Podcasts about Shmita

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this episode, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the notion of chiasm (for "what is a 'chiasm' -- which is a great question -- click here), along with what it has to do with the month of Elul and the broader 7-year Shmita cycle. This Elul podcast is the third in a mini-series of four that are being released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes overall).--------------------------------------To check out all our Elul bonus episodes from previous years, which can still be relevant to your experience of Elul this time around, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2025 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our Elul Unbound Shabbat gatherings here, where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with fellow Unbounders.If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!

This week's learning is dedicated by Medinah Korn in loving memory of her mother, Rosalie Katchen, Shoshana Raizl bat Avraham Yehoshua ve-Baila Toibe, z"l, on her 25th yahrzeit. She left a profound legacy for her family and many devoted friends who continue to learn from her to this day. Yehi zichra baruch. Today's daf is sponsored by David and Mitzi Geffen in loving memory of David's mother Ethel Petegorsky Geffen, on her 21st yarhzeit. She was devoted to her family and the Jewish community, volunteering on many synagogue and community committees and projects. Her two sons made aliyah to Israel and her daughter has had a long career in service of the American Jewish community. Today's daf is sponsored by Ayla Ginat in loving memory of Barak ben Lipa and Shlomit. If the Beit Din realized they made an erroneous ruling, but an individual is unaware and transgresses based on their original ruling, do they need to bring an individual sacrifice? While the Msihna brought two opinions, a braita brings four. Rabbi Meir obligates the individual to bring a sin offering, Rabbi Shimon exempts, Rabbi Elazar and Sumchus view it as a case of doubt, but Rabbi Elazar obligates in a provisional guilt offering, while Sumchus does not. Rabbi Zeira and Rabbi Yossi bar Avin bring examples of other cases of doubt to explain the difference in approach between Rabbi Elazar and Sumchus – to what extent do we expect the individual to be aware that the rabbis corrected their mistake? Rava explains the disagreement in the Mishna between Ben Azai and Rabbi Akiva to be regarding a case where the court realized their mistake on the day that the individual in question was still in the city but preparing to leave. As in the previously mentioned debate, the question is to what extent the individual is expected to be aware of the court’s reversal of their decision while they are busy involved in their upcoming travel plans.  The Mishna taught that the case of a communal sin offering is only in a case where the court’s erroneous ruling was to uproot part of a mitzva, not a complete mitzva. A braita brings one derivation, Chizkiya has another, and Rav Ashi brings a third. Rav Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that the ruling has to relate to something that the Saducees do not agree with, i.e. something rabbinic in origin and not able to be understood from the simple reading of the verses in the Torah. The reason for this is simple – if it is clear from the Torah and the court rules otherwise, and the people follow, this cannot be understood as unwitting, as it is closer to an intentional violation. Three difficulties are raised against Rav Yehuda from the examples brought in the Mishna, but each one is resolved. Rav Yosef asks: If the court rules there is no prohibition to plow on Shabbat, is that considered uprooting a complete mitzva or a partial one? The Gemara tries to answer the question by deriving it from cases in our Mishna, but is not able to. Rabbi Zeira asks if the court rules that there is no Shabbat observance in the Shmita year, is that considered uprooting a complete mitzva or a partial one? Ravina brings a source from a false prophet to answer that it is considered a partial mitzva, and they would be obligated to bring a communal sin offering.  There are several cases where there is an issue with judges – either disqualified judges, or the head judge was not there, where there is no communal sin offering, as the case is considered closer to intentional.    

This week's learning is dedicated by Medinah Korn in loving memory of her mother, Rosalie Katchen, Shoshana Raizl bat Avraham Yehoshua ve-Baila Toibe, z"l, on her 25th yahrzeit. She left a profound legacy for her family and many devoted friends who continue to learn from her to this day. Yehi zichra baruch. Today's daf is sponsored by David and Mitzi Geffen in loving memory of David's mother Ethel Petegorsky Geffen, on her 21st yarhzeit. She was devoted to her family and the Jewish community, volunteering on many synagogue and community committees and projects. Her two sons made aliyah to Israel and her daughter has had a long career in service of the American Jewish community. Today's daf is sponsored by Ayla Ginat in loving memory of Barak ben Lipa and Shlomit. If the Beit Din realized they made an erroneous ruling, but an individual is unaware and transgresses based on their original ruling, do they need to bring an individual sacrifice? While the Msihna brought two opinions, a braita brings four. Rabbi Meir obligates the individual to bring a sin offering, Rabbi Shimon exempts, Rabbi Elazar and Sumchus view it as a case of doubt, but Rabbi Elazar obligates in a provisional guilt offering, while Sumchus does not. Rabbi Zeira and Rabbi Yossi bar Avin bring examples of other cases of doubt to explain the difference in approach between Rabbi Elazar and Sumchus – to what extent do we expect the individual to be aware that the rabbis corrected their mistake? Rava explains the disagreement in the Mishna between Ben Azai and Rabbi Akiva to be regarding a case where the court realized their mistake on the day that the individual in question was still in the city but preparing to leave. As in the previously mentioned debate, the question is to what extent the individual is expected to be aware of the court’s reversal of their decision while they are busy involved in their upcoming travel plans.  The Mishna taught that the case of a communal sin offering is only in a case where the court’s erroneous ruling was to uproot part of a mitzva, not a complete mitzva. A braita brings one derivation, Chizkiya has another, and Rav Ashi brings a third. Rav Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that the ruling has to relate to something that the Saducees do not agree with, i.e. something rabbinic in origin and not able to be understood from the simple reading of the verses in the Torah. The reason for this is simple – if it is clear from the Torah and the court rules otherwise, and the people follow, this cannot be understood as unwitting, as it is closer to an intentional violation. Three difficulties are raised against Rav Yehuda from the examples brought in the Mishna, but each one is resolved. Rav Yosef asks: If the court rules there is no prohibition to plow on Shabbat, is that considered uprooting a complete mitzva or a partial one? The Gemara tries to answer the question by deriving it from cases in our Mishna, but is not able to. Rabbi Zeira asks if the court rules that there is no Shabbat observance in the Shmita year, is that considered uprooting a complete mitzva or a partial one? Ravina brings a source from a false prophet to answer that it is considered a partial mitzva, and they would be obligated to bring a communal sin offering.  There are several cases where there is an issue with judges – either disqualified judges, or the head judge was not there, where there is no communal sin offering, as the case is considered closer to intentional.    

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash kick off this year's Elul Unbound experience. This Elul bonus episode is the first in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes overall).--------------------------------------Energized about Jewish learning and unlearning? Dive into our upcoming 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva! Classes include Elul: Your On-Ramp into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Anti-Fascist Mussar, The Siddur (Prayer-Book) Unbound, and Comix Midrash: Drawing the Orchards (Pardes) of Elul. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to learn more! Financial aid is available for all who need it.To check out all our Elul bonus episodes from previous years, which can still be relevant to your experience of Elul this time around, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2025 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our Elul Unbound Shabbat gatherings here, where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with fellow Unbounders.

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash kick off this year's Elul Unbound experience. This Elul bonus episode is the first in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26th-29th Elul episodes overall).--------------------------------------Energized about Jewish learning and unlearning? Dive into our upcoming 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva! Classes include Elul: Your On-Ramp into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Anti-Fascist Mussar, The Siddur (Prayer-Book) Unbound, and Comix Midrash: Drawing the Orchards (Pardes) of Elul. Head to JudaismUnbound.com/classes to learn more! Financial aid is available for all who need it.To check out all our Elul bonus episodes from previous years, which can still be relevant to your experience of Elul this time around, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2025 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our Elul Unbound Shabbat gatherings here, where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with fellow Unbounders.

Join us in Jerusalem for Ohr Samayach's Inaugural Yarchei Kallah event from July 7th to 9th, 2025! Featuring HaRav Yitzchak Breitowitz shlit"a & HaRav Asher Weiss shlit"a and more Click here for more information.   Dont miss this one of a kind experience! ---------------------------------------------------- Dedication opportunities are available for episodes and series at  https://ohr.edu/donate/qa   Questions? Comments? podcasts@ohr.edu   0:00 thoughts on Shavuot 1:25 how different should shana rishona be to other years of marriage 6:30 why does the Torah want Shmita to cancel loans 16:10 how should we navigate our divine purpose today without any Neviim 27:50 is birth control evil, do some poskim permit it? 36:00 why dont we see women taking on the option of making a zimmun together 43:25 under what circumstances can Chazal make multiple drashot from one pasuk 47:15 to what extent should secular education be allowed 57:35 what was the curriculum of Shem's yeshiva 1:00:00 why did there need to be different shvatim and what will their role be in the future 1:07:05 did people in chutzla aretz have to keep 2 days of Yom Kippur for not knowing when Rosh Hodesh Tishrei was declared 1:11:05 why did the rishonim write so much on Seder nazikim 1:19:25 origin of dikduk in lashon hakodesh 1:28:00 do any of the agricultural laws of Eretz Yisrael apply to produce in Chutzla Aretz 1:30:10 is the shmoneh esrei bracha taken from parashat kodshim 1:31:35 is tanning a problem of beged isha 1:32:50 are there problems with haskamas given to sefarim   Yeshivat Ohr Somayach located in the heart of Jerusalem, is an educational institution for young Jewish English-speaking men. We have a range of classes and programs designed for the intellectually curious and academically inclined - for those with no background in Jewish learning to those who are proficient in Gemara and other original source material. To find the perfect program for you, please visit our website https://ohr.edu/study_in_israel​whatsapp us at https://bit.ly/OSREGISTER or call our placement specialist at 1-254-981-0133 today! Subscribe to the Rabbi Breitowitz Q&A Podcast at https://plnk.to/rbq&a   Submit questions for the Q&A with Rabbi Breitowitz https://forms.gle/VCZSK3wQJJ4fSd3Q7   Subscribe to our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/OhrSomayach/videos     You can listen to this and many other Ohr Somayach programs by downloading our app, on Apple and Google Play, ohr.edu and all major podcast platforms. Visit us @ https://ohr.edu  PRODUCED BY: CEDAR MEDIA STUDIOS  

In this week's episode (third installment in the Shmita series with guest Avi) we study another text from Mishna Sheviit talking about how Shmita, an exemplar of a traditional Jewish attitude towards the land, is also a remittance of all loans. How does a respect for the autonomy and sacredness of the land interact with our economic system? We discuss land as collateral, conflicts between helping the poor and protecting the environment, and instituting our own personal and communal commitments to the environment during the Shmita year. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615576

The Sabbath belongs to the Lord. The people belong to the Lord. The land belongs to the Lord. Every 7 days, we reset. Every 7 years, we release. Shabbat resets. Shmita releases. We've been forgiven, so we forgive. We've been released, so we release others. Discover the power of forgiveness in our final message from Leviticus: “Reset & Release.”Link: https://restoration.subspla.sh/xxgbccj#thehappyrabbi #restorationseattle #JewishinSeattle #Passover #shavuot

Join Rabbi Elchonon Cohen for an exploration of the weekly (double) parsha, including a discussion of Shmita, Yovel, and the blessings and curses. If you enjoy the Toras Chaim Podcast, please help us spread the word! You can share a link on social media, leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast platform, or best of all, discuss what you've learned at the shabbos table!We love to hear from our listeners. Be it comments, questions or critique. You can send an email to overtimecook@gmail.com or via instagram @OvertimeCook or @Elchonon. Thanks for listening!Elchonon and Miriam

In 140 BCE, the Maccabees reformed the Hebrew calendar and wrote the Leviticus rules in chapters 19 and 25, so they could transfer wealth from the rich back to the people. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron

In this week's episode we study a text from Mishna Sheviit about how money functions differently in the Sabbatical year, ie. Shmita. After a conversation about the non-fungibility of money involved in the purchase of Shmita produce, we look at how both Shmita and working to prevent Climate Disaster requires significant change in our personal lives. We also see that to achieve a true Shmita, and to prevent Global Warming, we need involvement on a societal level. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615587.1

In this week's episode we study a text from Leviticus about the laws of the Sabbatical year, ie. Shmita. The section describes a special connection between the land and the divine, which points to a spiritual orientation of treating the land as an autonomous entity deserving of rest and respect. The text also talks about the anxiety of the sixth year; articulating the uncertainty of reorienting our economic and agricultural practices. Avi, our guest, also talks about the LA fires, and how a natural disaster can wake us up to the realization that nature is an independent force that needs to be respected. Follow along with the source sheet here: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/615585

Today I started over a cycle of reading the Bible in a year.  https://hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/read-bible-in-a-year-2024-2025.pdf Wikipedia on Rosh Hashanah https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah In the first reading of the yearly Bible reading in Genesis it's shows how God seems to have built this concept of cycles into the fabric of His creation. Day Week Month Year - disputes around the proper calendar - 12 months Shmita - 7 years - let land rest Jubilee - 50 years From Revival Ministries International Publish date: 03/30/2003  The Lord began dealing with me recently about the Year of Jubilee. I believe that this is our Year of Jubilee! In Nazareth, at His local Synagogue, Jesus was handed the book of Isaiah and He read from chapter 61:  The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed one, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.] Luke 4:18-19 AMP  Jesus preached that the acceptable year of the Lord was here—the Year of Jubilee, which took place every 50th year—the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound (Leviticus 25). What Jesus was really saying was, "I am your Year of Jubilee!"   THE LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 Say to the Israelites, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits. 4 But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of itself in your harvest you shall not reap and the grapes on your uncultivated vine you shall not gather, for it is a year of rest to the land. 6 And the sabbath rest of the [untilled] land shall [in its increase] furnish food for you, for your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the temporary resident who lives with you, 7 For your domestic animals also and for the [wild] beasts in your land; all its yield shall be for food.8 And you shall number seven sabbaths or weeks of years for you, seven times seven years, so the total time of the seven weeks of years shall be forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month [almost October]; on the Day of Atonement blow the trumpet in all your land. 10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his ancestral possession [which through poverty he was compelled to sell], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated in bond service]. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall not sow, or reap and store what grows of itself, or gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. 12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat the [sufficient] increase of it out of the field. 13 In this Year of Jubilee each of you shall return to his ancestral property. 14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. Leviticus 25:1-14 AMP Under the Old Covenant every seventh year was a time to let the ground rest so that it could recover and come back stronger, producing a stronger, healthier, more abundant harvest. But the fiftieth year—Jubilee—was an extra special year. It was a Holy year. In the last year, before the year of rest, God caused the ground to produce three times as much fruit so that His people could eat and be satisfied whilst the ground rested and whilst they rested in His goodness.   Jubilee is a year of faith—where you rest from your own labors and your own efforts—allowing God's goodness to lead you and feed you. God wants us to remember that it is He Who watches over us, feeding us, guiding us, and providing for us. If we forget this, we will wear ourselves out with our own efforts, but if we remember that He is the source of our life and every good thing in our life, then we can relax in Him and focus on worshipping Him and yielding to Him.  Jubilee is a time to let slaves go free, to redeem what has been lost and to reach out and help both family and neighbors and those who cannot help themselves. In the year of Jubilee, even though you do not plow or prune or sow, you are still able to eat of the fruit that the ground produces.  You cannot reap from a field that you have never sown, but when you have faithfully sown and sown and sown and then God calls a Jubilee year for you, then you know that it is a year of rest for you, a year of extra blessings, a year of eating from the abundance of the provision that your Father has provided for you as you rest in Him.  When Jesus said, "Today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," the people of Nazareth were very angry with Him and did not receive Him, but I declare to you today that Jesus is YOUR Jubilee—if you receive Him you will go free! Jesus has come to restore your joy, your family, your property and your inheritance. Every promise that God has made you in His Word is yours.   So receive Him as your Jubilee—rest in Him and enjoy His blessings.  https://www.revival.com/a/287-jesus-our-jubilee#:~:text=Jesus%20preached%20that%20the%20acceptable,profusely%20abound%20(Leviticus%2025). Continuing on with cycles: Beyond Jubilee? 1 day is as a thousand years. Plan for His creation built into the first week of Creation Why the Jubilee? Freedom, pointing to Yeshua Messiah 2030 https://youtu.be/4AG_nJNcTjM?si=4ONS-wbC3oOqQM3A Uses many prophesies and the concept of the Jubilee Entering into year 5785 What is purpose of cycles? Virtuous vs vicious cycles Do not just a mindless pattern but an opportunity to repeat and through our choices either improve or get worse, evolve or devolve, become more like God or less like God, more holy or more wicked, more wise or more foolish How does our culture generally and Christianity specifically treat cycles Main difference is degree to which they are specifically tied to God and His ways as defined by God Himself With time, our week begins on Monday and ends on Friday defined by our work, followed by a 2-day weekend, defined by our priorities (fun or home projects), if you're church goer that weekend also includes church on Sunday.  What do we ask Monday morning and how do we answer? Our months vary in length of days, are named after Greek Gods. The year is mostly defined by a mix of civil and religious holidays, none if which were prescribed in the Bible and none of which significantly improve our understanding of God, His ways, and His grand plan for all time including His future plans, second coming of Christ and how we will spend eternity.  Some other ways, depending on our interests, our cycles are defined are by sports or politics. There is no concept or even awareness of a Shmita or Jubilee year and there is no recognition of the moedim or appointed times throughout the year, namely the Lords Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. One exception is the Christian church celebrates Pentecost or Shavuot but because there is no attempt to understand how it was originally practiced much of its richness and meaning is lost. Why is this important?  Virtuous cycle. By our definition? Improving financially? More educated (know more of what we think is important to know)?  More loving? Love is the common agreed upon worthy goal, but how should love be defined, by us? By the creation or the Creator? One of Gods desires for us, as stated by Yeshua, is for us to worship Him in Spirit and Truth. The New Covenant as described in prophesies like Jeremiah as well as by Yeshua and writers of the New Testament is for the law to be written on our hearts.  My limited understanding of this is that God wants us to love Him and others, and to do it in the way He wants us to do it.  I've only been participating in and practicing the Lord's Feasts and observing His Sabbath on day 7 for a handful of years.  I'm certainly no expert. But with my limited exposure and understanding I can see how following His law and His cycles of life, to the extent that I'm doing so, puts me into a virtuous cycle. Each day, week, month, year I'm learning more about the Fathers ways and how wonderful, and simultaneously complex and simple they are. I also am learning more about His great plan for all time including what to expect in the future.  This is incredibly important at a time when the future of our nation and the world, as well as the future of our own personal lives, can seem on the surface to be so uncertain. We may at times feel like we've made no “progress” in our lives, especially if we're going a difficult season.  With the proper perspective, though, we can see how God works what appear to us to be tragedies and “bad” events for our good, helping shape us to be more like Him, understand His character better, and be more dependent on Him. Praise: Malachi 3:6 "I am the LORD, I change not" James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Thank You Abba that You do not change.  We're not trying to figure out how You changed, but rather than how WE need to change to be more like You, and more like the person You made us to become. Help us to understand how Your cycles which You built into the fabric of Creation are important, and why You asked us to follow them as You have commanded.  And when we don't understand the why, Father help us to obey even without the full understanding and trust You that Your ways are best, best for us individually as well as best for all of mankind.     Psalm 110:4: "The LORD has s

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this second bonus episode of Elul Unbound, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash continue their exploration of the power of threes.This Elul bonus episode is the second of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-25th Elul episodes overall). Check out Elul Unbound by visiting www.judaismunbound.com/elul.To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past six years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2024 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our first Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering of 2024 (Friday, September 6th), where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with friends, by clicking here.

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this first bonus episode of Elul Unbound, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the power of the number three — and the fact that we are entering into the 3rd year of the seven-year Shmita cycle!This Elul bonus episode is the first of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2024 (our 22nd-25th Elul episodes overall). Check out Elul Unbound by visiting www.judaismunbound.com/elul.To check out our previous Elul bonus episodes, released through Elul Unbounds of the past six years, click here. Join our bi-weekly journey through Elul Unbound 2024 by signing up at this link, and sign up for our first Elul Unbound Shabbat gathering of 2024 (Friday, September 6th), where we will be forging our kavanot (intentions) for the new year in real time with friends, by clicking here.