What is the Shemitah?

Answer

The Shemitah (sometimes spelled Shemittah or Shmita) is the final year in a seven-year cycle of debt forgiveness and land use prescribed for Israel in the Old Testament. The term Shemitah has been popularized lately with the publication of the book The Mystery of the Shemitah by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn. According to Cahn, the Shemitah year culminates in the Day of Remission, Ehul 29.

Every seventh year, the people of Israel were instructed to forgive debts owed by fellow Israelites, refrain from direct cultivation, and permit people and animals to harvest the free-growing crops that remained. The instructions concerning the Shemitah are mentioned in passages such as Exodus 21:2; 23:10–11; Leviticus 25:1–7; Deuteronomy 15:1–6; and 31:10–13.

The purpose of the Shemitah was to allow the land to recover from agriculture, as well as to provide sustenance for the poor. The Shemitah was also meant to break the cycle of perpetual debt and poverty in which many people found themselves trapped «save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: », (Deuteronomy 15:4,11) «For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. », (Deuteronomy 15:4,11). This Sabbath year reflected God’s decision to rest on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:1-3). As with many religious concepts, there are different interpretations of the Sabbath year within each of the various sects of Judaism.

Historically, tThe Shemitah seems to have been all but ignored by Judaism, even in the days of the Old Testament. Today, the only aspect of the Sabbath year that seems to be upheld is a prohibition on certain kinds of food exports for crops actually grown within the boundaries of Israel during the seventh year of the cycle. Modern reasons for rejecting this law involve claims that agricultural laws only apply within the boundaries of Israel and that they are generally no longer in effect, thereby canceling the associated laws on debt forgiveness.

Even for those inclined to consider the Shemitah binding, Talmudic scholars developed a mechanism known as a pruzbul to effectively negate the loan-forgiveness aspects of Shemitah. This process hinges on the scriptural command to forgive the debts of a “friend or brother” «And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release. », (Deuteronomy 15:2), which Talmudic scholars chose to interpret as implying that only private debts are canceled. Making a pruzbul transfers the debt to a public religious court, a beit din, so the debt is theoretically no longer between friends, brothers, or neighbors. According to this interpretation, the once-private debt is fully recoverable, and nothing is forgiven (see Mark 7:8-9).

Likewise, those interested in maintaining farms during a Shemitah Sabbath year have turned to a rabbinic interpretation, which effectively nullifies the law. By hiring non-Jewish hands to work the land, the landowner can claim to be following the Shemitah by not (himself) cultivating the land—others are doing it for him, and he is not laboring personally.

In his book The Mystery of the Shemitah, Jonathan Cahn makes the case tha

It is believed that nations that do not adhere to the principles of the Shemitah will face judgment from God. This warning is specifically directed towards America, illustrating how Ehul 29, the Day of Remission on the Jewish calendar, has aligned with significant declines in the stock market, credit crises, oil shocks, recessions, sell-offs, and the Great Depression in America. Cahn suggests that a Shemitah year concluded on September 13, 2015. Following this, there is a potential Year of Jubilee, referred to as a “super Shemitah” by Cahn, if it follows seven Shemitah years (7 sets of 7 years). In Cahn’s perspective, the Year of Jubilee could potentially bring about further judgment from God on defiant nations like America. Additionally, Cahn highlights the significance of the four blood moons and two solar eclipses that have recently occurred.

In The Mystery of the Shemitah, Cahn draws connections between various events related to the World Trade Center and Shemitah years: The WTC was planned in 1945, groundbreaking took place in 1966, the twin towers were inaugurated in 1973, the north tower was bombed by terrorists in 1993, both towers were destroyed in 2001, and the new tower, One World Trade Center or the Freedom Tower, was opened in 2014. Cahn emphasizes that all these years align with Shemitah years.

Author Cahn approached his predictions of divine judgment on the United States with caution. He refrained from making specific forecasts about what might occur during the next Shemitah or on the upcoming Day of Remission, September 13. The assertion that America shares a covenant relationship with God akin to Israel’s is debatable. While his teaching on a seven-year cycle of calamity could be seen as mere coincidence, his call for America to repent and find salvation in Christ is undeniably rooted in biblical principles.