📜 Daily Chumash & Rashi Parshas Behar Bechukosaiy Rishon: The Mitzvah of Shemitah

25:1 — “At Mount Sinai”

Q1. Why does Scripture specifically say “בְּהַר סִינַי” regarding the sabbatical year?

A: To teach that just as all the general rules, details, and nuances of Shemittah were stated at Sinai, so too all commandments were given at Sinai with their general rules and nuances, even if they were later repeated at the plains of Moab.

Q2. Why is Shemittah a fitting example for this teaching?

A: Because its laws are not repeated in Deuteronomy, proving they were fully given at Sinai, and thus serving as a model for all mitzvot.

25:2 — A Sabbath for the Land

Q3. What does “שַׁבָּת לַה‘” mean?

A: A rest dedicated to God, acknowledging Him as Creator—parallel to the Sabbath of Creation.

25:3–4 — Working and Resting

Q4. To what does “יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ” refer?

A: To the fields and vineyards of the land.

Q5. What does “לֹא תִזְמֹר” mean?

A: You may not prune by cutting branches, as explained by Onkelos (“do not cut off”).

25:5 — Aftergrowth and Grapes

Q6. What is “סְפִיחַ”?

A: Produce that grows on its own from seeds that fell during the prior harvest.

Q7. What does “לֹא תִקְצֹר” teach?

A: You may not reap it as an owner; it must be declared ownerless.

Q8. What does “נְזִירֶךָ” mean?

A: Produce you kept restricted by not making it ownerless.

Q9. What does “לֹא תִבְצֹר” prohibit?

A: Picking grapes that were kept restricted, but ownerless grapes may be taken.

25:6 — Who May Eat the Produce

Q10. What does “וְהָיְתָה שַׁבַּת הָאָרֶץ” teach?

A: Although normal ownership is forbidden, eating and benefit are permitted, provided equality is maintained.

Q11. What is meant by “לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה”?

A: You may eat produce that has rested, but not produce illegally kept.

Q12. Why does Scripture list the owner explicitly?

A: To teach that both rich and poor, including the owner, may eat the produce.

Q13. Who is included by “לִשְׂכִירְךָ וּלְתוֹשָׁבְךָ”?

A: Even non‑Jews living among you.

25:7 — Domestic vs. Wild Animals

Q14. Why does Scripture mention both domestic and wild animals?

A: To compare them: as long as wild animals can eat a produce type in the field, you may feed it to domestic animals; once it’s no longer available in the field, you must remove it from your house and declare it ownerless.

25:8 — Counting Toward Jubilee

Q15. What does “שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים” mean?

A: Sabbatical years, not consecutive years of rest, but each at its proper time.

Q16. What does “שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים” clarify?

A: That each sabbatical year occurs in its own cycle, totaling 49 years.

Q17. What is learned from “וְהָיוּ לְךָ יְמֵי שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתֹת הַשָּׁנִים”?

A: Even if Shemittah years were not properly observed, the Jubilee year must still be observed.

25:9 — Proclaiming the Jubilee

Q18. What does “וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ שׁוֹפָר” mean?

A: To proclaim by shofar blast, similar to announcing something publicly.

Q19. Why does Scripture state both “בְּיוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים” and “בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ”?

A: To teach that shofar blowing for Jubilee overrides Shabbat everywhere, unlike shofar on Rosh Hashanah, which overrides Shabbat only in the court.

25:10 — Sanctifying the Jubilee

Q20. How is the 50th year sanctified?

A: The court declares: “This year is sanctified.”

Q21. What does “וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר” mean?

A: Proclaim freedom for all bondservants, including ear‑pierced servants and those whose six‑year term was not yet complete.

Q22. How did Rabbi Yehudah explain “דְּרוֹר”?

A: Like one who dwells wherever he wishes, free from others’ authority.

Q23. Why is the year called “יוֹבֵל”?

A: It is named after the shofar (yovel) blown to announce it.

Q24. What does “וְשַׁבְתֶּם אִישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתוֹ” mean?

A: Purchased fields return to their original owners.

Q25. What does “וְאִישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ תָּשֻׁבוּ” add?

A: It includes the ear‑pierced bondman, who also returns to his family.

25:11 — Jubilee Restrictions

Q26. Why does Scripture repeat “יוֹבֵל הִוא שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים”?

A: To reinforce its sanctity, as expounded in Rosh Hashanah and Torat Kohanim.

Q27. What does “נְזִרֶיהָ” refer to?

A: Guarded grapes; only grapes declared ownerless may be collected.

Q28. How many consecutive holy years can occur?

A: Two: the 49th year (Shemittah) and the 50th year (Jubilee).

25:12 — Sanctity of Jubilee Produce

Q29. What does “קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם” teach?

A: The sanctity of the produce extends to items purchased with it, and the produce itself remains sanctified.

Q30. What does “מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה תֹּאכְלוּ” imply?

A: You may eat house‑stored produce only while it remains available in the field for wild animals.

25:13 — Returning Property

Q31. Why is “תָּשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתוֹ” repeated?

A: To include a case where a son redeemed his father’s field—it still returns to the father at Jubilee.

25:14 — Cheating in Commerce

Q32. What is learned from “וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ… לַעֲמִיתֶךָ”?

A:

• When selling, sell to a fellow Jew.
• When buying, buy from a fellow Jew.

Q33. What does “אַל־תּוֹנוּ” prohibit here?

A: Monetary cheating.

25:15–16 — Pricing Land

Q34. How must land prices be determined?

A: According to the number of remaining years and harvests until the Jubilee.

Q35. What fraud is being prevented?

A:

• Overcharging when few years remain
• Underpaying when many years remain

Q36. What additional rule do the Sages derive here?

A: A seller may not redeem land before two years have passed, even if multiple harvests occurred.

25:17 — Verbal Abuse

Q37. What does “וְלֹא תוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת־עֲמִיתוֹ” mean here?

A: A prohibition against verbal abuse and self‑serving advice.

Q38. Why does it say “וְיָרֵאתָ מֵאֱלֹהֶיךָ”?

A: Because God alone knows one’s true intentions, especially in matters of speech and counsel.

25:18 — Reward for Observance

Q39. What does “וִישַׁבְתֶּם עַל־הָאָרֶץ לָבֶטַח” promise?

A: Secure dwelling in the land, since exile came as punishment for neglecting the sabbatical years.

Q40. How is this historically illustrated?

A: The 70‑year Babylonian exile corresponds to 70 unobserved sabbatical years.