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But while Shemita remains an active Mitzva even in our own day, Yovel has been lost to us. Some say Yovel was discontinued when the 10 tribes of Israel were exiled (since Yovel depended on ALL the nation observing the occasion); others say it ended when the Sanhedrin was dissolved, following the second Temple’s destruction.
The word "Yovel" actually means "ram" or "ram’s horn;" but Ramban defines it as "movement" (as in the modern Hebrew word, "hovala," a moving company). The word "Jubilee" connects to "jubilation," the joyous celebration of families when their ancestral land would be returned to them, which was the primary centerpiece of the Yovel phenomenon.
But is Yovel truly, irreparably gone forever more?
The pasuk tells us that when Yovel occurred, "Freedom was declared throughout the land; each man shall return to his heritage, each person shall return to his family." (25:10). The Torah then immediately ordains that "a man shall not harm his fellow-man….you shall fear G-d & you shall follow G-d’s laws - both those that you rationally understand as well as those which you don’t - & you shall dwell securely on your land, which I, Hashem, shall bless."
I suggest that the Torah is telling us that even when Yovel cannot be observed in its literal fashion, it can still be kept in a spiritual way. If we decide to re-order our approach to others by treating them well, if we reconnect to our family, if we return to our Jewish heritage, then we create a kind of "virtual Yovel!" If it is a shipur, an improvement (as in the word, "shofar), a "movement" towards Hashem, then indeed it is a "jubilation" that will surely bring us bracha.
As we IY"H slowly but surely come out of isolation from the Corona crisis and literally "return to our family," we hopefully can face the world with renewed energy and a sense of commitment towards others. Hopefully we have learned that we truly live in a global village, where the actions of even one person, far away, can affect and alter an entire planet. And surely we have come to realize that no matter how safe, solvent and secure we think we are, without Hashem's blessing upon us, nothing can be taken for granted.
In many ways, life is "starting over" for the Earth. And that is a Yovel for the ages.
Rabbis in Midrash
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Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part II
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
Parashat Hashavua Happiness for the Right Reasons
[With painful longing, we share these divrei Torah from our co-Rosh Kollel for close to 40 years, Harav Moshe Ehrenreich zt”l.]
