“Utopian Legislation”
Parashat Re’eh
The fifteenth chapter of Deuteronomy begins by commanding an act of release (shemitah) to occur at the end of every seven years. The seven-year cycle immediately evokes the legislation in Leviticus 25, which is also based on a seven-year cycle. But there is a significant difference. The laws of Leviticus require that the land be allowed to remain fallow every seventh year and that land that has been sold reverts to its original owner on the fiftieth, Jubilee year.
The views expressed in this D’var Torah do not necessarily reflect the position of Leo Baeck College.