Shmita
Parashat Behar: Who is the servant and who is the master?
The produce grown in shmita year is considered holy, and all agricultural activity – including plowing, planting, pruning, and harvesting – is forbidden. It is designated for consumption only.
How can Judaism's shmita idea solve modern problems? - review
The ancient Jewish practice of Hakhel gets a 21st-century revival
Prosbul, Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe: Legal loopholes in Judaism
Circumventing biblical debt forgiveness: Who signs a prozbul?
Prozbul is a special legal arrangement disseminated by Hillel the Elder approximately 2,000 years ago. In this column, we’ll explain how this document works and who should sign it.
Seeking debt relief: Is Judaism's 'prosbul' enough?
The essence of prosbul is a transfer of bonds from creditors to the court of law. The bond remains intact despite the biblical debt relief.
Parashat Re’eh: Why forgive a debt?
Generosity, a kind eye, and trust in God are basic traits of the Jewish people, and we are privileged to continue this precious heritage.
Inspired by Jewish custom, interfaith coalition erases medical debts for 2,000 people in Chicago
In Chicago, medical debt is being erased in accordance with the Jewish law of "Shmita" – the sabbatical year.
Parashat Behar: Faith and compassion
A farmer works his land and is sustained by it for six years. On the seventh year, like the one we are in now, he is commanded not to cultivate or work the land.
There is a kashrut revolution going on for medical cannabis
In Israel, there are more than 100,000 patients with valid medical cannabis licenses, that consume a massive amount of cannabis every year.
The biblical reason Israeli farmers became heroes after killing crops
Jamie Geller said educating and raising awareness about the biblical commandment shmita has been a mammoth task.
How does composting work in Jerusalem?
One-third of all the organic waste sent for recycling in Israel came from Jerusalem (whose population accounts for only 10% of the total for Israel).
Shmita: A Jewish agricultural rule with personal, social implications
Although the sabbatical year comes with a list of rules and regulations set by rabbinic authorities, there is a joyous and spiritual side to shmita.
We need to preserve the beauty of Shmita - opinion
The concept of shmita is introduced in the Torah, where we are told to let the land lie fallow every seventh year.
Jewish law: How to purchase produce during shmita
Many Talmudic sages believe that shmita restrictions today stem only from a rabbinic decree. A few even assert that our observance of these laws is a pious custom.
