Is shmita nowadays deraisa or derabon and why? I have heard different reasons its derabon (you need bias kulchem and all Jews have to be in Israel, you need the shevatim to be sitting in their respective teriories, we have no urim veturim) but dont know which ones are true and not true.
Thanksfor ll your help
kerfish,
There are four main opinions in the Rishonim, mostly found in the commentaries to Gitin 36.
1. Ramban: Shemitah nowadays applies on the Torah level. He bases this ruling on the majority view of the Chachamim.
2. Most Rishonim (see Rashba, Ritva, Ran): Shemitah nowadays applies only on the Rabbinic level. This is based on the view of Rebbi, who maintains that the laws of Shemitah apply only when the laws of Yovel apply. Yovel applies only when all or most of the Jewish people live in Israel (Erchin 32b).
(See Rashi and Tosfos who dispute how the Derashah of Rebbi operates, and also whether or not the laws of Yovel applied during the time of the second Beis ha'Mikdash.)
3. The Ba'al ha'Me'or (see Sefer ha'Terumah): Shemitah does not apply nowadays at all, except as a Midas Chasidus. The Ra'avad once held this view but later retracted from it. In the Shulchan Aruch, after the Mechaber rules that Shemitas Kesafim is Rabbinic today, the Rema cites this view as a Limud Zechus for why many communities had not observed Shemitas Kesafim.
4. Rambam: Shemitas Kesafim is only Rabbinic nowadays. Opinions differ about whether the Rambam also believes that Shemitas Karka today is a Torah obligation (the Kesef Mishneh learns this way) or only Rabbinic (see the other commentaries on the Rambam).
Best wishes,
Yishai Rasowsky
Thank you for your reply. According to the second opinion you cited (the rov rishonim, Ritva Rashba and Ran) If we would theoretically in our days have most Jews living in Eretz Yisrael (something which is probably eventually going to happen) would shemitah then become deorisa? Also why is there no Shemitah today according to the Baal Hamoar (opinion 3)?
Some (1) point out that, inherently, Klal Yisrael dwelling in Eretz Yisrael is only a condition for the release of slaves, but since slave release is one of the necessary conditions for Yovel to operate (2), Yovel is not activated unless we are dwelling in Eretz Yisrael. Some (3) write that according to the views that slave release is not a necessary condition for Yovel, consequently Yovel will be operative even when Klal Yisrael is not dwelling in Eretz Yisrael, just without the laws of slave release.
But more directly related to your point, the Rishonim (4) write that even if the presence of even one Shevet is missing from Eretz Yisrael then Yovel does not apply.
There is yet another Machlokes concerning whether in order for Yovel to operate it is enough to have even a minority of each Shevet (5) or do we need a majority of each Shevet.
I hope these views don't dissuade the optimism of Yovel revivalists, but we get the impression that only when Eliyahu ha'Navi and Mashi'ach will be here that we will resume observance of Yovel, and thus Shemitah, on a Torah level.
The Ba'al ha'Me'or maintained that there can be no Yovel, even on a rabbinic level, after the destruction of Bayis Sheni, when the Sanhedrin stopped counting to be Mekadesh each cycle.
Best wishes,
Yishai Rasowsky
(1) See Turei Even (Megilah 10a, DH Lamah)
(2) See Rambam (Hilchos Shemitah v'Yovel 10:13)
(3) See She'elos u'Teshuvos Or Same'ach (2:1)
(4) See Tosfos Chochmei Angliyah (Kidushin 38b)
(5) See Rabeinu Tam (Gitin 36 and Erchin 32)
Thanks for your interesting reply.
You wrote "But more directly related to your point, the Rishonim (4) write that even if the presence of even one Shevet is missing from Eretz Yisrael then Yovel does not apply".
But its very logical to assume we have at least on Jew of each shevet in Eretz Yisrael. Do we have to come on to the Rishonim who hold that you need a majority of each shevet to call it deorisa? According to the opinions that you don't need a majority of each and every shevet it should still become deorisa when we get a majority of Jews in Israel. Is this correct or not?
Also what about terumas and maseras? Will that become deorisa when we have a majority of Jews in Israel (according to the opinions it's derabanan today because we don't have bias kulchem)?
Also, if you need a majority of each shevet. Does that mean even during bayis rishon after he 10 tribes were sent to golus by Sancherib that Shemita was derabaon even then during bayis rishon? If it was derabaon its interesting because its brought down that klal yisrael was sent to golus for 70 years for the 70 shemitas they were not shomer. But mny of thos shemitas were only derabonon? Why were they sent to golus for something that's "only" derabon?
Thanks and chanukah sameach
Allow to me to try adding some sources which I hope may assist you develop and sharpen your wonderful insights.
1. The Gemara (Erchin 32b) teaches that the tribe members also have to be living on the territory of their correct Shevet. This makes it more of a remote possibility that Yovel will necessarily kick in immediately once the majority of Jews live in Israel.
2. The Rambam (Hilchos Terumos 1:26) rules that the obligation for Terumah today is only mid'Rabanan, and so, too, for Ma'aser, since, as he rules, it only becomes a Torah obligation when there was -- or will be -- Bi'as Kulchem. (By the way, the Ra'avad there argues and maintains that it is a Torah obligation. The basic background to their Machlokes is the dispute in Yevamos 82 between the Amora'im Rebbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish and the Tana'im Rebbi Yosi and the Chachamim.)
3. The Gemara (Erchin 32b) says that the Yovel count stopped once Reuven, Gad, and half of Menasheh were exiled. This was even before the exile of the Ten Tribes.
4. Rashi (Vayikra 26:35; Yechezkel 4:6; Divrei ha'Yamim II 36:21) writes that we were exiled because we failed to observe Shemitah for 430 years, which span -- at least in part -- 70 Shemitah cycles.
Best wishes,
Yishai Rasowsky