Shemittah, the Sabbatical Year of the Biblical era when every seventh year was observed by a ban on agricultural activities and a cancellation of all debts, will be observed next year in all agricultural settlements in Israel maintained by the laborite members of the Agudas Israel Organization, it was reported here today at a meeting of the world executive of the Poale Agudas Israel.
After hearing a report on the preparations which are being made for the observance of Shemittah in Poale Agudas colonies in Israel, the executive decided to raise a special fund to purchase food for the settlers and forage for the livestock in the colonies during the Sabbatical Year.
The Sabbatical Year, as ordained in the Bible, was observed during the period of the Second Temple. It caused great hardship because of scarcity of food and the freezing of money credit. In the course of time, with the extension of the use of credit in business, the custom of cancelling debts was gradually abandoned. However, the practice of permitting the fields to lie fallow after they had yielded produce for six successive years, was observed. As late as 1888 the question of whether Shemittah should be applied to the new Jewish colonies in Palestine led to a lively argument among the Jews there. In the 20th century practically all Jews had ceased to observe the Sabbatical year.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
