Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific
Biblical commentator. Sabbaticals and jubilees are the main topics of discussion in Leviticus 25.
Sabbaticals are observed in Israel at the end of seven-year cycles; jubilees every fifty years. Across the
board, classical commentators contend that, essentially, both commandments are variations on the
same theme.
“And God spoke unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying. Speak unto the
Children of Israel and say unto them. When you come into the land
which I give you, then you shall keep a sabbath unto God. Six years you
shall sow your field…but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of
solemn rest for the land.”
Abravanel sees the two commandments differently than his predecessors. He argues that the two
agricultural directives are far from being alike. If they’re really Bobbsey twins, he asks, then why does
the Torah refer repeatedly to sabbaticals as sabbaths – to be precise, seven times in this chapter?
Conversely, jubilees are not called sabbath once.
To be sure, for Abravanel, sabbaticals and jubilees are weighty subjects. And he devotes much time in
analyzing these two diverse, divine commandments. For our purposes here, we shall explain them in a
simple and straightforward manner. For the entire discussion, however, see Abravanel’s World.
Abravanel points out that God performed two overarching acts of kindness with His world. The first one
was the creation itself. Before creation, nothing existed. He brought existence, giving things their unique
form and specialness.
The second predominant gift was the holy Torah, given to the Chosen People. Observance enables the
Hebrews to achieve wholeness, and refine their souls. Where does Abravanel’s preface take us, and how
does it dovetail with sabbaticals and jubilees?
The Maker desired that His nation would work the land in ways that reflected God’s two grandiose
deeds – creation and Torah. Sabbaticals are reminiscent of the creation. In six days, He created heaven
and earth. On the seventh day He rested. Hence, sabbaticals are called sabbaths. By Jews working the
land six years and allowing it to lay fallow on the seventh year, they are recreating, as it were, God’s
creation of the world. The holy sabbath, falling on day seven of each week, is marked by repose, as Jews
refrain from work activities. This corresponds to the year of rest for land – every seven years.
Jubilees, as stated above, never get referred as sabbaths. This indicates that jubilees don’t
commemorate the creation of the world. At the end of seven cycles consisting of seven years each,
“then you shall make proclamation with the blast of the horn…And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and
proclaim liberty throughout the land…it shall be a jubilee for you…”
Jubilees match up with the Law-giving event at Sinai. Bible students will recall that the Torah was
transmitted to the Hebrews fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt. Furthermore, the Torah arrived
amidst tumultuous blasts of a horn: “And the voice of a horn exceeding loud…”
In sum, sabbaticals and jubilees carry rich symbolism, and they herald the commemoration of the
creation and the revelation of the Torah at Sinai respectively.
