When is the next Sabbatical year? Sept. 7, 2021 – Sept. 26, 2022 When is the next Sabbatical year? By Baruch S. Davidson The year 5782 on the Jewish calendar (Sept. 7, 2021–Sept. 26, 2022) will be the next Sabbatical year. The year following the destruction of the second Holy Temple (3829 from creation, equivalent to 68–69 CE) was the first year of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle. We continue counting sevens from then. Most of the Sabbatical year’s observances are agricultural in nature, and are relevant only in Israel. For those in the Diaspora, the Sabbatical year has two practical ramifications: a) Produce which is imported from Israel must have rabbinical certification, and is also subject to certain laws and restrictions due their sanctity. b) The laws of debt absolution are in effect in all locations. Click here for a method which will allow you to collect debts even during the Sabbatical year. Needless to say, the spiritual and hallowed nature of this special year is applicable and pertinent worldwide. Click here for more on this subject. See also When is the next Jubilee year? Best wishes, Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson By Baruch S. Davidson Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson serves as shliach and rabbi of the Shul Community at Chabad of the Main Line and is the writer of Lightpoints, a collection of insights on the Torah, adapted from the works of the Rebbe. Together with his wife and children, he lives in Lower Merion, in the Philadelphia suburbs. More from Baruch S. Davidson | RSS © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy. What Is Shemitah? The Sabbatical Year basics: absolution of loans, desisting from all field work, and the spiritual objective of all the above. As soon as the Jews settled in the Holy Land,1 they began to count and observe seven-year cycles. Every cycle would culminate in a Sabbatical year,2 known as Shemitah,3 literally: “to release.” The year following the destruction of the second Holy Temple was the first year of a seven-year Sabbatical cycle. In the Jewish calendar, counting from Creation, this was the year 3829, 68–69 CE on the secular calendar. By counting sevens from then, we see that the next Shemitah year will be the year 5782 after Creation, which runs from September 7, 2021 - September 25, 2022. The The Shemitah year waives all outstanding debtsobservance of Shemitah has several dimensions. In the following paragraphs we will outline the basics of Shemitah observance. For more detailed information, please see our Loan Amnesty and Deserting the Farms sections. Give Your Friend a Break At the end of seven years you will make a release. And this is the manner of the release: to release the hand of every creditor from what he lent his friend; he shall not exact from his friend or his brother, because the time of the release for the L‑rd has arrived. (Deuteronomy 15:1–2) The Shemitah year waives all outstanding debts between Jewish debtors and creditors. [Nowadays, a halachic mechanism called pruzbul circumvents this loan amnesty. See Loan Amnesty for more information on the pruzbul.] This aspect of Shemitah observance is known as shemitat kesafim, “release of money [debts].” Take a Break from Farming For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the L‑rd; you shall not sow your field, you shall not prune your vineyard, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth of your harvest . . . And [the produce of] the Sabbath of the land shall be yours to eat for you, for your male and female servants, and for your hired worker and resident who live with you . . . (Leviticus 25:3–6) During the Shemitah year, the residents of the Land of Israel must completely desist from cultivating their fields. They also relinquish personal ownership of their fields; whatever produce grows on its own is considered communal property, free for anyone to take. This aspect of the Shemitah year is known as shemitat karka, “release of the land.” Refocus In The nation collectively took a breather and focused on higher, more spiritual pursuitsthe ancient Israeli agrarian culture, the Shemitah year proved to be a difficult challenge for the people’s collective trust in the Creator, the One who bequeathed them the land of milk and honey. And if you should say, “What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!” (Leviticus 25:20) Yet those who put their trust in G‑d were richly rewarded: I, [G‑d,] will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years. And you will sow in the eighth year, while still eating from the old crops. Until the ninth year, until the arrival of its crop, you will eat the old crop! (Leviticus 25:21–22) As well as giving the people an opportunity to put their faith in G‑d and see it fulfilled, the year-long abstention from farming also allowed them to collectively take a breather and focus on higher, more spiritual pursuits—as the people packed the synagogues and study halls. Even today, when the vast majority of Jews are not involved in the farming industry, the lessons of Shemitah are very germane. During this holy year we are expected to concentrate more on our spiritual mission in life, and a little less on our material pursuits. More on why we are needed, less on what we need. More on faith in G‑d, less on faith in our own talents and wiles. Footnotes 1. The first cycle started after the years of conquering and dividing the land, in the fifteenth year after they crossed the Jordan River (1258 BCE). 2. While the Torah ordinarily counts months starting from Nissan (in the spring), the years of this cycle—and the Shemitah, too—begin with Rosh Hashanah, at the start of the autumn month of Tishrei. 3. When all the twelve tribes lived in Israel, in their ancestral estates, the year following seven complete Shemitah cycles—the fiftieth year—was observed as Yovel, the Jubilee year. During Yovel, too, the land was not worked, as during Shemitah. In addition, during the Yovel year all slaves were freed, and all fields and houses sold during the past fifty years were returned to their original owners. Unlike Shemitah, however, the Yovel year is no longer observed. See When is the next Jubilee year? © Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.