Parshas Re’eh
“and that which is with your brother of that which is yours, your hand shall release” (Devarim 15,3)
It is a positive commandment to forgive all debts in the year of Shmitta. About this it says “and that which is with your brother of that which is yours, your hand shall release”.
The root of the commandment: to teach our souls the elevated character traits, those of beneficence and possessing a good eye, and to fix into our hearts an immense trust in Hashem may He be blessed. Then our souls will be trained to accept that which is good from the Master of everything, including in blessing and mercy. We also find included in this strong boundary and iron partition the importance of exceedingly distancing ourselves from theft and from coveting things which are bad for us, for we can reckon “how much more so” in our souls saying, “even if I lent out my money and the year of Shmita arrived, the Torah says to release it, how much more so is it important not to steal or to covet that which belongs to others but to go to the opposite extreme in distancing ourselves from these evil deeds.”
Amongst the laws of this commandment, is that which Chazal have said that the seventh year only releases debts at its conclusion when the sun sets on the day before Rosh Hashanah of the year after the seventh year as it says “at the end of seven years”.
This commandment applies as a scriptural commandment in the land of Israel and in every place, at a time when the fifty year yovel cycle applies, to men and to women. At a time when the fifty year yovel cycle does not apply, there is no release of land or money from the Torah but rabinically, the release of money applies even nowadays and even in every place so that the laws of the Torah as regards to release of money should not be forgotten from the Jewish people.
