1 And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee.
7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
15 According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God:for I am the Lord your God.
18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
19 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
29 And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.
30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.
31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.
32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
38 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile.
41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.
54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
h.בהר סיני [AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES] ON THE MOUNT SINAI — What has the matter of the Sabbatical year to do with Mount Sinai that Scripture fell compelled to expressly state where it was commanded? Were not all commandments given on Sinai? But this statement is intended to suggest the following comparison: How is it in the case of the law of Shemittah? Its general rules, [its specific prescriptions] and minute details were ordained on Mount Sinai! So, also, were all commandments with their general rules and their minute details ordained on Mount Sinai. Thus is in taught in Torath Cohanim (Sifra, Behar, Section 1 1). It seems to me that the following is the explanation of this: Since we do not find in Deuteronomy that the law concerning “the rest of the soil in the Sabbatical year” was repeated in “the fields of Moab” (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1; the place where Moses repeated many of the commandments contained in the other books of the Pentateuch), we may infer that all its general rules and specific prescriptions must have been promulgated on Sinai. The express mention of בהר סיני here appears therefore to be unnecessary but Scripture by mentioning it intends to teach regarding every Divine command (lit., Divine utterance) that was spoken to Moses that in every case they, their general rules and minute details originated at Sinai and that they were only repeated again in “the fields of Moab”.
h.שבת לה׳ [THEN SHALL THE LAND KEEP) A REST 'לה — This means a rest in honor of the Lord (not a rest for the Lord, as in v. 4: שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ, “there shall be a strict Sabbath for the land”, i. e. for the land to rest) in the same sense as these words are used in the case of the weekly Sabbath (lit., the Sabbath of Creation) (Exodus 20:10) where 'שבת לה cannot mean “a day for God to rest” (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 2).
h.יהיה לארץ [A SABBATH OF STRICT REST] SHALL BE UNTO THE LAND [or SOIL] — unto the fields and vineyards.
h.לא תזמר — The word is a denominative verb from זמורה, a branch, and denotes: to do something to the branches: it is used here because one lops off its (the vineyard’s) branches. Its translation in the Targum is thus: לא תכסח, “thou shall not cut off”, and this root has a similar meaning in the Hebrew (Isaiah 33:12) “as thorns cut off (כסוחים)”; (Psalms 80:17) “it is burnt with fire, it is cut down (כסוחה).
h.את ספיח קצירך THAT WHICH GROW OF ITS OWN ACCORD OF THY HARVEST — i. e. even if you have not sown it but it grew from the seed which fell into it (into the ground) at the time of the last harvest — and that is what the term ספיח denotes.
h.לא תקצור THOU SHALT NOT REAP [IT] — to take it as your exclusive property as you do with other harvests (with the harvest in another year) but it shall be free (הפקר) to all and then thou also may reap of it.
h.נזירך [AND THE GRAPES OF THY VINE] WHICH ARE נזירים — i. e. those from which you barred people (שהנזרת) and from which you have kept them away, not having declared them free to everybody.
h.לא תבצר THOU SHALT NOT GATHER — them thou must not gather, but you may gather from that which has been declared free to everybody (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 3).
h.'והיתה שבת הארץ וגו AND THE SABBATH OF THE LAND SHALL BE [FOOD FOR YOU] — Although I have forbidden them (the fruits of the sabbatical year) to you by stating “thou shalt not harvest etc.”, I do not mean to forbid them to you as food or to be used for any other beneficial purpose but what I meant was that you should not comport yourself in respect of them as the exclusive owner but all must be equal as regards it (the Sabbatical year’s produce) — you and your hired servant and your sojourner.
h.שבת הארץ לכם לאכלה THE שבת OF THE LAND [SHALL BE] FOR FOOD FOR YOU — Since Scripture does not state והיתה תבואת הארץ לכם לאכלה but והיתה שבת הארץ לכם לאכלה it intimates: Only that which has been treated according to the Sabbatical law (שבות) and been declared free to all may you eat, but not that which has been kept by you (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 5).
h.לך ולעבדך ולאמתך [AND THE SABBATH OF THE LAND SHALL BE FOOD FOR YOU]; FOR THEE, FOR THY SERVANT, AND FOR THY MAID SERVANT — Because it states (Exodus 23:11) “[but in the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still]; that the needy of thy people may eat”, one might think that they (the fruits of the Sabbatical year) are forbidden as food for the rich (and thus also for the owner of the field and his household), Scripture therefore states here: “[it shall be for food for thee,] for thy servant, and for thy maid servant” — thus you have the mention of the owners (the rich) here as well as of the servants and the maid servants — the poor (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 6).
h.ולשכירך ולתושבך AND FOR THY HIRED SERVANT, AND FOR THY SOJOURNER — Even non-Jews (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 7).
h.ולבהמתך ולחיה AND FOR THY BEAST, AND FOR THY CATTLE [… SHALL ALL THE INCREASE THEREOF BE FOOD] — If the wild beast may eat thereof how much the more is this the case with cattle to supply which with food is your duty! What, then, is intended by Scripture specially stating “and for thy cattle”? But by mentioning it, it intends to put on a level (to suggest equal treatment of) the cattle with the wild beast: so long as the wild beast has the opportunity of eating from the produce in the field, feed your cattle with what is stored in the house; as soon, however, as food has disappeared for the wild beast from out of the field, make it disappear for thy cattle from out of thy house [i. e. clear it out of thy house into the field and make it thus available to all animals alike] (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 1 8; Taanit 6b).
h.שבתות שנים [AND THOU SHALT NUMBER] SEVEN SABBATHS OF YEARS [UNTO THEE] — seven Shemittah-periods of years (cf. Onkelos). One might think that one may keep seven successive years as “Shemittah” and keep the year immediately following them as the “Jubilee”, Scripture therefore states “seven years, seven times”, consequently you are bound to say that each of these seven years of release has to be kept in its proper time (i, e. at the end of six years of work) (Sifra, Behar, Section 1 1).
h.'והיו לך ימי שבע וגו AND THE PERIOD OF SEVEN [SABBATHS OF YEARS] SHALL BE UNTO THEE [FORTY AND NINE YEARS] — This mention of the sum total tells you that even if you have not kept the years of “Shemittah” keep the “Jubilee” at the end of forty-nine years (Sifra, Behar, Section 1 2). (The translation according to this Midrashic explanation therefore is: When seven Sabbaths of years (i. e. the seven seven-year periods) will be unto thee forty-nine years, thou shalt cause the horn to be blown etc. — no matter whether you have kept the intervening שמיטות or not.) The plain sense of the verse, however, is: The sum total of the periods of which each ends in a “Shemittah” (or, the sum total of these Shemittah-periods) will give thee forty-nine years.
h.והעברת has the same meaning as the verb in (Exodus 36:6) “and they caused it to be proclaimed (ויעבירו קול) in the camp” — it is a term for proclamation (i. e. והעברת has not the literal meaning of causing a cornet to pass, i. e. to carry it about in the land as a symbol of freedom) (Rosh Hashanah 34a).
h.ביום הכפורים [ON THE TENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH] ON THE DAY OF EXPIATION [SHALL YE CAUSE THE CORNET TO SOUND] — Since Scripture states “on the day of expiation” do I not know that it is “on the tenth day of the seventh month”? Why, then, does Scripture add “on the tenth day of the month”? But it adds these words in order to tell you: the blowing Of the שופר on the tenth day of the month sets aside the Sabbath (supersedes the Sabbath Law) throughout all your land (בכל ארצכם); whilst the blowing of the Shofar on the New Year, the first day of that month, does not supersede the Sabbath Law “throughout all your land”, but only at the law-court (בי“ד) alone (Sifra, Behar, Section 1 5; Rosh Hashanah 29b).
h.וקדשתם AND YE SHALL SANCTIFY [THE FIFTIETH YEAR] — when it begins they declare it holy in the court by saying: “The year is holy!” (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 2 1; Rosh Hashanah 8b and Rosh Hashanah 24a).
h.וקראתם דרור AND YE SHALL PROCLAIM LIBERTY unto slaves, both to him whose ear has been pierced (and whose period of servitude has thus been prolonged until the Jubilee; cf. Exodus 21:6) and to him whose six years of servitude (the period prescribed for an ordinary Hebrew servant; Exodus 21:6 Exodus 21:2), reckoning from the time when he was sold, have not yet ended. R. Jehuda said, “What is the etymology of the term דרור, freedom? A free man is like a person who may dwell (דור) at an inn — meaning that he may reside in any place he pleases, and is not under the control of others. (דרור therefore implies liberty of residence) (Rosh Hashanah 9b).
h.יובל הוא IT SHALL BE A JUBILEE [UNTO YOU] — This year shall be distinguished from all other years by it alone being given a special name for itself. And what is its name? “Jobel” is its name — with reference to the “sounding of the Shofar” (the ram’s horn which is called יובל; cf. Exodus 20:13).
h.ושבתם איש אל אחזתו AND YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS POSSESSION — This means that the fields return to their owners. (Not that each man actually goes back to his land — just as it goes on to state that the slave actually returns to his family).
h.ואיש אל משפחתו תשבו AND YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS FAMILY — This verse is intended to include in the law of setting the slaves free also the slave whose ear has been pierced (cf. Sifra, Behar, Chapter 2 5; Kiddushin 15a).
h.יובל הוא שנת החמשים שנה IT IS A JUBILEE; THE FIFTIETH YEAR [SHALL BE UNTO YOU A PERIOD etc.] — Why is this statement made at all? Is it not identical with that made in v. 10? But because it is stated (v. 10) “and ye shall sanctify [the fiftieth year]” which implies that the year has to be sanctified at the beginning although the law of setting the slaves free applies only as from Yom Kippur, and consequently one might think that the holy character of the year is to be extended till the tenth of Tishri of the next year. Scripture therefore states here “a Jubilee is the fiftieth year” — but not any part of the fifty-first — just as is explained in Rosh Hashanah 8b and in Torat Cohanim (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 3 1).
h.את נזריה [YE SHALL NOT GATHER THE GRAPES] THAT ARE נזירים — i. e. the grapes which have been kept by you (cf. Rashi on v. 6: לכם לאכלה שבת הארץ), but you may gather from those that had been declared free to all (cf. Rashi on v. 5: לא תבצר). Just as this is stated with reference to the Sabbatical year so, too, is it stated with regard to the Jubilee (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 3 2). Thus there are two holy years one after the other: the forty-ninth year שמיטה, and the fiftieth,יובל.
h. קדש תהיה לכם IT SHALL BE HOLY UNTO YOU — The sacred character of the produce of that year attaches itself to its equivalent (i. e. to the articles given in exchange for it), just as is the case with Temple property (הקדש). One might think that after having been exchanged it (the fruit) leaves (loses) its sacred character and becomes חולין (ordinary produce), as is the case with many “holy” objects when they have thus been exchanged! Scripture, however, states תהיה “[holy] shall it be”, it shall always be in its original (holy) status (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 3 3; cf. Sukkah 40b).
h.מן השדה תאכלו את תבואתה YE SHALL EAT THE INCREASE THEREOF מן השדה — only by virtue of what is to be found in the field mayest thou eat of what is stored in the house; because if it (a particular fruit) has disappeared for food for the wild beasts in the field, you must clear it out of the house. Just as this is stated in reference to the produce of the Sabbatical year so is it slated also in reference to that of the Jubilee (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 3 4).
h.תשבו איש אל אחזתו YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO IHS POSSESSION — But has it not already been stated: (v. 10) “and ye shall return every man unto his possession”? But this is repeated in order to include in this law also the case of one who sold his field and his son came forward and redeemed it, — that it also is to be returned to the father in the Jubilee (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 3 6).
h.'וכי תמכרו וגו AND IF THOU SELL [OUGHT TO THY FELLOW… YE SHALL NOT OVERREACH ONE ANOTHER] — According to its plain sense the verse intimates what it literally means: (i. e. as translated above). But there is also a Midrashic interpretation: Whence can it be derived that if you sell anything you should sell it to your Israelite fellowman? From what Scripture states: “And if you sell —,לעמיתך sell it to one associated with you by nationality”. And whence can it be derived that if you intend to buy anything that you should buy it of your Israelite fellow? From what Scripture states “or if thou buy ought — מיד עמיתך, at the hand of one associated with thee, buy it” (Sifra, Behar, Section 3 1).
h.אל תונו YE SHALL NOT WRONG [ONE ANOTHER] — This refers to wronging in money matters (Sifra, Behar, Section 3 4).
h.במספר שנים אחר היובל תקנה ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF YEARS AFTER THE JUBILEE THOU SHALT BUY [OF THY COMPANION] — This (the following) is the literal sense fitting in the clauses of the verse as required by the context: Scripture intends here to warn against wronging prohibited in the preceding verse: When you sell or buy landed property take into account how many years there are until the Jubilee, and according to the years and the crops of the field which it can be expected to yield shall the vendor sell and the purchaser buy, for in the end he (the purchaser) will have to return it to him (to the vendor) in the Jubilee-year. Consequently if there are only a few years until the Jubilee and this man sells it at a high price it follows that the purchaser has been overreached. If, on the other hand, there are still many years until the Jubilee so that he eats from it many crops the seller is overreached if you give him only a low price. It must therefore be purchased according to the period remaining until the Jubilee. That is what Scripture means when it states: “According to the number of the years of the fruits he shall sell unto,”thee,“ i. e. according to the number of years of crops that it (the field) will remain in the hand of the purchaser you shall sell it to him. Our Rabbis, however, derived from here the law that one who sells his field has no right to repurchase it before the elapse of at least two years, — that it must remain in the possession of the purchaser two full years reckoning from date to date, and even though there may be three crops in these two years, as, for instance, if he sold it when it had its corn standing. And in this interpretation the word שני does not lose its literal meaning, viz., that of years, (the words שני תבואות are not taken in this interpretation to mean “two crops” as you might at first think) — the phrase means מספר שנים של תבואות the number of years of crops (i. e. שני is the construct of שנים) and not of years when the corn is smitten by blast, and you know that the minimum number implied in the plural שנים is two (this is how the Rabbis derived the law that the vendor must leave the field at least two years in possession of the purchaser) (Arakhin 29b).
h.תרבה מקנתו THOU SHALT INCREASE THE PRICE THEREOF — i. e. you may sell it at a high price
h.תמעיט מקנתו — You shall offer a lower price.
h.ולא תונו איש את עמיתו YE SHALL NOT THEREFORE BE EXTORTIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER — Here Scripture warns against vexing by words (wounding a person’s feelings) — that one should not annoy his fellow-man, nor give him an advice which is unfitted for him, but is in accordance with the plan and the advantage of the adviser. But lest you should say, “Who knows whether I had any intention to do him evil?” Scripture therefore states: “but thou shalt fear thy God”! — He Who knows men’s thoughts, He knows it! In all cases where it is a matter of conscience (more lit., a matter handed over to the heart), when noone knows the truth except the one who has the thought in his heart, Scripture always states: “but be afraid of thy God”! (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 4 1-2; Bava Metzia 58b; cf. also Rashi on Leviticus 19:14.)
h.וישבתם על הארץ לבטח [WHEREFORE YE SHALL DO MY ORDINANCES] AND YE SHALL ABIDE IN THE LAND IN SAFETY — It states this because as a punishment for the sin of neglecting the laws of ”Shemittah” Israel becomes exiled, as it is said (Leviticus 26:33, 34) “(And I will disperse you among the nations…] Then shall the land makeup for the Sabbatical years… even then make up for her Sabbatical years that she has not observed” (Shabbat 33a). The seventy years of the Babylonian exile were indeed a punishment corresponding to the seventy Sabbatical years which they had neglected (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 26:35).
h.ונתנה הארץ וגו' וישבתם לבטח עליה AND THE LAND SHALL YIELD [HER PRODUCE AND YE SHALL EAT YOUR FILL], AND ABIDE THEREIN IN SAFETY — The latter words imply that ye shall not have to worry about years (lit., a year) of drought.
h.ואכלתם לשבע AND YE SHALL EAT YOUR FILL — [even if you eat only a little — cf. Rashi on Leviticus 26:5] it will be blessed in your stomach.
h.ולא נאסף [AND IF YE SHALL SAY,… BEHOLD WE SHALL NOT SOW] NOR GATHER IN — into the house.
h.את תבואתנו OUR INCREASE — as, e. g., the wine and the fruits of trees and the aftergrowth of the fields, which grow of their own accord (Pesachim 51b).
h.לשלש השנים [IT SHALL BRING FORTH INCREASE] FOR THE THREE YEARS — i. e. for a part of the sixth year — from Nisan till the New Year of the seventh — for the whole seventh year and for part of the eighth year, for in the eighth year they will sow in Marcheshvan but will harvest only in Nisan (so that they will have to depend on the harvest of the sixth year in the eighth too).
h.עד השנה התשיעית UNTIL THE NINTH YEAR — i. e. until the Feast of Tabernacles of the ninth year which is the time when the crop of the eighth year comes (בא תבואתה) into the house (the granaries). For during the whole summer-time (the fruits) remained in the fields inthe barns, and in Tishri was the time for gathering them into the house. Sometimes indeed it th)e soil) had to bring forth fruits for four years, viz., during the sixth year preceding the seventh “Shemittah” (i. e. in the forty-eighth year of the Jubilee-period) when they had to refrain from agricultural work two successive years, viz., the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee immediately following it. This verse, however, (which mentions only an increase sufficient for three years) is said (written) with reference to all other (i. e. ordinary) Sabbatical years.
h.לא תמכר והארץ THE LAND SHALL NOT BE SOLD [ABSOLUTELY] — This is intended to charge with the transgression of a negative command (לאו) the neglect of returning the fields to their owners in the Jubilee — it commands that the purchaser must not detain it (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 8).
h.לצמתת means for severance; the meaning is: it shall not be sold as a sale that severs in perpetuity.
h.כי לי הארץ FOR THE LAND IS MINE — Your eye shall not be evil towards it (you shall not begrudge this) for it is not yours.
h.ובכל ארץ אחזתכם AND IN ALL THE LAND OF YOUR POSSESSION [YOU SHALL GRANT A REDEMPTION FOR THE LAND] — (The translation may be: And as regards everything etc.) thus including in this law houses and Hebrew servants (i. e. that to these also the right of redemption must be granted). And this matter is explained in Treatise Kiddushin 21a in the first section (cf. also Sifra, Behar, Chapter 4 9). According to the literal sense, however, it is to be connected with the section immediately following: to point out that one who sells his landed property has the right of redeeming it after two years either by himself or his relative, and that the purchaser has no right to prevent it (גאולה תתנו לארץ, you must grant redemption).
h.כי ימוך אחיך ומכר AND IF THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR AND HAS SOLD AWAY [SOME OF HIS POSSESSION] — The introductory words teach us that one is not permitted to sell his real estate except under the pressure of poverty (cf. Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 1).
h.מאחזתו SOME OF HIS POSSESSION — but not the entire property. Scripture thereby teaches you a practical rule that, however needy a man is, he should always leave some immovables (lit., a field) for himself (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 1).
h.וגאל את ממכר אחיו HE SHALL REDEEM THAT WHICH HIS BROTHER SOLD — and the purchaser has no right to prevent it.
h.ואיש כי לא יהיה לו גואל [AND] IF [A MAN] HAVE NONE TO REDEEM IT — But does there exist anyone in Israel who has none to redeem his property (who has no relative at all)? But the meaning is: a relative who is able (possesses the means) to redeem that which he has sold (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 2; cf. Kiddushin 21a).
h.וחשב את שני ממכרו THEN LET HIM RECKON THE YEARS OF THE SALE THEREOF — [let him reckon thus:] How many years were there until the Jubilee? So-and-so many! At what price did I sell it to you? At such-and-such a price! Now in the Jubilee year you would have to restore it to me; it follows therefore that you have actually bought a number of crops only (and not the land itself) at a certain sum for every year. You have eaten it (used it) three or four years; deduct therefore their value from the sum total of the purchase money and you take the remainder. And this is the meaning of: “he shall restore the overplus” — viz., the excess of the purchase-money over the value of the crops which he (the purchaser) has enjoyed, and he shall restore it to the purchaser.
h.לאיש אשר מכר לו [AND HE SHALL RESTORE THE OVERPLUS] TO THE MAN TO WHOM HE HAD SOLD IT — i. e. to whom he — this seller who now comes to redeem it — had sold it (but not to any other person who is now in the possession of the field, having in his turn bought it from that man to whom he — the seller — had originally sold it) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 3; Arakhin 30a).
h.די השיב לו [BUT IF HE IS NOT ABLE] TO RESTORE IT (lit., if his hand find not sufficient means to restore to him) — Therefore it follows that he (the vendor) has no right to redeem his property in parts (lit., by halves) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 5, Arachin 30a).
h.עד שנת היובל UNTIL THE YEAR OF JUBILEE — “until” but not “including” the year of the Jubilee; it means that nothing of time shall have entered into that year (that not one moment of that year shall have passed), because the Jubilee effects the release of such property at its very beginning (in contrast to the cancelling of debts in the “Shemittah” which takes place only at the end of the year; cf. Deuteronomy 15:1 ff.) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 5 6; Arakhin 28b).
h.בית מושב עיר חומה A DWELLING PLACE IN A CITY WHICH HATH A WALL — i. e. a house situated in a city which has been surrounded by a wall since the days of Joshua the son of Nun (Sifra, Behar, Section 4 1).
h.והיתה גאלתו THEN IT SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE REDEEMED [UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE YEAR OF ITS SALE] — Because it is stated about a field that one may redeem it after two years from the date of the sale and onwards at any time he pleases, but one may not redeem it during the first two years, Scripture was compelled to state specially with reference to this (the house) that just the opposite is the case — that if one wishes to redeem it in the first year he may do so, but after that he cannot redeem it.
h.והיתה גאלתו THEN THE REDEMPTION OF IT — of the house — SHALL BE [TILL THE COMPLETION OF THE YEAR].
h.ימים YEAR (lit., days) — the days of a full year are, briefly, termed “days”. Similar is: (Genesis 24:55) “Let the damsel remain with us a year (.”(ימים
h.וקם הבית…לצמתת (THEN THE HOUSE… SHALL BE ESTABLISHED ABSOLUTELY [TO HIM THAT OBTAINED IT] — i. e. it leaves the control of the vendor for ever and stands under the exclusive control of the purchaser.
h.אשר לא חמה — We read the text as though it were written לו (i. e. tradition tells us to do so). Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Arakhin 32a): We do so to intimate that the law applies to a city even if at the present it has not a rampart (אשר לא חמה) since previous to now it had one (אשר לו חמה). It is true that עיר is a feminine noun and the preposition referring to it should have been written לה (not לו), yet because Scripture was bound to write לא in the text for the reason given, the Massora (the traditional Scriptural text without vowels) replaced it by לו (instead of לה), because the sound of the one applies also to the other (they sound similar).
h.לא יצא ביובל IT SHALL NOT GO OUT IN THE JUBILEE — Rabbi Saphra said, “if the Jubilee happened to fall during that year (the first year of its sale), it shall nevertheless not go out” (Arakhin 31b).
h.ובתי החצרים BUT THE HOUSES OF THE VILLAGES — Understand this as the Targum does: פצחין i. e. “houses of open cities” such as have no rampart. The term חצר occurs many times in this sense in the Book of Joshua, e.g., (Joshua 13:29) “the cities and the unwalled places thereof (וחצריהם)”; so also (Genesis 25:16) “by their unwalled places (בחצריהם) and by their strongholds” (see Rashi on that verse).
h.על שדה הארץ יחשב [BUT THE HOUSES OF THE VILLAGES]… SHALL BE ACCOUNTED AS THE FIELDS OF THE COUNTRY — i. e. they shall be like the fields which may be redeemed until the Jubilee(not only in the first year) and go out in the Jubilee into the possession of their owners if they have not been redeemed in the meantime (Arakhin 33a).
h.גאלה תהיה לו THEY MAY BE REDEEMED — at once if he (the vendor) so desires. In this respect it (the house in an unwalled city) has even a greater advantage than the fields, for the fields cannot be redeemed until two years have elapsed from the date of the sale (Arakhin 33a; cf. Rashi on v. 24).
h.וביבל יצא AND THEY SHALL GO OUT IN THE JUBILEE — for nothing.
h.וערי הלוים THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES… [MAY BE REDEEMED AT ANY TIME] — This refers only to the forty-eight cities which had been given to them (cf. Numbers 35:6. 7). (But if the Levites built another city for themselves, or if a Levite possesses a house in a city inhabited by Israelites these do not come under this law).
h.גאלת עולם [THE LEVITES SHALL HAVE] THE RIGHT OF REDEMPTION AT ANY TIME — This means that they (Levites) may redeem at once — even before the end of two years — if they sold a field of those fields which had been given to them within the two thousand cubits round about the cities (cf. Numbers 25:5) (whilst an ordinary Israelite’s field must remain at least two years in the hand of the purchaser), or if they sold “a house in a city which has a wall” they may redeem it at any time and it does not become irredeemable at the end of one year (as is the case with such houses belonging to Israelites; cf. v. 30) (Arakhin 33b).
h.הלוים מןואשר יגאל — This means, and if any one buys a house or a city from them, then that house that has been sold or the city that was sold shall go out in the Jubilee and shall return unto the Levite who has sold it, and not be irredeemable as are other houses in “cities that have a wall” viz., those of Israelites. According to this explanation, יגאל has here the meaning of a “sale”. Another explanation is (taking יגאל here in its usual meaning of “redeeming”): Because it is stated in the previous verse: “the Levites shall have the right of redemption at any time”, I might think that Scripture is speaking only of an ordinary Israelite purchaser who bought a house in a city of the Levites, but when a Levite bought a house from another Levite it shall be irredeemable! Scripture therefore states “[the Levites shall have the right redemption at any time]”, ואשר יגאל מן הלוים, “also if one who redeems does so from the Levites — i. e. that also one (a Levite) who redeems a house from the possession of another Levite shall have the right to do so at any time (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 6 6).
h.ויצא ממכר בית THEN THE HOUSE THAT WAS SOLD… SHALL GO OUT [IN THE JUBILEE] — According to the second explanation of 'ואשר יגאל וכו given above, this contains another command and is not a continuation of the words that precede. They mean: “but if he (the vendor) did not redeem it” then it shall go out in the Jubilee and shall not become irredeemable at the end of the first year as is the case with the house of an Israelite.
h.כי בתי ערי הלוים הוא אחזתם FOR THE HOUSES OF THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES ARE THEIR POSSESSION —They had no separate property of fields and vineyards, only cities to dwell therein together with the open land surrounding them; these, therefore, in their case took the place of the fields possessed by the Israelites and should thus be redeemable just like fields, in order that their inheritance should not be alienated from them.
h.ושדה מגרש עריהם לא ימכר AND THE FIELDS OF THE SUBURBS OF THEIR CITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD — This means: they may not be sold as an absolute sale by the treasurer of the Temple property — that if a Levite dedicated his field to the Temple and has not redeemed it, and the treasurer then sold it to someone it does not pass into the possession of the priests in the Jubilee as is the case with the property of an Israelite of whom it is stated (Leviticus 27:16—20) “[and if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field… and if he will not redeem the field,] and he (the treasurer; see Rashi on that verse) has sold it to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more, [but the field when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be… the priests]” — the Levite, however, may redeem it at any time (even after the Jubilee and also when the treasurer has sold it to another man) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 6 9).
h.והחזקת בו THOU SHALT RELIEVE HIM — Do not leave him by himself so that he comes down in the world until he finally falls altogether when it will be difficult to give him a lift, but uphold him from the very moment of the failure of his means. To what may this (the differences between whether you assist him at once or whether you wait with your help till he has come down in the world) be compared? To an excessive load on the back of an ass. So long as it is still on the ass’s back, one person is enough to take hold of it (the load) and to keep it (the ass) up, as soon as it has fallen to the ground not even five persons are able to set it on its legs (Sifra, Behar, Section 5 1).
h.גר ותושב means, even though he be a stranger or a sojourner. And what is a תושב? One who has undertaken not to worship idols (i. e. one who has been converted to the fundamental tenet of Judaism) but eats carrion (does not care for the other commandments of the Torah) (Sifra, Behar, Section 5 1).
h.נשך ותרבית [TAKE THOU NOT] INTEREST [OF HIM] OR INCREASE — The Rabbis regard them (these two things) as one, but Scripture uses two different words for the same offence in order to prescribe that he who infringes the law, is thereby transgressing two negative commands (Bava Metzia 60b).
h.ויראת מאלהיך BUT BE AFRAID OF THY GOD — Because man’s thoughts are greatly attracted by the idea of taking interest and it comes difficult to him to keep aloof from it, so that he tries to persuade himself that it is a legitimate act (lit., he decides for himself that it is a permissible matter) on account of the fact that his money will otherwise remain unemployed, Scripture was compelled to state: “But be afraid of thy God!” Or take another case: If one pretends that his money belongs to a non-Jew in order to be able to lend it to an Israelite in an ostensibly legitimate way. This is given only to his heart and thoughts to know the real circumstances of the case; Scripture therefore was compelled to state “But be afraid of thy God!” (Bava Metzia 61b).
h.'אשר הוצאתי וגו [I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD] WHO BROUGHT YOU FORTH [FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT] and distinguished between those who were firstborn and those who were not firstborn (a matter which is hidden from human cognizance), I also know the true facts of this matter and I will exact punishment from him who lends money to an Israelite saying that it belongs to a non-Jew (Bava Metzia 61b; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 19:36). Another explanation is: I am the Lord your God Who brought you forth from the land of Egypt on condition that you take upon yourselves the fulfillment of My commands although they be hard for you (cf. Sifra, Behar, Section 5 3)
h.לתת לכם את ארץ כנען TO GIVE YOU THE LAND OF CANAAN as a reward for your taking upon yourselves to fulfill My commandments.
h.להיות לכם לאלהים TO BE YOUR GOD —Because to him who dwells in the land of Israel I am God; while he who leaves it may be regarded as though he were an idolator (Sifra, Behar, Section 5 4; Ketubot 110b).
h.עבדת עבד [THOU SHALT NOT COMPEL HIM] TO SERVE AS A BOND-SERVANT — i. e. thou shalt not make him do degrading work by which he is recognised as a slave — this might come out that he shall not, for instance, carry his (the master’s) clothes after him to the public baths nor help him on with his boots (cf. Sifra, Behar, Chapter 7 2).
h.כשכיר כתושב BUT AS A HIRED SERVANT AND AS A SOJOURNER HE SHALL BE UNTO THEE] —Employ him on field-labour or on a handicraft; Treat him as you do any hired servant.
h.עד שנת היבל [HE SHALL SERVE THEE] UNTIL THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE — This implies that if the Jubilee happens to come (lit., happens to meet him) before the six years of his servitude are at an end, it frees him.
h.הוא ובניו עמו [AND HE SHALL GO AWAY FROM THEE] BOTH HE AND HIS CHILDREN WITH HIM — Rabbi Simeon asked: If he sold himself who sold his children that Scripture has to state they shall leave the master together with him? But we may learn from this that the master is bound to provide his (the servant’s) children with food (Kiddushin 22a; cf. Rashi on Exodus 21:3) although they are not his slaves.
h.ואל אחזת אבתיו AND UNTO THE POSSESSION OF HIS FATHERS [SHALL HE RETURN] — This means, he shall return to the dignity held by his ancestors and people shall not hold him in low esteem because of this (because he had previously been a slave);
h.אחזת thus means as much as חזקת “the status of” (Makkot 13a).
h.כי עבדי הם FOR THEY ARE MY SERVANTS — My document (deed of purchase) is of an earlier date ( Sifra, Behar, Section 6 1).
h.לא ימכרו ממכרת עבד THEY SHALL NOT BE SOLD AS THOUGH BY THE SALE OF A BONDSMAN — by public announcement: “Here is a slave to be sold!” Nor shall one make him stand on the auction-stone (Sifra, Behar, Section 6 1).
h.לא תרדה בו בפרך THOU SHALT NOT RULE OVER HIM WITH RIGOUR — i. e. do not force him to do some useless work with the sole purpose of vexing him. Do not e.g. say to him, “Warm me this cup of drink“ when this is unnecessary; nor: “Hoe beneath this vine tree until I come” whilst he does not know when you may be expected to come back. Perhaps you will say, “No one knows the fact — whether it is necessary or not, so I will tell him that it is necessary”! — the thing is thus entrusted to his (the master’s) heart only, therefore Scripture states, “but be afraid of thy God!” (Sifra, Behar, Section 6 2; see Rashi on Leviticus 19:32).
h.ועבדך ואמתך אשר יהיו לך BUT THY MAN-SERVANT AND THY MAID-SERVANT WHO MAY BE THINE [SHALL BE OF THE NATIONS THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT YOU] — If you should say, “But if this be so (that I must treat my Jewish servant with so much regard), by whom shall I be served? Over my Jewish servants I have no power; of the Canaanite people I cannot possess any for You have warned me, (Deuteronomy XX 16) “Thou shalt keep alive any soul“! Who then shall serve me?” Then I reply —
h.מאת הגוים OF THE OTHER NATIONS — they may be servants to you.
h.אשר סביבתיכם [THE NATIONS] WHO ARE ROUND ABOUT YOU — not, however, those who live within the boundaries of your land; for with regard to them I have indeed told you, “Thou shalt keep alive no soul” (Sifra, Behar, Section 6 3).
h. וגם מבני התושבים MORE-OVER FROM AMONGST THE TOLERATED STRANGERS who came from the lands round about you in order to marry Canaanite women in your land and these bear them children; then the child follows the father in respect of nationality, and thus, not being regarded as a Canaanite, is not included in this command, “Thou shalt not keep alive any soul”, but you may purchase him as a servant (cf. Sifra, Behar, Section 6 4; Kiddushin 67b).
h.מהם תקנו means THEM MAY YE BUY.
h.והתנחלתם אתם לבניכם means, you may hold them as your possession, לבניכם אחריכם, for the benefit of your children after you. It would not, however, be correct to give the word והתנחלתם the meaning: “leave them as an inheritance to your children”, for if this were intended it should have written: והנחלתם אותם לבניכם (the Hiphil), but והתנחלתם (which is the Hithpael form) is equivalent to והתחזקתם “you may hold them as your possession”.
h.איש באחיו ONE OVER ANOTHER — These apparently redundant words (for the text might have run: ובאחיכם בני ישראל לא תרדו בפרך) are intended to include in the prohibition that the prince must not rule with rigour over his people nor the king over his subjects.
h.יד גר ותושב [AND IF] A גר ותושב WAX RICH — This means a stranger, he being at the same time a sojourner with thee, as the Targum renders it: ערל תותב an uncircumcised sojourner (the phrase is hendiadys). The end of the verse proves this, for it states: “and he sells himself unto a strange sojourner” (גר תושב, without the copulative ו before the second word).
h.וכי תשיג יד גר ותושב עמך AND IF A STRANGE SOJOURNER WAX RICH BY THEE — The last word suggests: What was the cause that he has waxen rich? His close connection with thee (עמך) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1).
h.ומך אחיך עמו AND THY BROTHER WAX POOR BY HIM — Here again the last word suggests: What was the cause that he has waxen poor? His intimacy with him (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1), — because of the fact that he learned evil from his (the stranger’s) evil doings.
h.משפחת גר — itself denotes a heathen; since, however, Scripture adds the word לעקר “to the stock of the heathen’s family” it thereby refers to one who sells himself to the idol itself — to be its servant; not to worship it as a deity, but e. g., to chop wood or to draw water which are to be used in connection with this idol worship (cf. Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1; Bava Kamma 113b; Arakhin 30b; Kiddushin 20a).
h.גאלה תהיה לו means HE SHALL BE REDEEMED at once — do not allow him totally to sink his identity among the heathens (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1; Kiddushin 20b).
h.עד שנת היובל [AND HE SHALL RECKON WITH HIM…] UNTO THE YEAR OF THE JUBILEE — for after all, essentially he has bought him only to work for him till the Jubilee, for surely you must admit in the Jubilee he is to go free, as Scripture states later,on (v. 54) “[and if he be not redeemed in these ways], then he shall go out in the year of the Jubilee”. And, of course, Scripture is speaking here of a heathen who is under your control (i. e. who has to submit to your jurisdiction, for otherwise Scripture could not dictate to him) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 9 3; Kiddushin 16a). But nevertheless you must not practise crooked ways against him because this would result in a desecration of the Name of the Lord (Bava Kamma 113a), but when he wishes to be redeemed he must be exact in his calculation — only just as much as is due each year shall the heathen allow him as a deduction from the purchase-money: (i. e. the Jew cannot demand a larger deduction); if e. g., there were twenty years from the date when he was sold till the Jubilee and he has bought him for twenty manehs — and consequently the heathen has purchased the labour of each year for one maneh — if he (the Jewish servant) stayed with him five years and then wishes to be redeemed, he (the master) has to allow him only a deduction of five manehs from the purchase-money, so that the servant must repay him fifteen manehs. This is the meaning of: והיה כסף ממכרו במספר שנים; AND THE PRICE OF HIS SALE SHALL BE CALCULATED AS HAVING BEEN ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF YEARS; h.כימי שכיר יהיה עמו AS AT THE RATE OF THE DAYS OF AN HIRED SERVANT SHALL HE HAVE BEEN WITH HIM — i. e. he shall calculate the amount due for each year as though he had hired himself out with him e. g., at one maneh per year and that amount only he (the master) has to allow him.
h.אם עוד רבות בשנים IF THERE BE YET MANY YEARS until the Jubilee.
h.לפיהן ACCORDING TO THEM [HE SHALL RESTORE THE PRICE OF HIS REDEMPTION] — all exactly as I have explained above.
h.לא ירדנו בפרך לעיניך HE SHALL NOT RULE WITH RIGOUR OVER HIM IN THY EYES — that is to say, you looking on unconcernedly (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 9; cf. Targum Jonathan on).
h.ואם לא יגאל באלה AND IF HE BE NOT REDEEMED BY THESE — by these (his relatives) he may be redeemed, but he cannot be redeemed through the termination of the six-years-period of servitude as in the case of a Hebrew servant of a Hebrew master (Kiddushin 15b).
h.הוא ובניו עמו [HE SHALL GO OUT…] BOTH HE, AND HIS CHILDREN WITH HIM — the hèathen who acquires a Hebrew servant is bound to provide his children also with food just as is the Israelite master (cf. Rashi v. 41).
h.כי לי מי ישראל עבדים FOR UNTO ME THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE SERVANTS — My document (deed of purchase) is of an earlier date (cf. Rashi on v. 42).
h.אני ה׳ אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — Whosoever enslaves thee (the Israelites) on earth enslaves, as it were, Him in Heaven (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 9 4).