Q. I have a question, when did Yovel begin or for that matter, when did the Yidden start counting Shemita? I heard that this year or coming year is a Shemita, Is that true?
A) Yovel began after the fourteen-year period of conquest and allotment of Eretz Yisroel to the tribes was completed. Toras Kohanim (25, 1) deduces the above from the verse "You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard" saying; we count sh'mitah only when an individual can identify his field and if there is no sh'mita there is no yovel. The first year of yovel was kept sixty-four years after entering Israel. (Following the opinion of the sages, Rambam H. Sh'mita Veyovel 10)
The next sh'mita will be next year; 5775 (25 Sept 2014 - 13 Sept 2015).
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a
Important Numbers
