Discover and learn every week, "5 Facts" written on the weekly Parshah that you can share at your Shabbos table.

1.     Were all Torah commandments given at once?

• The reason “Mt. Sinai” is mentioned in the discussion on the laws of Shemitta is to teach us that all the laws of the Torah, without exception, were given at Mt. Sinai. (Rashi)

2.     What are the consequences for someone who transgresses Shemitta laws?

• The Talmud learns from here that those who do commerce with the produce of the 7th year  disqualified to serve as a witness. Eating the produce is permitted; doing commerce with it is forbidden. Therefore, one who does commerce with shemitta produce is considered to be a rasha.  There are however, some situations in which selling shemitta produce is permitted, such as selling it in a casual, unprofessional manner, or selling it when one originally collected it for eating and there is  too much left over. (Sanhedrin 25b, Tosefot in Avodah Zarah 62b, Tosefot in Rosh Hashana 22a)

3.     What kinds of Shofar blows were blown to announce the Yovel?

• From here the sages learn that the shofar blast that announces the Yovel year must resemble the manner in which the shofar is sounded on Rosh Hashana: a long blast, a broken blast, and again, a long blast. (Rosh Hashana 26b)

4.     What are the consequences for someone who transgresses Shemitta laws?

• The root of the word Yovel means “ram”. Others say it comes from the word hovel/to transport, alluding to the fact that belongings are reverted and “transported” back to their original owners. (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, Rabenu Bachya, Mincha Belulah)

5.     How important is the Mitvzvah of not charging interest?

• The word “ribbit/interest” has a numerical value of 612, one short of 613 (the number of mitzvot in  the Torah). This teaches us that the mitzvah of not charging ribbit is equivalent to all the other mitzvot combined. (Baal Haturim)