We’re curious...
Why is this year different from other years? This Rosh Hashanah marked the start of a Shmita (often translated as “sabbatical”) year, which occurs every seven years. Just like we are commanded to work for six days and rest on the seventh, the Torah states that every seventh year, after six years of planting and harvesting the Land of Israel should be allowed to “rest.”
During the approximately 2,000 years the Jewish people were in exile, Shmita was largely a theoretical issue. However, once Jews began returning to ...