By Hillel
ben David (Greg Killian)
II. When does the
yovel year begin?
V. How do we count for
the yovel year?
VI. When is the next
yovel year?
VII. Torah
requirements for the yovel year
The Agricultural and
Historical Significance
Every fifty years, after seven Sabbatical cycles of seven years, HaShem's
people observe the yovel, or jubilee, year. At such a time, both the
forty-ninth and fiftieth year are to be considered holy, and we are to abstain
from working the land, free our slaves, and let the purchased properties revert
back to their original tribal owners.
For those who would like to know when the last jubilee (yovel) year was, or
when the next Jubilee year will be; please review the following chart: yovel1. This charts
shows what our sages have taught regarding the year of the jubilee.
Just like Shavuot comes on the fiftieth day of
the Omer, and represents a departure from the natural world into the supernatural realm, so too does the yovel
year signal an opportunity to rise above nature. The Encyclopedia Americana
says:
"The [Jubilee] law as a whole
was distinctly Theocratic; it vindicated the absolutism of YHVH;
it meant that Hebrews were the servants of Him, and
could not therefore continue to be the slaves of their fellowmen; the land
belonged to Him, and was only lent to the Hebrew tribes
and families, who could not therefore be driven out by any human
arrangement."
The yovel year is dependent upon the shmita, or
Sabbatical, year. As such, you will see these two mitzvot linked throughout Torah. Both of these mitzvot
are related to time, just as the Sabbath and festivals are related to time. Time
is important to HaShem.
Today, without the Temple, the mitzva
of the Sabbatical year and yovel cannot be observed the same way. Many farmers
do observe the Sabbatical year, and have reported
miraculous bumper crops in the sixth year, as promised by the Torah. To
supplement the incomes of such brave farmers, additional funds have been
established to ease the financial stress of keeping the Sabbatical year even in
these times.
Now, lets look at what the Torah says about the yovel.
The first mention of yovel in the
Torah, and hence its creation, is in: