Shmita

Shmita, also spelled Shemitah, is the Sabbatical year in Jewish law observed in the Land of Israel roughly every seven years. The term derives from the Hebrew for “release.” In the Torah, the seventh year is designated as a year of rest for the land, during which ordinary agricultural work is limited and crops may grow without being sown or harvested in the normal way. In Deuteronomy 15:1–2, the year is also associated with the release of debts among Israelites. The following Jubilee year (the 50th year) is linked to shmita; while the biblical Jubilee was not observed after the Exile, the shmita cycle remains a subject of study and debate in rabbinic law.

Practically, the way the restrictions are applied has varied across time and communities. In ancient Israel, land lay fallow; produce that grew on its own was available to everyone. In modern Israel, practical mechanisms such as the heter mechira, a rabbinic authorization to treat the land as sold to a non-Jew during the shmita year, have been employed to allow continued farming and commerce. Opinions differ about the legality and efficacy of such measures. Observance also intersects with agricultural tithes and charitable distribution, with produce from the shmita year sometimes treated as free for all or subject to local rabbinic rulings. Overall, shmita remains observed by some Jewish communities, with variations in practice and interpretation.