Commento su Levitico 25:10

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).

YOVEIL HI’ (IT IS A JUBILEE). “This [the fiftieth] year is distinguished from all other years by being given a special name. And what is that name? Its name is yoveil [literally: ‘the ram’s horn’] on account of the blowing of the Shofar.” This is Rashi’s language, and such also is the opinion of the commentators¹⁴³R’dak in Sefer Hashorashim (Book of Roots), under the root yoveil. that [the word yoveil here] is of the roots: ‘b’keren hayoveil’ (with the ram’s horn);¹⁴⁴Joshua 6:5. ‘shofroth ha’yovlim’ (the rams’ horns).¹⁴⁵Ibid., Verse 4. But I do not find this acceptable, because of [the expression here] shall be unto you [it shall be a Jubilee unto you]; for what sense is there in saying of a year that “it shall be ‘a blowing’ unto you”¹⁴⁶For since Rashi explained that the term yoveil means “blowing the Shofar,” then it follows that ‘yoveil hi’ the fiftieth year shall be unto you means that “the fiftieth year shall be blowing the Shofar to you.” But how can this be said of a year? Mizrachi in defense of Rashi writes that Rashi means that “the year in which every man returns to his possession and to his family, is called yoveil (Jubilee) on account of the blowing of the Shofar,” but not that the word yoveil means “blowing.” and you shall return [every man unto his possession etc.]? Perhaps Scripture is stating: “It is a Jubilee distinguishable by that name which I have called it, and it shall be unto all of you known by the blowing of the Shofar which you will do thereon, reminding you of the purport [of the Jubilee year], that in it every man shall return unto his possession, and every man unto his family.” Similarly, A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you¹⁴⁷Verse 11. means that it shall be a Jubilee unto you, that ye shall not sow, neither reap, that is to say, it is known by its name that it is to be so.
But all this appears to me to be incorrect. For the meaning of shofroth ha’yovlim¹⁴⁵Ibid., Verse 4. is “the horns of the rams,” and Yonathan [ben Uziel] also translated there: “shofroth [made] of rams’ horns.” It is also so stated in the Gemara:¹⁴⁸Rosh Hashanah 26 a. “What intimation is there that the term yoveil is an expression for a ram? In Arabic they call a ram yovlo.” Now the Shofar used on the Day of Atonement [in the Jubilee year] does not necessarily need to be a ram’s horn, for all shofroth (horns) are valid on it, and in the opinion of our Mishnah¹⁴⁹Ibid., 26 b. and all the Tannaim (Sages of the Mishnah), the commandment is [preferably to be performed in the year of the Jubilee] with the horn of wild goats. If so, why then would the [Jubilee] year be called “the year of the ram?”
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the meaning of yoveil is like “sending forth.” In my opinion, Scripture does not call the year yoveil with reference to the blowing [of the Shofar], but with reference to “the liberty” [that it brings to the inhabitants of the Land]; for this term is not mentioned in the first verse which states, Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn.¹⁵⁰Above, Verse 9. But when He stated [in the verse before us] and ye shall proclaim liberty throughout the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof, meaning that they shall all be free to reside wherever they please, He continued by saying ‘yoveil hi,’ that it is a year in which every man is “carried away” to his possession, and his feet “transport him” to his family afar off to sojourn.¹⁵¹Isaiah 23:7. This term [yoveil] is used in connection with many subjects. Thus: ‘yuval’ (there shall be brought) a present unto the Eternal of hosts,¹⁵²Ibid., 18:7. and it is further stated: and on ‘yuval’ it spreadeth out its roots;¹⁵³Jeremiah 17:8. streams and ‘yivlei mayim’,¹⁵⁴Isaiah 30:25. which mean “channels through which water is conveyed.” And the Land shall yield ‘yevulah';¹⁵⁵Further, 26:4. and neither shall ‘yevul’ be in the vines¹⁵⁶Habakkuk 3:17. also signify a kind of “bringing” [of produce or fruits], just as they are called t’vuah [“produce,” which is of the root “bringing”]. Similarly in Aramaic [as will be explained]. Thus: and carry it quickly¹⁵⁷Numbers 17:11. the Targum renders: “v’ovil quickly.” Thus the meaning of it shall be ‘yoveil’ unto you is “it is a year which ‘brings’ [liberty] and it shall be so to all of you, that you shall come and return every man unto his possession, and every man unto his family.” And He stated again [in the following verse], A ‘yoveil’ shall that fiftieth year be unto you¹⁴⁷Verse 11. meaning that the fiftieth year shall be to you only for yoveil [“bringing” liberty], and not for anything else, and ye shall not sow, neither reap,¹⁴⁷Verse 11. but instead it shall be holy¹⁵⁸Verse 12. and every man shall return unto his possession,¹⁵⁹Verse 13. so that the year shall be for all of you a yoveil [bringing everyone back to his possession and family], as its name indicates.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the term d’ror (liberty) is related to the expression, ‘dor’ (a generation) passeth away, ‘v’dor’ (and a generation) cometh.¹⁶⁰Ecclesiastes 1:4. See Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, p. 186, where in his sermon on Ecclesiastes Ramban alludes to a text from the Sefer Habahir which asks: “But does not a generation first ‘come’ and then ‘pass away,’ so why then does the verse change the order? It is to allude to the fact that a generation cometh means that ‘it had already come beforetime.’” See also in Genesis 38:8, Vol. I, p. 469, Note 155. Similarly, yoveil means that everyone will return to the yoveil (source) whence his roots are, and this shall be unto you, [until that time].¹⁶¹Abusaula.

יובל היא תהיה לכם. All of you will also be free of subservience to other nations. This is the opposite of Jeremiah 34,17 “because you have failed to proclaim freedom for your kinsmen and countrymen as I have commanded, I proclaim your release -declares the Lord- to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”

ושבתם איש אל אחוזתו, to his ancestral heritage as has been spelled out in verse 28 and 31 respectively. Sellers of ancestral fields may repossess them in the Jubilee year without having to compensate the buyer.

יובל היא, “it shall be a Jubilee;” Rashi explains the term as “something apart,” so that even the year itself is called by a name different from ordinary years. As to the significance of the different name, it is called thus on account of the blowing of the shofar which introduces that year. The term occurs elsewhere for the shofar when the Torah writes: במשוך היובל “when a long blast is blown with the shofar,” (compare Exodus 19,13) This view is shared by other commentators. Nonetheless, Nachmanides does not agree, citing that the Torah writes the words תהיה לכם, “it will be for you,” and it would not be appropriate to refer to the “shofar” as a year, i.e. שנת החמשים שנה, “the fiftieth year.” A year (verse 12) can hardly be described as a תקיעה, the blast on the shofar. Furthermore the meaning of the expression שופרות היובלים is a reference to the horns of rams and this is the way Targum Yonatahan renders that expression. It is a fact that the horn used to blow out of on the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year does not need to be a ram’s horn. The Talmud is quite specific on this. (Rosh Hashanah 26) Why should that year then bear a name that is equivalent to שנת האיל, “the year of the ram?” Ibn Ezra explains the word יובל as related to שילוח, as in יבל, [compare the modern Hebrew הובלה, describing transportation of goods, especially moving furniture. Ed.] It would describe the release and dispatch to his home of servants whose period of service was brought to an abrupt halt with the onset of this year. Nachmanides adds that the mystical connotation of the word suggests a return to one’s origin, to original freedom in the widest sense, דרור, being related to דור generation, as Solomon describes the return of man to his roots, i.e. after death as דור הולך ודור בא, (Kohelet 1,4) seeing that at the beginning of the paragraph the Torah speaks only about והעברת שופר תרועה , “you shall sound a broken blast on the shofar,” etc.” Families are to be reunited during that year, something that involves travel, mobility, i.e. יובל. It is noteworthy that the expression יובל for this year appears only after the Torah stated that during that year דרור, freedom is to be proclaimed for all, and those who had been enslaved will return to their original homes and families. Nachmanides quotes additional verses from Scripture showing that יובל does not always mean physical motion, transportation of goods or people, so that a “return” to one’s roots, one’s family, need not be understood only in physical terms, bodily return, but as something more profound.

They sanctify it in Beis Din. But not on the tenth of the month when they proclaim the JjubileeJubilee with the shofar. Because if it was so, why write “the year of the fiftieth year”? We already know that they are sanctifying the fiftieth year [from the previous verse]. You need not ask: This verse implies that that people are freed from the beginning of the year, while above it writes, “You shall make a proclamation with the shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month.” Why make a proclamation with the shofar on the tenth [day] if the year is already sanctified in every way from the beginning of the year? The Gemara already answered this in the first chapter of Rosh Hashana (8b): “From Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, slaves did not leave for home and did not work for their masters. Rather, they ate and drank and had crowns on their heads. Once Yom Kippur arrived, Beis Din blew the shofar and slaves would leave for their homes and fields would return to their owners.”

And proclaim freedom in the land. This includes the soldiers of war who leave their homes to guard in the service of the king and the matters of state; in the Jubilee year they return to their homes and ancestral land.

שנת החמישים שנה וקראתם דרור, “the fiftieth year, when you will proclaim freedom.” We find something similar with the Levites who retired from active service at the age of fifty, and they could not perform physical service anymore. (Numbers 8,25)

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).

(2) AND EACH OF YOU SHALL RETURN TO HIS FAMILY. A Hebrew slave goes frree in the Jubilee (see vv. 40-41).

As one [=a free man] who dwells at an inn, etc. And takes merchandise around the whole country. The Aruch explains, “’Like a runner with a load.’ Explanation. The carrier of the load [of] a merchant, who runs and takes merchandise everywhere. מדייר is an expression of running, and דיירא means a load. [It is actually spelled] מדוור with two vavs.” But Rashi there explains, “As one who dwells at an inn. Someone who is in his own jurisdiction and can dwell in any inn he pleases.”

It shall be for you a jubilee. According to the plain meaning the word יובל connotes moving (הובלה) from one place to another. In fact, the deer is also called יובל because it is always going from place to place. The Torah continues and explains the reason for the jubilee year:

לכל יושביה, “for all its inhabitants;” seeing that the Torah wrote: ושבתם איש אל אחוזתו, “each man of you is to return to his ancestral heritage,” it would have sounded as if women did not possess ancestral land in Israel. Therefore the Torah also had to write: לכל יושביה, to all of its inhabitants no matter which sex. According to Sifra, this meaning has been derived from the word: תשובו, [which is a repetition. Ed.] לכל יושביה, “for all its inhabitants.” This is why as soon as even when only parts of the tribes had been exiled, this law could no longer be observed.

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 19:13).

The fields return. According to this, the verse is in the wrong order. It should say, “The ancestral land should return to each man,” and not that the owners return to the fields as is implied in “Each man shall return, etc.”

And each man shall return to his ancestral land — even if he has no ancestral land he goes back to his main family and all the family heads are gathered together.

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).

To include one who[se ear has been] pierced. Explanation: [This refers to] tThe person [whose ear has been] pierced person who reached the Jubilee before six years passed since his piercing, as is taught in the Beraisa of Toras Kohanim and Kiddushin (15a). You might ask: Since it is already written (verse 10) “proclaim freedom,” and Rashi explained, “To slaves, whether [one whose ear has been] pierced, etc.,” why [also] write, “Each man shall return to his family”? The answer is: When Rashi explained that “proclaim freedom” means, “To slaves, whether [one whose ear has been] pierced, etc.,” he actually derived this from “Each man shall return to his family,” as this is the main verse. Proof for this is that Rashi comments on the verse in Ve’eileh Hamishpatim (Shemos 21:6), “He then serves his master forever,” that “[This means] until the Jubilee year.” He then asks, “Or perhaps it means forever as is its literal meaning? The Torah therefore says: ’And each man will return to his family.’” He does not cite the verse, “And proclaim freedom,” indicating that it (the latter part of the verse) is the main source. Another answer is that if the Torah only wrote “And proclaim freedom,” I might think that he only leaves at the yovel if beis din had sold him, but not if he sold himself. Therefore, it says “Each man will return to his family.” Or [I may have thought the inference of each of the two verses may be] the opposite.

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).