The Significance of the Sabbatical Year

The sabbatical year is mentioned three times in the Torah. The first is in Exodus 23:10–11: “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it.” The emphasis in this passage is on letting the land lie fallow and the social benefits for the poor and impoverished.

The second passage is in the context of sacred time, in which the seventh year is referred to as a sabbath rest for the land (Leviticus 25:1–7). This passage is followed by one describing the jubilee year (Leviticus 25:8–17), which is the 50th year after seven sabbatical cycles (49 years). The jubilee year was one of a general release from debts and a return of all purchased real estate to its original tribal owners. Actually, this passage emphasizes the novel biblical belief that “the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine” (Leviticus 25:23). Similar to the weekly sabbath, the land too has its cyclical respite with social benefits, agricultural advantages and religious renewal for the whole nation.