Sages were not overly stringent and did not enforce these prohibitions in the months preceding the Sabbatical year.
22.For hoeing is not plowing.
23.Our translation for these and the following terms are derived from the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:1-5). Many of the activities mentioned were described in Chapter 1, Halachah 5, and notes.
The Tosafot Yom Tov(Sh'vi'it 2:2) explains that this leniency was granted in gardens where these plants grow and not in fields at large, because in the instance of these plants, the hoeing benefits the plants directly and not merely the field.
24.The first clause dealt with work with the land that is permitted in the latter months of the sixth year. This clause mentions work with trees. From this halachah it appears that the prohibition conveyed as a halachah to Moses at Sinai mentioned in Halachah 1 does not apply to work with trees.
25.To protect them from rain or sun.
26.Note Rav Kappach's edition of the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:5) which states that the text of that source also reflects this ruling. (He maintains that there is a printing error in the standard published text of that source. According to his view, the Rambam did not reverse his opinion regarding this law as some maintain.)
27.Even though the fruit reaches a third of its growth before the Sabbatical year begins or does not reach that point of growth until after the the Sabbatical year ends, this restriction is still applied, because of the impression the performance of these tasks will create.
28.I.e., it might appear that the steps are being built so that a person will be able to descend and irrigate his fields in the valley in the Sabbatical year.
29.I.e., replant the head of a vine or the trunk of a tree in the ground so that it will develop new roots and another source of nurture. Thus new growths will emerge from it [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:6)].
30.Our translation is taken from the above source.
31.Rabbi Akiva Eiger explains the basis for such a supposition. If the tree is not planted before 44 days preceding the new year, we count the beginning of its orlah years from Rosh HaShanah (Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 9:10). Thus it will be considered halachically as if the tree was planted in the Sabbatical year.
32.I.e., the heir must also help prevent the misimpression from being created. For this reason, the leniency shown in Chapter 1, Halachah 13, is not shown here.
Shemita - Chapter 4
Halacha 1
All produce that grows from the earth1 in the Sabbatical year:2 whether it grew from seeds that fell into the earth before the Sabbatical year, it grew from roots whose plants were harvested previously, but nevertheless grew again - in both instances [such produce] is referred to with the term safiach3 - or grasses and vegetables that grew on their own accord [in the Sabbatical year], is permitted to be eaten according to Scriptural Law,4 as [Leviticus 25:6] states: "And [the produce that grows] while the land is resting shall be yours to eat." Even when a field was plowed thoroughly5 in the Sabbatical year, and produce grew in it, that produce is permitted to be eaten. The statement [ibid.:] "Do not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest" means that one should not reap it in the same manner as one does every year.6 If one reaps it according to the ordinary manner, he is worthy of lashes. For example, he harvested the entire field, set up a grain heap, and threshed it with cattle or harvested it for the sake of tilling the land as we explained.7 Instead, he should reap it little by little, beat it,8 and partake of it.
Halacha 2
According to Rabbinic decree, all the sifichim are forbidden to be eaten. Why was a decree established concerning them? Because of the transgressors, so that they could not go and sow grain, beans, and garden vegetables in one's field discretely and when they grow, partake of them, saying that they are sifichim. Therefore the Sages prohibited all the sifichim that grow in the Sabbatical year.
Halacha 3
Thus we have learned that the only produce of the Sabbatical year of which one may partake are fruit from trees9 and herbs that are not sown by most people,10e.g., rue, amaranth,11 and the like. With regard to vegetables that most people sow in their gardens and species of grains and beans, by contrast, anything that grows from these species is forbidden according to Rabbinic decree. One who gathers them12 is liable for stripes for rebellious conduct.
Halacha 4
When sifichim grow in an underdeveloped field,13 a field that was plowed, a vineyard, and a field where crops had been sown,14 they are permitted to be eaten.
Why was the above decree not applied to these places? Because a person will not sow these fields. [He will not sow] an underdeveloped field, because no one pays attention to it. When a field has been plowed, [the owner] desires that it remain lying fallow. With regard to a vineyard, no person will cause his vineyard to become forbidden.15 And when a field has been sown, the aftergrowth will spoil it. Similarly, straw that grows in the Sabbatical year is permitted in all places; no decree was issued against its use.16
Halacha 5
When sifichin from the Sabbatical year17 enter the following year, they are forbidden to be eaten.18 We may not uproot them by hand. Instead, one should plow [the land] in its ordinary fashion or [let] an animal pasture in its ordinary fashion.19
Halacha 6
Until when are the sifichin of the Sabbatical year forbidden in the eighth year? From Rosh HaShanah until Chanukah. From Chanukah and onward, they are permitted.20 When a person sows the sifichin of the Sabbatical year after the Sabbatical year, the produce that grows from this is permitted.21
Halacha 7
When onions of the Sabbatical year enter the eighth year, they are permitted when there is enough time for produce of that size to have grown [in the eighth year].22 If not, they are forbidden.23
Similar concepts apply with regard to other produce. They should not be purchased in the eighth year24 until produce of that size could have grown in the eighth year. When, in the eighth year, the produce which grows rapidly reaches [the size of the produce which grew in the Sabbatical year], the prohibition is lifted from the produce that remains.25 It is permitted to purchase garden vegetables in the eighth year immediately.26
Halacha 8
When is a person permitted to purchase wild onions in the eighth year? When the new produce exceeds [the old].27
Halacha 9
The first of Tishrei is Rosh HaShanah with regard to the Sabbatical and Jubilee years.28 [The following rules apply with regard to] produce of the sixth year that enters the Sabbatical year. Grain, legumes, or fruit29 that reached the stage when tithes are required to be separated30 before Rosh HaShanah [of the Sabbatical year] are permitted [to be reaped]. Even though they are gathered in the Sabbatical year, they are considered like produce of the sixth year in all regards.31 If they did not reach the stage when tithes are required to be separated until after Rosh HaShanah, they are considered as produce of the Sabbatical year.32
Halacha 10
Grain and legumes are forbidden to be eaten33 as sifichin and the fruit of trees must be eaten with consideration for the holiness of the Sabbatical year.34
Halacha 11
When rice, millet, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and Egyptian beans are sown to produce seed,35 [the ruling depends on] when the produce completes its growth.36 If its growth is completed before Rosh HaShanah, these [seeds] are permitted [to be harvested] in the Sabbatical year like the produce of the sixth year. If their growth is completed after Rosh HaShanah, even though [the plants] took root before Rosh HaShanah, they are forbidden as sifichin.
Halacha 12
[The ruling regarding] vegetables [depends] on the time they were harvested.37
With regard to an esrog, even if it was the size of a bean before Rosh HaShanah [of the Sabbatical year] and grow to the size of a loaf of bread in the Sabbatical year, it is obligated to be tithed like the produce of the sixth year.38 [Conversely,] even if it had reached the size of a loaf of bread in the sixth year, since it was reaped in the Sabbatical year, it is considered as the produce of the Sabbatical year.39 As a stringency, the tithes are separated like the produce of the sixth year.
Halacha 13
Similarly, when the produce of the Sabbatical year is reaped in the eighth year: With regard to grain, legumes, and the fruit of the trees, [the ruling depends on when the produce reached] the stage when tithes are required to be separated.40 When rice, millet, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and Egyptian beans are sown to produce seed, [the ruling depends on] when the produce completes its growth.41 [The ruling regarding] vegetables [depends] on the time they were harvested.42
Halacha 14
When one sowed Egyptian beans for seed in the sixth year and the produce was completed before Rosh HaShanah of the Sabbatical year, both its vegetables and its seed are permitted in the Sabbatical year.43 If one sowed it to use as a vegetable44and it entered the Sabbatical year, both its vegetables and its seed are forbidden like the sifichin of the Sabbatical year. Similarly, if he sowed it both for its seed and to use as a vegetable, it is forbidden.45
Halacha 15
[The following rules apply if] one transgressed and sowed [such beans] in the Sabbatical year, [their growth was completed in the Sabbatical year,] but they remained [in the ground] until eighth year: If they were sown for seed,46 both the seed and the vegetables are forbidden in the eighth year like other sifichin. If one sowed it to use as a vegetable, since it was harvested in the eighth year, both its vegetables and its seed are permitted.47 If he sowed it both for its seed and to use as a vegetable, its seed is forbidden as sifichin and its vegetables are permitted.
Halacha 16
Since white figs48 take three years before their growth is completed, if they reach the stage when tithes are required to be separated before Rosh HaShanah of the eighth year,49 they should be eaten in the second year of the seven year cycle according to the restrictions50 governing fruit of the Sabbatical year.
Halacha 17
Onions that will not produce scallions51 and Egyptian beans from which water was withheld for 30 days before Rosh HaShanah and onions that do produce scallions52 from which water was withheld for three irrigation periods53 before Rosh HaShanah are considered as the produce of the sixth year.54 If water was withheld from them for a shorter period, they are considered as sefichin from the Sabbatical year.55
Halacha 18
[The following laws apply with regard to] gourd plants which were maintained [in the ground] to produce seed. If they became hard56 before Rosh HaShanah and thus were unfit for human consumption, it is permitted to maintain them in the Sabbatical year, for they are from the produce of the sixth year.57 If not,58 they are considered as sefichin from the Sabbatical year.59
Similar [laws apply with regard to] vegetables. Any ones that become hard before Rosh HaShanah are permitted to be maintained in the Sabbatical year.60 If they were soft,61 it is forbidden to maintain them, as [is the law regarding] sefichin.62
We do not require a person to uproot wild onions. Instead, we allow him to leave them in the ground as they are.63 If they grow in the eighth year, they are permitted. Similarly, we do not require him to uproot an artichoke plant.64 All that is necessary is to cut off its leaves.65 If it grows again in the eighth year, it is permitted.
Halacha 19
Wild onions [grown]66 in the sixth year, summer onions,67 and madder68 which completed their growth before the Sabbatical year may be uprooted in the Sabbatical year with metal hatchets. This is not considered as tilling the land.69
Halacha 20
When, in the Sabbatical year, rain descended upon onions70 and they sprouted leaves, the leaves are permitted as long as they are light green.71 If they have turned dark,72 it is considered as if the plants were planted in the earth and those leaves are forbidden as sefichin. In both situations, the onions themselves remain permitted.73
Halacha 21
When an onion was uprooted in the Sabbatical year and replanted in the eighth year and its growth exceeded its original size, the additional growth elevates the original mass74 and the entire [onion] is permitted. [The rationale is that] since the prohibition of the Sabbatical year comes about via the earth,75 it can be removed via the earth.76
Halacha 22
Fruits produced by a tree in the Sabbatical year should not be reaped in the same manner as they are reaped every year,77 as [Leviticus 25:5] states: "The grapes you had designated you shall not gather."78 One who reaps grapes to improve the vine or in the ordinary manner of reaping is liable for lashes.
Halacha 23
How should one conduct himself?79 Figs of the Sabbatical year should not be set out to dry in the place where they are usually set out to dry. They can, however, be left to dry in a ruin.80 We may not crush grapes81 in a vat, but they may be crushed in a kneading trough. Olives should not be crushed82 in a press, but they may be squeezed and placed in a very small press. One may grind them83 in the oil press and place them in a small press. Similarly, with regard to other matters, [the fundamental rule is]: One should deviate from the norm in whatever way possible.
Halacha 24
It is a positive commandment84 to divest oneself from everything that the land produces in the Sabbatical year, as [Exodus 23:11] states: "In the seventh [year], you shall leave it untended and unharvested."
Anyone who locks his vineyard or fences off his field in the Sabbatical year has nullified a positive commandment.85 This also holds true if he gathered all his produce into his home. Instead, he should leave everything ownerless. Thus everyone86has equal rights in every place, as [ibid.] states: "And the poor of your people shall partake of it." One may bring a small amount into one's home, just as one brings from ownerless property,87e.g., five jugs of oil, fifteen jugs of wine.88 If he takes more than that, it is permitted.89
Halacha 25
[The laws of] the Sabbatical year are observed only in Eretz Yisrael alone, as [Leviticus 25:2] states: "When you will come to the land...."90 It is observed while the Temple is standing and when the Temple is not standing.91
Halacha 26
In the entire area taken possession of by the Jews who ascended from Babylonia until Kziv,92 it is forbidden to work the land and the sifichin that grow there are forbidden to be eaten. In the entire area that was taken possession of only by the Jews that ascended from Egypt, i.e., from Kziv to the River [of Egypt]93 and to the Umanum Mountains,94 even though it is forbidden to till [the land] in the Sabbatical year, the sifichin that grow there are permitted to be eaten. From the River [of Egypt] and from the Umanum Mountains [onward], one may till [the land] in the Sabbatical year.95
Halacha 27
Although the Sabbatical year is not observed in Syria96 according to Scriptural Law, [our Sages] decreed that it would be forbidden to till it in the Sabbatical year like Eretz Yisrael, so that [the Jewish people] would not abandon Eretz Yisrael and go and settle permanently there. In Ammon, Moab,97 Egypt, and Babylonia, by contrast, though the tithes must be separated according to Rabbinic Law,98 the Sabbatical year is not observed.
Halacha 28
The Sabbatical year is observed in Transjordan by Rabbinic decree.99 The sifichin of Syria and Transjordan are permitted to be eaten.100 [The restrictions in] these lands need not be more stringent than those in [the portions of] Eretz Yisrael that were inhabited by the people ascending from Egypt.
Halacha 29
When a gentile purchases land in Eretz Yisrael and sows it in the Sabbatical year, the produce is permitted.101 For our Sages decreed that sifichin should be forbidden only as a safeguard against transgressors and the gentiles are not commanded to observe the Sabbatical year. Thus there is no need to institute a safeguard for them.
Halacha 30
In the cities of Eretz Yisrael that are close to the border, we appoint a trustworthy watchman so that the gentiles will not spread [through the land] and take the produce of the Sabbatical year.102
FOOTNOTES
1.As opposed to fruit; see Halachah 3.
2.As indicated by Halachah 9, this refers to produce that reached the stage of growth that obligates the separation of tithes - i.e., one third of its growth - after Rosh HaShanah of the Sabbatical year. If the produce reached this stage of growth beforehand, it is permitted to be harvested in the Sabbatical year.
3.This term is generally translated as "aftergrowth."
4.There is an opinion that such produce is forbidden according to Scriptural Law, but the Rambam's view follows the opinion of Menachot 5b.
5.Our translation is taken from the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 4:2, based on the Jerusalem Talmud).
6.Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 222) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 328) includes this commandment among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
7.I.e., harvesting produce will enable the land to generate better produce in the future. This apparently is the intent of Chapter 1, Halachah 1.
8.To separate the grain from the chaff.
9.For fruit will grow from trees without any effort on man's part.
10.Since they are not sown by most people, there is no reason to forbid them from being reaped in the Sabbatical year, for it is unlikely that anyone would plant them.
11.Both of these are fragrant herbs. Our translation is taken from Rav Kappach's notes to the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 9:1).
12.The Radbaz questions the Rambam's statement, for seemingly, the Rabbinic decree was against eating, not gathering. He, however, states that from the Jerusalem Talmud (Sh'vi'it 9:1), it would appear that the decree also included gathering the aftergrowth.
13.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Pe'ah 2:1), the Rambam defines this term as a field left desolate and untilled.
14.Apparently, this refers to a field where crops had been sown in the sixth year and they reached more than a third of their growth in that year. Hence, it is permitted to harvest them in the Sabbatical year.
15.For that would bring about the violation of the prohibition of kilayim, mixed species in a vineyard, and cause the vineyard to become forbidden. See Hilchot Kilayim 6:1.
16.Although it is not forbidden, it must be treated with the holiness of the Sabbatical year (Ra'avad; see Chapter 5, Halachah 19-20, 23).
17.I.e., that attained one third of their growth in the Sabbatical year.
18.If the aftergrowth of the Sabbatical year was allowed, it is possible that transgressors would sow their fields at the end of the Sabbatical year and then say that the crops that are growing are merely an aftergrowth.
19.And in that way, destroy the crops. We are not concerned with the fact that they will fertilize the field or serve as food for his animals, for there is no prohibition against benefiting from the aftergrowth.
20.For by that time, the majority of the produce will have grown in the eighth year. The Ra'avad questions the Rambam's source. The commentaries maintain that it follows the wording of the version of the Jerusalem Talmud, Demai 2:1, possessed by the Rambam.
21.The rationale is that this produce is brought about by a combination of two factors: one (the earth) which is permitted and one (the aftergrowth) which is forbidden. In such situations, the produce is permitted. See Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 10:21.
22.For it is possible that these are onions of the eighth year. And if they are from the Sabbatical year, it is possible that they increased their size to the extent that the majority of their growth took place in the eighth year (Radbaz).
23.Lest one be partaking of an onion that grew in the Sabbatical year.
24.From a person who is suspect of violating the prohibitions of the Sabbatical year.
25.Our translation is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 6:4).
26.See Halachot 12-13.
27.The Radbaz quotes the Jerusalem Talmud (Sh'vi'it 5:5) as explaining that this refers to after the Pesach festival.
28.The year is considered to begin from that date. See also Chapter 10, Halachah 4.
29.The mention of fruit is somewhat problematic, because, as stated in Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 1:2, the fifteenth of Shvat is "the New Year of the Trees." The Radbaz, however, explains that there is no contradiction. Each "new year" is considered in its own context. With regard to the calculation of the cycle of the tithes and the laws of orlah, the fifteenth of Shvat is "the New Year of the Trees." With regard to the prohibitions of the Sabbatical year, by contrast, the new year begins on Rosh HaShanah.
The Shelah, however, states that even with regard to the Sabbatical year, the fifteenth of Shvat is the Rosh HaShanah of the Trees and wit regard to them, the laws of the Sabbatical year begin from that date. This is the present practice in Eretz Yisrael.
30.I.e., one third of its growth.
31.It is permitted to harvest them and partake of them without any restrictions. Nor are they endowed with the holiness of the crops of the Sabbatical year. Similar laws apply with regard to the separation of tithes (ibid.).
32.As explained in the following halachah.
33.And harvested.
34.See Chapters 5-6.
35.From Rav Kappach's translation of the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:8), it appears that the intent is that his purpose is to use the kernels as seed and not to partake of them. Others, however, interpret the Rambam's as meaning that he desires to eat the seeds and not the pods. Were the person concerned with eating the pods - or even the kernels according to the first interpretation - the plants would be considered like vegetables; see Halachah 14.
36.I.e., they are not considered like vegetables in which the time when they are gathered determines the ruling (Halachah 12), because they are not gathered immediately after their growth is completed, but rather left growing in the earth so that they dry. Nor are they considered like grain or beans in which instance, the time when they reach one third of their growth determines the ruling (Halachah 9), because they complete their growth at different times. See also Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 1:8 which sets these species aside from others.
37.It is bound by the agricultural laws governing the year in which it was reaped (ibid.:4).
38.The produce of the Sabbatical year need not be tithed. Nevertheless, as a stringency, the ruling governing an esrog is dependent on when the fruit first budded (Rosh HaShanah 15b). Hence, it is necessary to tithe such an esrog. Compare to ibid. 1:6.
39.And must be eaten with consideration shown for the special holiness of that year (Radbaz).
40.As in Halachah 9. Thus if they complete one third of their growth before the advent of the eighth year, they are considered as produce of the Sabbatical year.
41.As in Halachah 11. I.e., whether in the Sabbatical year or in the eighth year.
42.As in Halachah 12. The Rambam does not mention the laws pertaining to an esrog, because since it is reaped in the eighth year, it is considered entirely as the produce of the eighth year. None of the restrictions of the Sabbatical year apply and tithes must be separated.
43.Since it was sowed for seed, that intent determines the ruling, and the laws stated in Halachah 11 apply. Since as a whole, the plant is considered as the produce of the sixth year, even if part of the plant is harvested as a vegetable, we are not concerned about when it was harvested and it is still considered as produce of the sixth year.
44.The ruling is governed by that intent and the laws mentioned in Halachah 12 apply, even to the seeds.
45.Because of the impression that might be created. With regard to this question, the standard published text of the Jerusalem Talmud (Sh'vi'it 5:5) states that the seed is permitted and the vegetable is forbidden. The Radbaz maintains that the Rambam's ruling should be interpreted in the same manner (as might be understood from the conclusion of the following halachah). The Kessef Mishneh suggests that perhaps the Rambam had a different version of the Jerusalem Talmud.
46.The ruling is determined by when the growth of the produce was completed, in this instance, the Sabbatical year. Hence, it is forbidden as are the other sifichin of that year (Halachah 5).
47.For the ruling concerning vegetables depends on when they were harvested.
The Ra'avad differs with the Rambam's ruling, maintaining that there is no room for leniency with regard to produce that was sown in the Sabbatical year. The Radbaz justifies the Rambam's ruling, maintaining that it is based on a passage from the Jerusalem Talmud. Rav Yosef Corcus explains that even though sowing the land involves a transgression and in the Sabbatical year, the crops should be uprooted, if that did not happen, the vegetables are not forbidden.
48.Our translation is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 5:1).
49.As stated in Halachah 9, this is the determining factor with regard to fruit from trees. Hence they are considered as fruit of the Sabbatical year.
50.I.e., in a manner which acknowledges their holiness.
51.Our translation is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:9). The term seris means "eunuch." It is used in this instance because generally, onions produce scallions if they are left in a moist place after being uprooted from the earth. Just as a eunuch cannot produce seed, this species does not produce scallions.
52.Here too our translation is based on the above source.
53.In that age, when water pumps and piping did not exist, irrigation was a much more complicated matter and plants would be irrigated at specific periods. When a farmer would like to harvest his produce, he begins withholding water from it beforehand, so that it will begin to dry.
54.Even if they are harvested in the Sabbatical year, for it is considered as if their growth was completed in the sixth year.
55.For it is considered as if they were still growing at the end of the sixth year.
56.They dried out [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 2:10)].
57.For they did not grow in the Sabbatical year.
58.And thus they grew in the Sabbatical year.
59.And they must be destroyed, for it is forbidden to take produce of the Sabbatical year and set it aside to be used for seed in future years (ibid.).
60.For they did not grow in the Sabbatical year.
61.And thus they grew in the Sabbatical year.
62.The Tosefta, Sh'vi'it 2:11 explains that the prohibition stems from the impression that might be created. An onlooker might think that they were planted in the Sabbatical year (Kessef Mishneh).
63.Wild onions grow in the ground for up to three years. Hence, there is no question about what an onlooker might say, for the majority of the produce will have grown at a time when it is permitted.
64.Our translation is taken from Rav Kappach's notes to the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Uktzin 1:6). Our text follows the version of the Mishneh Torah published by Rav Shabse Frankel. The standard printed text offers a slightly different version. Since the artichoke plant grows primarily in the ground and that portion is not visible, it need not be uprooted.
65.This is necessary. Because the leaves are soft and edible, we are concerned with the impression an observer might receive.
66.The Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 5:4) states that we are speaking about onions that have reached the stage that all that is necessary is to dig them out and uproot them.
67.Which become dried out (ibid.).
68.A plant which produces a powerful red dye.
69.Although using the metal hatchets would overturn the earth, this is not considered as tilling the land, because one's intent is obviously to harvest the produce (Radbaz).
70.We are speaking about onions that had completed their growth before the Sabbatical year, but had been left in the ground.
71.As long as the leaves are green, they are considered as if they come from the onion itself [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 6:2)].
72.As the leaves grew, the onion produces roots. As the roots grow, the leaves turn dark green.
73.For their growth was completed before the advent of the Sabbatical year.
74.The onion becomes permitted when the majority of its mass is permitted. The new growth nullifies the forbidden matter.
75.I.e., growing in the earth in the Sabbatical year.
76.Increasing its size in the eighth year.
The Ra'avad objects to the Rambam's ruling, noting that the Jerusalem Talmud (Sh'vi'it 6:3) appears to imply that the leniency is granted only when the leaves of the onions were bent over. Otherwise, the onions remain forbidden. The Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh justify the Rambam's ruling, stating that it reflects the treatment of the subject in the Babylonian Talmud (Nedarim 59b). Moreover, even the Jerusalem Talmud can be interpreted in this manner.
77.The prohibition does not prevent us from reaping the fruits of the trees during the Sabbatical year. On the contrary, the fruits are ownerless and are meant to be eaten by people at large, as Leviticus 11:39 states, "[The fruit produced as] the land rests shall be yours to eat." The point of the mitzvah is that one may not reap in the same manner that he usually does [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 8:6)].
78.Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 223) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 329) include this commandment among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
79.I.e., what changes should be made to the usual manner of reaping.
80.Our translation of this halachah is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 8:6).
81.To produce wine.
82.To extract their oil.
83.After olives were pressed once and the higher quality of oil extracted, the olives would be ground and pressed again to produce more oil. Compare to Hilchot Issurei Mizbeiach 7:8.
84.Sefer HaMitzvot (positive commandment 134) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 84) includes this commandment among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
The Rambam's wording implies that the commandment is incumbent on the person; he must consider his property ownerless. Other commentaries note that Bava Metzia 39a speaks of "the land being declared ownerless by the King," i.e., that automatically, the person's right to his produce is removed from him by Divine order. See Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XVII, p. 287ff., which clarifies the difference between these perspectives.
85.The Kessef Mishneh quotes the Mechilta which explains that according to Scriptural Law, it would appear that one should rip down the fences around his fields. Our Sages did not require that. They did, however, forbid erecting new fences.
86.The rich as well as the poor.
87.I.e., although the owner of the land does not have greater privileges than others, he does not have lesser privileges either and may take some of the produce.
88.For this is an ordinary amount which a person would store for immediate use. To set aside produce for long term storage is forbidden in the Sabbatical year.
89.For ultimately, he has not treated the field as his own, but has left it ownerless.
90.Implying that these mitzvot are observed only in that land.
91.For this reason, the laws of the Sabbatical year were observed even before the Temple was constructed (Radbaz).
Although the laws of the Sabbatical year are not dependent on whether or not the Temple is standing, they are dependent on the presence of the majority of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael, as stated in Chapter 10, Halachah 9. As stated in Halachah 8 of that chapter, after the exile of the tribe of Reuven and Gad, slightly more than a hundred years before the destruction of the First Temple, this criterion was not met and the Sabbatical year and many other mitzvot are observed only because of Rabbinic decree.
(As will be explained in the notes to that source, there is some difference of the opinion concerning both the actual ruling and the Rambam's stance on that issue.)
92.As the Rambam explains in Hilchot Terumah, ch. 1, and Hilchot Beis HaBechirah, ch. 6, when the Jews conquered Eretz Yisrael after the exodus from Egypt, the land became holy and all the agricultural laws incumbent on it took effect. After the exile of the tribes of Reuven and Gad, these laws no longer applied according to Scriptural Law. When Ezra led the people back from the Babylonian exile, he sanctified the land a second time according to Rabbinic decree. At this time, however, the people settled in a much smaller area than they had originally lived. Kziv was the northern boundary of that area and is considered outside the area. See the maps accompanying Hilchot Terumah, loc. cit. See also the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 6:1).
93.According to the Radbaz (Hilchot Terumah 1:9), this refers to Wadi el Arish and not the Nile. There are, however, other sources which identify "the River of Egypt" as the Nile.
94.A mountain range in Northern Lebanon. This represents the boundaries of the land conquered by the Jews after the Exodus from Egypt. As the Rambam explains, our Sages imposed certain restrictions on this land as well.
95.This area is considered as part of the Diaspora and none of the agricultural laws relating to Eretz Yisrael apply there. The Umanum Mountains themselves are part of the Diaspora.
96."The lands which [King] David conquered outside of the Land of Canaan, e.g., Aram Naharaim, Aram Tzovah, Achlab [which are located slightly north of Eretz Yisrael]... before he conquered Eretz Yisrael entirely." See Hilchot Terumah 1:3 and the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Demai 6:11).
97.Countries to the southeast of Eretz Yisrael.
98.See Hilchot Terumah 1:6.
99.Transjordan refers to the area extending outward from the eastern bank of the Jordan. The tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half the tribe of Menasheh settled there. Rav Yosef Corcus maintains that according to Scriptural Law, the Sabbatical year never had to be observed there (see Sifra, the beginning of Behar), because it is not part of Eretz Yisrael in certain contexts. Others maintain that according to Scriptural Law, in the era of the First Temple, the Sabbatical year was to be observed there. All agree that our Sages required its partial observance.
100.The Radbaz explains that this applies even if the Jews returning from Babylon had settled in a portion of this territory, the sificihin are not forbidden.
101.I.e., we are allowed to purchase this produce and partake of it. This applies even in the portion of the land where the Sabbatical year is observed according to Rabbinic decree.
The Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh refer to the Kaftor VePerach who states that seemingly, although produce grown by a gentile in Eretz Yisrael in the Sabbatical year is permitted, it would have to eaten with respect to its holiness, as described in the following chapter. For as the Rambam states in Hilchot Terumah 1:10: "When a gentile purchases land in Eretz Yisrael, he does not cause it to be absolved from [the observance of] the mitzvot. Instead, its holiness is still intact." Thus although there is no reason to forbid one from partaking of the produce grown by a gentile, seemingly, it should be considered "holy."
They note that in their time this was not the common practice, (nor is it the practice in Eretz Yisrael today). They justify this conduct on the grounds that, according to certain views (see Chapter 10, Halachah 9, where this subject is discussed) that in the present era, the observance of the Sabbatical year is a Rabbinic ordinance (and not of Scriptural authority). And our Sages did not impose any restrictions on produce grown by gentiles.
102.In addition to the material motive involved, there is a ritual dimension to this restriction. We are forbidden to allow a gentile to partake of the produce of the Sabbatical year (Chapter 5, Halachah 13). The Radbaz questions if watchmen should be appointed to guard the fields of Jews in Eretz Yisrael that are not located on the border, but are near areas where gentiles are located and there is a possibility that they will take the produce that is left ownerless.
Shemita - Chapter 5
Halacha 1
The produce of the Sabbatical year is designated for the sake of eating, drinking,1smearing oneself [with oil],2 kindling lamps, and dyeing. According to the Oral Tradition, we learned that the word tihiyeh3 implies that it may be used even for kindling lamps, and dyeing.4
Halacha 2
What is meant by [the license to use the produce of the Sabbatical year] for eating and drinking? One should eat those foods that are normally eaten and drink the beverages that are normally drunken, as is the law with regard to terumah and the second tithe.5
Halacha 3
He should not change the natural function of produce as he does not with regard to terumah and the second tithe, i.e., something that is normally eaten raw should not be eaten cooked. Something that is normally eaten cooked should not be eaten raw. For this reason, animal fodder6 should not be cooked, nor should one press himself to eat a cooked dish that has spoiled or bread that has become moldy, as he does not eat such foods that are terumah or the second tithe.7
Halacha 4
We do not cook vegetables from the Sabbatical year in oil that is terumah lest it disqualify it.8 If one cooked a little and ate it immediately, it is permitted,9 because he did not leave it aside so that it become disqualified.
Halacha 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 eaten 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."10
Halacha 6
What is meant by [the license to] smear oneself [with produce from the Sabbatical year]? One may smear oneself with produce with which it is common to smear oneself. He should not smear wine or vinegar, but he may smear oil.11 We do not place fragrant herbs in oil,12 nor should one apply oil in a bathhouse.13 He may, however, apply oil outside and then enter.14
Halacha 7
Oil from the Sabbatical year should not be used to seal an oven or a range,15nor should it be applied to a shoe or a sandal.16 One should not apply [such oil] with impure hands.17 If the oil fell on his flesh, he may rub it in with impure hands.18 One should not apply [such] oil to his foot while it is in a shoe,19 He may, however, smear [such oil] on his foot and put on a shoe or smear his entire body and then roll on a new [leather] mat.20
Halacha 8
What is meant by [the license to] kindle a lamp [with produce from the Sabbatical year]? One may kindle a lamp with oil from the Sabbatical year itself. If one sold [oil from the Sabbatical year] and used the proceeds21 to purchase other oil or exchanged [oil from the Sabbatical year] for other oil,22 they are both forbidden to be used for kindling, for we may not use money received in return for the produce of the Sabbatical year for kindling.23
One should not place oil directly into a fire.24 Instead, one should light it in a lamp.25
Halacha 9
What is meant by [the license to use produce from the Sabbatical year] for dyeing? Produce which is ordinarily used as dye even though it is also used as food for people may be used as dye for man's sake.26 We may not, however, use the produce of the Sabbatical year - even animal fodder - as dye for the sake of an animal. For the holiness of the Sabbatical year does not rest on dye for animals.
Halacha 10
The holiness of the Sabbatical year falls on [natural] detergents - e.g., borit and ehel,27 - and we may launder with them,28 as [Leviticus 25:6] states: "And [the produce that grows] while the land is resting shall be yours," i.e., for all your needs. Nevertheless, the fruit of the Sabbatical year should not be used as a detergent,29 nor should it be used to produce a compress,30 for [the above verse] states: "...shall be yours to eat,"31 i.e., and not for a compress, nor to sprinkle,32 induce regurgitation, soak flax, or use as a detergent.
Halacha 11
A great principle was stated with regard to the produce of the Sabbatical year: 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: "yours to eat," i.e., whatever is distinguished as being for you, should be used as food33 and not for medicinal purposes. Anything that is not distinguished as being for human consumption, e.g., soft thorns and brambles, may be used as a compress for a person, but not for an animal.34
If it is not distinguished as being for either of the above purposes - e.g., za'ater, oregano,35 and thyme,36 [the ruling depends] on the person's intent. If he thought to use it as kindling wood, it is considered as kindling wood.37 If he intended that it be used as food [for humans], it is considered as produce.38
If it is distinguished as being for both of the above purposes, we treat it with both the stringencies incumbent on food for humans - and compresses are not made with it - and those incumbent on animal fodder - that they may not be cooked.39
Halacha 12
It is permitted to sell food for humans and animal fodder and use the proceeds to purchase food for humans. We may not, however, sell animal fodder to purchase other animal fodder.40 Needless to say, we may not sell food for humans to purchase animal fodder. If [animal fodder] was purchased with [such produce] or food for humans was exchanged for animal fodder, [the animal fodder] is considered like food for humans and it may not be used to make a compress for a person.
Halacha 13
The produce of the Sabbatical year may not be transported from Eretz Yisrael to the Diaspora, not even to Syria.41 It cannot be fed to a gentile,42 nor to a hired worker.43 If he was hired for an entire week, an entire year, or an entire month or an agreement regarding his food was established, he is considered as a member of one's household and he may be fed [the produce of the Sabbatical year]. We may feed a guest44 the produce of the Sabbatical year.45
Halacha 14
The court does not allot produce of the Sabbatical year to a woman,46 because this is considered as paying a debt with the produce of the Sabbatical year.47 She may, however, take her livelihood from [produce of the Sabbatical year] in her husband's possession.48
Halacha 15
We do not harvest the produce of the Sabbatical year when it is not yet ripe.49 [This is derived from Leviticus 25:12 which states:] "And you shall partake of its produce," [implying that the fruits] may not be eaten until they are considered as produce.50 One may, however, partake of a small amount of them in the field while they are underdeveloped, as one partakes [of such produce] in other years.51 One should not bring the produce into one's home until it reaches the stage when the obligation to separate tithes takes effect.52
Halacha 16
From when is it permitted to partake of the fruit of trees in the field in the Sabbatical year? With regard to underdeveloped figs, when their surface will become shiny,53 he may eat his bread with them in the field. The same applies in all analogous situations With regard to underdeveloped grapes,54 when sap flows in them, they may be eaten in the fields. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
With regard to olives, when a se'ah of olives would produce a revi'it of a log55 of oil, one may break them open56 and eat them in the fields.57 [If such an amount of olives] would produce half a log [of oil], one may crush them and smear oneself in the field. [If they reach the stage where they] produce one third [of the amount they ordinarily produce], it is permitted to bring them to his home, because they have reached a third of their growth.
Halacha 17
It is permitted to cut down trees for their wood in the Sabbatical year, before they produce fruit. Once they have begun to produce fruit, however, they should not be cut down, for doing so spoils [the fruit], and [the fruit of the Sabbatical year is granted] "to eat,"58 and not to spoil.59 If it produced fruit and they reached the stage at which an obligation to separate tithes exists, it is permitted to cut them down, for it has already produced its fruit and the laws of the Sabbatical year no longer apply to it.60
Halacha 18
From when is it forbidden to cut down a tree in the Sabbatical year?61 For carobs, when a chain of carobs will be formed.62 For grapes, when the fruit produces seeds. For olives, when they bud. For all other fruit trees, when they produce underdeveloped fruit.
It is forbidden to cut off underdeveloped clusters of dates63 in the Sabbatical year, because one is spoiling the fruit. If these clusters will not produce dates, merely buds, it is permitted to cut off those clusters.64
Halacha 19
We may not use hay and straw of the Sabbatical year for kindling,65 because it is fit for animal fodder.66 We may, however, use the wastes of olives and grapes of the Sabbatical year for fuel.67
Halacha 20
When a bathhouse has been heated with hay and straw of the Sabbatical year, it is permitted to bathe there68 [even] when payment is required.69 An important person, however, is forbidden to do so, lest they also mix other [herbs]70 into the kindling for him, so that it will produce a fragrant scent.71 Thus they will destroy the produce of the Sabbatical year.72
Halacha 21
The holiness of the produce of the Sabbatical year does not fall on the types of shells and seeds that are permitted to non-priests with regard to terumah.73 Instead, they are considered like wood, unless they are fit for dyeing.74 The holiness of the Sabbatical year falls on the hearts of palms.75
Halacha 22
[The following rules apply when a person] places spices from the Sabbatical year in a wrapping and inserts them into cooked food. If their flavor is nullified,76 they are permitted.77 If they retain their flavor, the holiness of the Sabbatical year is still invested in them.
Halacha 23
Straw and hay from the Sabbatical year should not be placed in a pillow or in mud.78 If one did place them there, they are considered as if they have been destroyed.79 When an oven has been heated with straw and hay from the Sabbatical year, it should be allowed to cool.80
Once the second wave of rains81 descend in the eighth year, we are allowed to benefit from straw and hay of the Sabbatical year and use it for kindling.82
FOOTNOTES
1.Drinking is considered as eating (Yoma 76b).
2.See Hilchot Sh'vitat Esor 1:4-5; Hilchot Terumot 11:1, Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 3:10 which equate smearing oneself with oil and drinking.
3.Leviticus 25:7 states: "And for the animal and the beast in your land shall (tihiyeh) be all the produce to eat." The Sifra derives the above concept from this verse.
4.For these activities also bring direct benefit to man.
5.See Hilchot Terumah, ch. 11, and Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni, ch. 3, for more particulars concerning these laws.
6.Which is usually eaten raw.
7.See Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni 3:11 which states: "We do not require a person to eat bread that has become moldy or oil that has become rancid. Instead, as soon as it has become spoiled to the point that it is not fit for human consumption, its holiness has departed from it."
8.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 8:7), the Rambam describes this concept as follows: When terumah becomes ritually impure, it is disqualified and forbidden to be eaten. Now if the oil becomes ritually impure, it will disqualify the vegetable that was cooked in it and require that it be destroyed. Thus one will have caused the produce of the Sabbatical year to be destroyed unnecessarily.
9.The Kessef Mishneh explains that the Rambam's wording should not be interpreted as implying that only after the fact, once one has cooked the vegetable in the oil, one may partake of it. Instead, this is permitted at the outset.
10.Implying that the produce of the Sabbatical year may be eaten by animals.
11.Even though oil is primarily used as food, it is also common to smear it on one's flesh (Radbaz). Wine or vinegar, by contrast, are generally not applied as ointments. See Hilchot Ma'aser Sheni, loc. cit.
12.Because doing so removes it from the category of food and makes it oil for smearing (Hilchot Terumah 11:3).
13.For applying oil that is holy in a place where people are unclothed is an act of disrespect.
14.Since the oil is already absorbed in one's skin.
15.For this will be using it for a purpose other than a person's direct physical benefit.
16.This strengthens the sandal, but does not provide a person with direct physical benefit.
17.The intent is not necessarily impure hands, but any hands that one has not watched carefully to make sure that they are pure. For if one touches oil with such hands, it becomes impure by Rabbinic decree (Hilchot Sha'ar Avot HaTuma'ah 8:8-10). Making the oil impure would reduce the number of people who could partake of it. Hence, it is improper to do so.
18.For once the oil has been applied to one's flesh, there is no difficulty in it becoming impure, because its sacred quality is divested. See parallels in Hilchot Terumah 11:7.
19.Because the oil will be applied to the shoe directly.
20.Even though the oil will be applied indirectly to the shoe or the mat, that does not present a difficulty, because as above, once it has been applied to his flesh, its sacred quality is divested.
21.As stated in Halachah 12, it is permitted to sell produce of the Sabbatical year that is fit for human consumption and use the proceeds to purchase other food. One may not, however, use such proceeds for other purposes even though they benefit man.
22.In which instance, the oil for which the oil from the Sabbatical year was exchanged receives the status of produce of the Sabbatical year (see Chapter 6, Halachot 6-7).
23.One may use oil from the Sabbatical year for kindling, because this is a function for which that produce is ordinarily used. Nevertheless, oil is considered primarily as food fit for human consumption. Hence, the proceeds from its sale or exchange may be used for that purpose alone.
24.It is not common practice to pour oil into a fire. Hence, although license is given to kindle with oil, one may do so only in the ordinary manner.
25.For this is the ordinary practice.
26.As the continuation of the Rambam's words imply, the dye is then considered as imbued with the holiness of the Sabbatical year.
27.Two plants with natural alcalic properties that make them fit for use as detergents.
28.For this is their primary use.
29.Since fruit is primarily used as food, it is improper to use it for any other purpose.
30.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Sh'vi'it 8:1), the Rambam explains the derivation of the word milugma. It is a composite of the words molei lugma, meaning "cheekful." It was common to chew kernels of wheat, figs, or other produce, and then place them on wounds. Since the primary use of such produce is food, it cannot be used for these purposes.
31.The explanation is dependent on the principle stated in the following halachah.
32.Liquids were occasionally sprinkled over wounds to induce clotting.
33.And for no other purpose, even if it is beneficial to man.
34.I.e., it may be used for a purpose that brings man benefit.
35.Our translation is based on Rav Kappach's notes to the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (loc. cit.). Others render it as "hyssop."
36.In his Commentary to the Mishnah, the Rambam explains that these are herbs that are used both as spices and for medicinal purposes.
37.And the holiness of the Sabbatical year does not rest upon it.
38.And is infused with that holiness.
39.This represents a change in the Rambam's thinking from his initial version of his Commentary to the Mishnah (loc. cit.) in which he states that the stringency involved with animal fodder is that it can only be eaten during the time the produce is available in the field. In the final version of the Commentary to the Mishnah, he adopts the position stated here that is based on the Jerusalem Talmud.
40.As stated in the notes to Halachah 8, when the produce from the Sabbatical year is sold, the proceeds from the sale may be used only for the purchase of food for humans.
41.This is a decree imposed so that there will not be a dearth of produce in Eretz Yisrael. See Chapter 7, Halachah 12, which states what should be done if such produce is brought to the Diaspora.
42.This is derived from Leviticus 25:6 which states that the produce of the Sabbatical year "shall be yours to eat." Implied is that it is for "you" and not for gentiles.
43.This is referring to a worker hired only for a day(s). Since he is hired for only a short time, it appears as if the person is paying his debt with the produce of the Sabbatical year which is forbidden, see Chapter 6, Halachah 11.
44.Rav Yosef Corcus states that this and the above clause even refer to a gentile guest or worker.
45.This is not considered as paying a debt.
46.This halachah is referring to a woman whose husband traveled to a distant place without leaving his wife adequate support. If she approaches the court, the court expropriates property belonging to her husband and sells it to provide for her support. See Hilchot Ishut 12:16.
47.For the husband is liable for her support.
48.Since she has access to the household provisions, it is not considered as if someone is paying the debt to her (Rav Yosef Corcus).
49.I.e., before it reaches one third of its growth. Until that point, they are unfit to be eaten [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 4:7)].
50.I.e., until they have ripened.
51.For it is also common practice to taste a small amount of fruit in the field even in its very early stages of ripening (ibid.).
52.I.e., until the produce reaches one third of its development (Hilchot Ma'aserot 2:3). That would reflect a further stage of development.
53.At that time, their surface becomes smooth and there is a certain amount of sap inside them [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 4:7)]. At this stage of development, it is ordinary practice for a person in the field to taste a small amount of the fruit.
54.Our translation of the terms in this clause is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 4:8).
55.A revi'it of a log is 86 cc according to Shiurei Torah and 150 cc according to Chazon Ish.
56.This is the ordinary way in which olives are eaten [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 4:9)], for there is a bitter liquid beneath this covering.
57.At this stage of development, the amount of oil produced is not significant enough for one to smear himself with it.
58.Leviticus 25:6. As stated in Halachah 10, this phrase is also an exclusion, preventing the use of the produce for other purposes.
59.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 4:10), the Rambam writes that cutting the trees down at this stage of the fruits' development is forbidden, because it is tantamount to theft. For the fruit was granted to people at large and by cutting down the tree, other people are prevented from harvesting it.
60.It was permitted to harvest the fruit from this stage of development. Since people already had the opportunity of harvesting it and failed to do so, it is not forbidden to destroy the tree.
In his Commentary to the Mishnah (loc. cit.), the Rambam clarifies that we are speaking about a situation where the tree does not produce a large amount of produce and hence, it is permitted to cut it down and use it for wood. Otherwise, it is forbidden to cut down a fruit tree. See Hilchot Melachim 6:8-9.
61.I.e., when does the initial stage of development mentioned in the previous halachah begin for various tapes of fruit.
62.The interpretation of this clause offered by standard published text of the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (loc. cit.) is somewhat confusing. See Rav Kappach's translation. It is the source for our translation of the following clauses.
63.Our translation is dependent on the gloss of the Radbaz and Rav Kappach's notes to the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Orlah 1:9).
64.The Radbaz explains that this is referring to a species of dates that never produces edible fruit, but the clusters themselves are eaten like hearts of palms.
65.The Kessef Mishneh explains that this license is derived through a process of deduction. Shivi'it 9:7 states that the hay and straw of the Sabbatical year may not be used for kindling until the second rain of the eighth year descends. Thus one can obviously conclude that it was forbidden to use them previously.
66.Hence it should be used for that purpose; see Halachah 3.
67.For they are not useful for any other purposes.
68.Seemingly, this halachah contradicts the preceding one. Since it is forbidden to use hay and straw from the Sabbatical year for kindling, one would think that it is forbidden to bathe in water heated through such a fire. Why then is bathing in such a bathhouse permitted?
The Kessef Mishneh first states that license to use the bathhouse is only granted after the fact. At the outset, one should not use such hay and straw for this purpose. Alternatively, he explains - as does the Radbaz - that there is no difficulty in using such hay and straw for this purpose, for just as animal fodder of the Sabbatical year can be used to make a compress for a person (Halachah 11), it can be used to heat a bath for him.
69.The Kessef Mishneh offers this interpretation, resolving the question posed by the Ra'avad who had objected to granting license to use such hay and straw when payment is taken, for that resembles selling the produce of the Sabbatical year as merchandise which is forbidden (Chapter 6, Halachah 1). The Kessef Mishneh explains that the prohibition against selling the produce of the Sabbatical year involves only selling food.
70.That are fit to be eaten [the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Shivi'it 8:11)].
71.The Rambam is explaining the rationale for the restriction stated in the above mishnah. Others maintain that the rationale is that an important person should not rely on the leniency and, instead, should be stringent not to derive even such benefit from the produce of the Sabbatical year.
72.Instead of using them as food.
73.See Hilchot Terumah 11:10-11. The Radbaz explains that this can be derived from a logical inference. If leniency was granted with regard to terumah which is punishable by death, surely, it should be granted with regard to the Sabbatical year, for its prohibitions are not punishable as severely.
74.In which instance the holiness of the Sabbatical year falls upon them, as stated in Halachah 9.
75.For there are many who eat this type of produce as food, while it is soft. See Hilchot Berachot 8:6. Needless to say, if it hardens to the point it is no longer edible, it is considered as mere wood (Radbaz).
76.Since the spices were placed in a wrapping, they could be removed from the food after it was cooked. Their status depends on whether their flavor is retained or not.
77.The holiness of the Sabbatical year does not rest upon them, for they no longer are considered as food.
78.I.e., to use the mud for building. Since the straw and hay are fit for use as animal fodder, it is improper to use them for purposes that do not bring direct benefit to man or animals.
79.Because they are no longer suitable for use as animal fodder. The Ra'avad [based on the Jerusalem Talmud (Shivi'it 9:7)] states that one must actually sleep on the pillow, for the status of the straw to change. The commentaries note, however, that the Tosefta (Shivi'it 5:11) does not make such a qualification.
80.I.e., one should not cook in it while it is hot, so as not to benefit from the kindling of the produce of the Sabbatical year. The license granted in Halachah 20 is not appropriate here, because in this instance, the person is not receiving direct benefit from the burning of the straw (Radbaz).
81.In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Pe'ah 8:1), the Rambam explains that, in Eretz Yisrael, there is one wave of rain at the end of the summer. Afterwards at the beginning of the winter - i.e., depending on the year, between the seventeenth of Cheshvan and the first of Kislev, there is a second wave of rains which are very important for the success of the crops of that land.
82.The Jerusalem Talmud (Shivi'it 9:7) explains that from the time the rain descends, the straw in the field is no longer fit for an animal to eat. Therefore, there is no longer any restriction on using the straw in one's home.
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Hayom Yom:
• Monday, Sivan 4, 5774 • 02 June 2014
"Today's Day"
Monday, Sivan 4, 48th day of the omer, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Nasso, Sheini with Rashi.
Tehillim: 23-28.
Tanya: As for the (p. 279)...the Oral Law)." (p. 279).
Shavuot is an opportune time to achieve everything in improving Torah-study and avoda marked by fear (awe) of G-d, and also to strive in teshuva concerning Torah-study, without interference by the accusing Satan - just like the time of Shofar-sounding on Rosh Hashana and the holy day of the Fast of Yom Kippur.
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Daily Thought:Delight Condensed
What is divine wisdom?
Divine wisdom is the inner delight of the Infinite, condensed and crystallized until fit for human consumption.
What is a mitzvah?
A mitzvah is divine wisdom condensed and crystallized until it can be performed as a physical action.
That is why in the study of Torah there is infinite delight.
That is why in the act of a mitzvah there is unlimited joy.(Maamar Arbaah Rashei Shanim Heim, 5731)
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