Shmitas Kesafim - Rabbi Eliezer Brod shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You are listening to the “Lemaan Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Shalom u’vrachah. When we speak about the shemitah year, there are generally two main aspects to it. One is the shemitah of the land: it is forbidden to sow, plant, or plow. There are also laws concerning produce that grows on its own and how to handle fruit that grows during the shemitah year. There are many, many laws involved. That is one aspect, the shemitah of the land. There is another aspect of the shemitah year: the shemitah of debts, which we will explain shortly. The difference between the shemitah of the land and the shemitah of debts is that the shemitah of the land applies only in Eretz Yisroel, because it is one of the mitzvos dependent on the Land, and those mitzvos apply only in Eretz Yisroel. Granted, by rabbinic law there are also regions outside Eretz Yisroel, adjacent to it, where shemitah applies. And within Eretz Yisroel, too, it depends on whether an area was conquered by those who came up from Egypt or by those who came up from Babylonia. But we will not go into all those details. In general, though, the shemitah of the land is one of the mitzvos dependent on the Land. Just as terumos and maasros and similar mitzvos apply only in Eretz Yisroel, the shemitah of the land also applies only in Eretz Yisroel. Outside Eretz Yisroel, the whole matter of the shemitah of the land does not apply. The shemitah of debts, by contrast, applies under Torah law both in Eretz Yisroel and outside it. That means the seventh year cancels debts, as we will explain shortly in detail and at length. The shemitah of debts, as I said, applies both in Eretz Yisroel and outside it. Since it is not one of the mitzvos dependent on the Land, it applies throughout the world. Today, does shemitah apply under Torah law or by rabbinic law? In general, there are three views on this. Some hold that shemitah applies today under Torah law. There are

02:12 Speaker 2 a few early authorities who hold this view. Other early authorities hold the complete opposite: that shemitah does not apply today even by rabbinic law, and observing it is only an act of piety. But the majority of the early authorities hold that shemitah today—and when we say shemitah today, we mean both the shemitah of the land and the shemitah of debts—applies not under Torah law but by rabbinic law. By rabbinic law, however, both are obligatory. This is the practical ruling of the Rambam, as most understand his view. This is also how the author of the Shulchan Aruch rules in Choshen Mishpat, section 67, and how the Alter Rebbe rules in his Shulchan Aruch, in the laws of loans in Choshen Mishpat: the shemitah of debts today applies only by rabbinic law, not under Torah law. This question of whether shemitah applies today under Torah law or by rabbinic law is not merely a matter of scholarly debate. It has many halachic implications, both for the shemitah of the land and for the shemitah of debts. Since the halachic ruling is that both apply only by rabbinic law, there are a number of practical halachic consequences. Why does shemitah today apply by rabbinic law rather than under Torah law? Several explanations are given by the halachic authorities, but we will focus on the main one, which is brought by the Rambam, the author of the Shulchan Aruch, and the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch. It is based on the Gemara in tractate Gittin and on the verse in the Torah, “And this is the matter of the shemitah: release.” The Gemara says that the verse speaks of two forms of shemitah. What are they? Some of the early authorities explain that one is the shemitah of the Yovel year, because in the Yovel year there is also a shemitah: working the land is forbidden. The second is the shemitah of the seventh

04:13 Speaker 2 year—the shemitah of the land and the shemitah of debts. When Yovel applies, the shemitah of the seventh year applies, both to the land and to debts. When Yovel does not apply, neither does the shemitah of the land or the shemitah of debts. Today, Yovel does not apply under Torah law. Why not? Because the Torah sets a condition for Yovel: “You shall proclaim freedom in the land for all its inhabitants.” In other words, for Yovel to apply under Torah law, all the Jewish people must be in Eretz Yisroel—all its inhabitants must be there. Since not all the Jewish people are in Eretz Yisroel today, Yovel does not apply today under Torah law. In practice, it does not apply even by rabbinic law; there is no Yovel today. In any case, since the Torah links the shemitah of the seventh year—both the shemitah of the land and the shemitah of debts—to Yovel, and Yovel does not apply today under Torah law, neither form of shemitah applies today under Torah law. As I said earlier, this is the halachic ruling of the Rambam, the author of the Shulchan Aruch, and the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch. So shemitah today does not apply under Torah law. But that raises a question: if Yovel does not apply today even by rabbinic law, why does shemitah apply by rabbinic law? As explained in Tosafos on the Gemara in tractate Gittin, the Sages instituted shemitah by rabbinic law today so that the laws of shemitah would not be forgotten. They did not want the entire practice of shemitah to be forgotten, so they instituted its observance by rabbinic law: the shemitah of the land in Eretz Yisroel, and the shemitah of debts throughout the world, both in Eretz Yisroel and outside it. But the question arises: why did they not institute Yovel by rabbinic law today as well,

06:20 Speaker 2 so that the laws of Yovel would not be forgotten? Tosafos explains there that Yovel comes immediately after a shemitah year. The forty-ninth year is a shemitah year, and then, in the fiftieth year, comes Yovel. That would mean two consecutive years of not working the land. Since that is very, very difficult, the Sages did not want to impose on a Jew two years in which he could not work his land merely to keep the laws of Yovel from being forgotten. Therefore, Yovel today does not apply even by rabbinic law. Shemitah, however, does apply today by rabbinic law so that its laws will not be forgotten. It does not apply under Torah law, because Yovel does not apply under Torah law, but it does apply by rabbinic law—both the shemitah of the land, which, as noted, applies only in Eretz Yisroel, and the shemitah of debts, which applies both in Eretz Yisroel and outside it. We have discussed whether the shemitah of the land and the shemitah of debts apply under Torah law or by rabbinic law, and we said that today they apply only by rabbinic law, not under Torah law. In this class we will focus on the shemitah of debts. What exactly is the shemitah of debts? Is it a positive mitzvah? A prohibition? What are its parameters? Regarding the shemitah of debts, the Torah gives us one positive mitzvah and two prohibitions. The positive mitzvah is stated in the Torah: “Every creditor shall release what he has lent.” In other words, when the shemitah year reaches its end, there is a positive mitzvah under Torah law to release the debt. You may not come and demand payment; the debt is canceled. That is one positive mitzvah. Then there is also a prohibition: “He shall not press his fellow, for a shemitah has been proclaimed for Hashem.” In other words, besides the positive mitzvah that the debt should be dealt with as

08:19 Speaker 2 of the Shemitah year, when the debt is, so to speak, relinquished. There is also a prohibition in the Torah: “He shall not press.” A lender may not come and demand repayment from the borrower, because Shemitah cancels the debt. There is another commandment in the Torah, also a prohibition: “Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying: The seventh year, the year of Shemitah, is approaching, and you look begrudgingly upon your needy brother and give him nothing.” In other words, the Shemitah year is approaching, and a poor person comes to a wealthy person and asks for a loan: “Give me a loan.” The wealthy person is afraid to lend him the money. After all, the Shemitah year is coming, and if the borrower does not repay him by the end of that year, he will lose the debt. As a result, the wealthy person might not want to lend money to the poor person who needs it. So the Torah says that a Jew is prohibited from refraining from lending money to a poor person because he fears that Shemitah will cancel the debt. If someone acts that way and does not lend because he is afraid of the Shemitah year, he violates a prohibition. So, as we said, there is one positive commandment: “Every creditor shall release what he has lent.” There is also a prohibition, “He shall not press his fellow,” and another prohibition against refraining from lending out of fear that Shemitah might cancel the debt. That is what the Torah says. Now, there are many details: Which debts does Shemitah cancel? When does it not cancel a debt? When does it cancel one? There are very many details. The laws are explained by the Rambam in Hilchos Shemitah VeYovel, and in the Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, section 67. There are many details there concerning various halachic questions: Which debts does Shemitah cancel, and which does it not

10:09 Speaker 2 cancel? There are also details on this subject in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, in Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Halvaah. We will not go into all the details of the laws now, but I will mention one thing. The Mishnah in tractate Sheviis says that even if Shemitah has canceled a debt, if the borrower comes and returns the money he was lent to the lender, the Sages are pleased with him. That is, this is how it works: The borrower is not actually obligated to return the money, because Shemitah cancels the debt. But if the borrower comes to the lender and says, “Listen, take the money,” the lender must tell him, “I release the debt.” Shemitah cancels it. If the borrower nevertheless says, “Even though Shemitah cancels it, I want to give you the money,” giving it not as repayment of a debt but as something like a gift, then the lender may accept the money. That is also the halachic ruling. And the Mishnah says that the Sages are pleased with someone who acts this way. In other words, even after Shemitah, the borrower can return the money the lender gave him. He does not give it as repayment of a debt, but as something like a gift. But if he does not want to return it, he does not have to, because Shemitah cancels the debt, and that is that. Once Shemitah has passed, he no longer has to return the money. That is the halachah, as ruled in the Shulchan Aruch and the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. Now, the Gemara in tractate Gittin says—and first, the Mishnah there says—that Hillel instituted a pruzbul for the betterment of society. Hillel instituted the enactment of pruzbul. What is a pruzbul? Why did he institute it? What does the word “pruzbul” mean? The Gemara in tractate Gittin says that the Sages came

12:03 Speaker 2 and saw that, even though the Torah states, as we said earlier, that a person is prohibited from refraining from lending money to his fellow because he is afraid Shemitah might cancel the debt, people were nevertheless refraining from lending as the Shemitah year approached. This put pressure on people who needed loans—poor people, merchants, and others who needed money—while those who could lend were holding back. Therefore, for the betterment of society, Hillel instituted pruzbul. What is a pruzbul? “Pruzbul” is a shortening of the words “pruz buli buti.” Pruz buli buti—three words. Pruz means an enactment, buli means wealthy people, and buti means poor people. In other words, this is an enactment for the wealthy and for the poor. What does that mean? As we said, a situation had developed in which people stopped lending money to one another. As a result, wealthy people were violating the prohibition against refraining from lending, and poor people found themselves unable to obtain loans. So this enactment of pruzbul was introduced, enabling the wealthy to lend money to the poor and the poor to obtain loans from the wealthy. It was an enactment for both the wealthy and the poor. What exactly is the enactment of pruzbul? What did they do? The Gemara there cites a law concerning the Shemitah year, also brought in halachah: If a person hands over his debt documents to a beis din before the end of Shemitah—documents for money people owe him—Shemitah does not cancel those debts. Why? Because it says, “He shall not press his fellow.” A private individual may not come and demand payment of a debt owed to him. But if he has handed it over to a beis din, he is not the one demanding payment; the beis din comes and demands

14:15 Speaker 2 payment, because he handed the documents, the debt documents, over to the beis din. The beis din may demand payment even after Shemitah passes. That is the law. Entirely apart from pruzbul, when someone hands over his debt documents to a beis din, the money can be collected. Hillel came and instituted pruzbul. What did he institute? He instituted that people could write or say—as we will discuss later—to the beis din: “I hand over to you every debt owed to me, so that I may collect it whenever I wish.” That is what Hillel instituted. What I am saying now is how the Alter Rebbe also discusses it in the Shulchan Aruch—how to explain precisely Hillel’s enactment. The Alter Rebbe says that through Hillel’s enactment of pruzbul, it is considered as though the lender handed the debt over to the beis din. Since it is considered handed over to the beis din, he is not actually the one making the demand; the beis din is. He acts as the beis din’s agent, so Shemitah does not cancel the debt. So you might ask: What was new in Hillel’s enactment? After all, we learned that Shemitah does not cancel a debt when someone hands its document over to a beis din. In fact, we see in the Alter Rebbe’s laws that there are two innovations in the enactment of pruzbul. First, under the original law, before the enactment of pruzbul, a Jew would take his debt documents and actually hand them over to a beis din, and the beis din would collect the debts. Then Shemitah would not cancel them. Here, by contrast, he does not hand them over to the beis din; the documents remain with him. Hillel’s enactment of pruzbul made it as though he had handed the debt documents over to the beis din. Consequently, the same law applies as when someone hands a debt document over to a beis din, and so

16:06 Speaker 2 he can collect the money. The second point Hillel introduced is this: The original law, that Shemitah does not cancel a debt when its document is handed over to a beis din, concerns a case in which there is a debt document and the lender hands it over to the beis din. But some loans are made with a document recording the debt, while others are made orally. If there is a debt document, the lender can hand it over to the beis din, and Shemitah will not cancel the debt. But with an oral loan, he has nothing to hand over—there is no debt document. So what can those lenders do? The enactment of pruzbul established that even if a person is owed money from a loan for which he has no debt document—a loan made orally, where they agreed, “I gave you money, and you will repay me”—the enactment still applies. Even for such an oral loan, if he comes and says, “I hereby hand over to you, the judges, every debt owed to me, so that I may collect it whenever I wish,” the enactment of pruzbul gives that oral loan the same status as handing debt documents over to a beis din. Shemitah then does not cancel it. It follows that Hillel’s enactment applies whatever kind of loan was made. Even if the lender has debt documents but did not actually hand them over to the beis din, it is considered as though he did. And even if he has no debt document at all, because it was an oral loan, through the enactment of pruzbul it is likewise considered as though he handed the debt over to the beis din, so Shemitah does not cancel it. I just want to point out that we mentioned

17:34 Speaker 2 First, there is a discussion about whether shemitah nowadays is a Torah obligation or a rabbinic one, and we said that, as a matter of halachah, shemitah is rabbinic. So it is important to emphasize that the Gemara asks: How could Hillel institute such an enactment? According to the Torah, shemitah cancels debts when the loan documents have not actually been handed over to beis din. How, then, could the Sages say that shemitah does not cancel them if one makes a prozbul? One of the Gemara’s answers—and really its main answer—is that since shemitah nowadays is only rabbinic, the Sages have the authority to make this enactment. So if a person makes a prozbul, shemitah does not cancel his debts, whether they are loans recorded in a document or even oral loans. To sum up, as we said earlier, “prozbul” is a shortened form of the words “proz buli u-buti”: an enactment for the wealthy and the poor. As a result of the enactment Hillel instituted, if a person lent money and the shemitah year passed, he can still demand and collect the debt as he would in any ordinary year, provided he made a prozbul. Now that we have explained that there is an enactment of prozbul, we need to explain when to make it, how to make it, and before whom to make it. First of all, there is a disagreement among the early authorities about when a prozbul is made. Everyone agrees that the debt is canceled at the end of the seventh year. To put it in terms of years, 5782 is the shemitah year. When 5782 ends, the cancellation of the debt takes effect. Until then, the debt still exists. And that is the point at issue. Since shemitah takes effect only at the end of the seventh year, at the end of the shemitah year, the Ramban and other authorities write that the prozbul should be written at the end of the shemitah year. In our case, according to

19:36 Speaker 2 the Ramban, the prozbul should be written at the end of 5782. Why at the end? Suppose someone writes a prozbul in Tammuz 5782. It can cover all the debts owed to him up to Tammuz 5782. But what if he lends someone money in Menachem Av 5782? After all, the Torah says that when someone asks for a loan, one must not refrain from lending. Yet the prozbul will not cover loans that did not exist when it was written. So it is always advisable and proper to write the prozbul at the end of the seventh year—that is, at the end of 5782, on its last day. Then the prozbul will take effect and cover all the loans owed to him, including loans made during the seventh year. So according to the Ramban, as we said, the prozbul is written at the end of the shemitah year. In terms of the current cycle, that means the end of 5782. But the Rosh disagrees with the Ramban. The Rosh says there are two separate rules here. It is true that the debt is canceled only at the end of the shemitah year. The seventh year cancels debts only at its end—in our cycle, only at the end of 5782. But the prohibition of “you shall not press”—the prohibition against the lender demanding payment—begins at the start of the seventh year. In our case, that means the start of 5782. Perhaps we should explain the Rosh’s view a little. According to the Rosh, there are two things going on. The lender may no longer demand payment from the beginning of 5782. So what is the difference between the beginning of the year and the end? Once 5782 has passed, not only may the lender no longer demand the money, but the borrower is not obligated to repay him at all. There is no longer a debt. That’s it—the debt is gone. Except, as we said earlier, if he

21:47 Speaker 2 wants to give the money as a gift, the Sages look favorably upon him. So when the borrower comes to repay the debt after the shemitah year, the lender must tell him, “I cancel the debt; you do not have to give me anything.” If the borrower says, “Even so, I want to give it to you,” then it is like a gift, and the Sages look favorably upon him. But once the shemitah year has passed, once 5782 has passed, it is not merely that the lender may not demand payment. The borrower does not have to give him the money at all; he owes him nothing. If he wants to go beyond what is required and give it to him as a gift, the Sages say, “We are pleased that you are doing so”; they look favorably upon him. But by law, he does not have to give him anything. At the beginning of 5782, by contrast, the Rosh says that the prohibition against the lender demanding payment begins. If the borrower comes of his own accord during 5782 and wants to pay the lender, that is permitted. The lender does not have to tell him, “I cancel the debt.” He takes the money, because the debt still exists. Until the end of 5782, the debt exists. Everyone agrees on that. As we said, the seventh year cancels debts only at its end, at the end of 5782. But according to the Rosh, as we said, the lender may not demand payment from the beginning of 5782. According to the Ramban, the lender may even demand payment throughout 5782, until the year ends. According to the Rosh, however, although the debt exists and the borrower may repay it during 5782, and the lender may accept the money, the lender may not demand payment from the beginning of 5782. Therefore, according to the Rosh, the prozbul must be written at the end of 5781. Why? Because

23:32 Speaker 2 we want the lender to be able to demand payment of the debt—and then he will also be willing to lend money. If he cannot demand payment and has to rely solely on the borrower’s goodwill, that does not always work. You know, sometimes the borrower says, “Yes, I don’t remember—I forgot. I don’t remember. We’ll see. The day after tomorrow, tomorrow, in another month, in another two months.” The lender cannot demand payment; he is dependent entirely on the borrower’s goodwill. So he may be afraid to lend: who knows what the borrower will feel like doing? Will he repay me or not? I cannot say a word to him. Therefore, according to the Rosh, the prozbul must be written at the end of 5781, so that he can demand payment during the shemitah year for all the debts owed to him up to the end of 5780—5781. Then he will be willing to lend. So, to sum up: according to the Ramban, the prozbul is written at the end of the shemitah year, in our case at the end of 5782. According to the Rosh, it is written at the end of the sixth year, before the shemitah year begins—in our case, at the end of 5781. Many halachic authorities follow the Ramban’s view, and many Jews therefore write the prozbul at the end of the shemitah year, in our case at the end of 5782. But the Alter Rebbe takes the Rosh’s view into account. In Hilchos Halva’ah, the Alter Rebbe writes explicitly that, ideally, one should act according to the Rosh’s view. That means writing the prozbul at the end of the sixth year, before the shemitah year begins. Because if one does not write the prozbul at the end of the sixth year and enters the shemitah year without one, then one must take the Rosh’s view into account and cannot demand payment of the debts. Lenders cannot demand payment of the debts owed to them. That is the Alter Rebbe’s ruling. Therefore, according to the Alter Rebbe, since he takes the Rosh’s view into account,

25:38 Speaker 2 Therefore, one needs to make a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. In our case, that means making the pruzbul at the end of this year, 5781. But the Alter Rebbe says that if a person forgot and did not make a pruzbul in 5781, he can still make one during 5782, the seventh year, the shemittah year, up until the end of the year. Ideally, though, he should make the pruzbul before the shemittah year begins. In our case, that means at the end of 5781, to take the Rosh’s opinion into account. Now that we have said that according to the Alter Rebbe, the pruzbul should be made at the end of the sixth year, the question is: Before whom is it made? How is it done? Here, too, there are two views. Many authorities hold that it must be done in writing: a document must be signed before three judges, stating that he transfers to the beis din all the debts owed to him. Other authorities hold that it can also be done orally. It does not have to be written down. That is, he says before three people—who constitute a beis din for this purpose—that he transfers to them all the debts owed to him, so that he may collect them whenever he wishes. The Alter Rebbe rules in accordance with this view. He writes explicitly that it can also be done orally: gather three qualified people and recite before them the wording stating that he transfers to them all the debts owed to him, so that he may collect them whenever he wishes. Another question we need to address is: Who are the judges? Who can serve as a judge? What are the criteria for the judges before whom he makes the pruzbul?

27:37 Speaker 2 On this, the Mechaber and the Rema disagree in Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, section 67. The Mechaber holds that it can be done before three judges who are knowledgeable in the law—Torah scholars well versed in the laws of Choshen Mishpat—and whom the community has accepted as judges. In other words, he should go to the judges of the city, or other judges he knows: three judges recognized as knowledgeable in the law, and make the pruzbul before them, whether in writing or orally, according to the views we mentioned earlier. In any case, it must be done before three respected judges who are knowledgeable in the law and recognized by the community as judges. The Rema, however, holds that it can be done before any three qualified Jewish men, even if they are not great Torah scholars and do not serve as judges. For this purpose, three qualified Jewish men have the authority of a beis din, and a pruzbul can be made before them. The Alter Rebbe rules in accordance with the Rema: they do not specifically have to be judges versed in the laws of Choshen Mishpat and accepted as judges. One may gather three qualified Jewish men and say to them orally: “I hereby transfer to you all the debts owed to me, so that I may collect them whenever I wish.” So, to sum up the Alter Rebbe’s position: First, the pruzbul should be made at the end of the sixth year, before the seventh year begins. In other words, it should be made at the end of 5781. Second, it does not have to be done in writing; one may also recite the wording orally: “I hereby transfer to you all the debts owed to me, so that I may collect them whenever I wish.” Third, it does not have to be done before three prominent judges recognized by the community as judges. Rather,

29:31 Speaker 2 the pruzbul can be made before any three qualified Jewish men. One recites the wording of the pruzbul to them orally, as we said earlier, and the pruzbul then takes effect. The debt can then be claimed even after the seventh year, the shemittah year, has passed. Having explained that the enactment of pruzbul exists, we need to explain when a pruzbul is made, how it is made, and before whom. First, the Rishonim disagree about when to make it. Everyone agrees that the cancellation of the debt takes place at the end of the seventh year. To put it in terms of years, 5782 is the shemittah year. The debt is canceled at the end of 5782, when the year concludes. Until then, the debt still exists, and this is where the disagreement arises. Since the cancellation takes effect only at the end of the seventh year, the end of the shemittah year, the Ramban and other authorities write that the pruzbul should be made at the end of the shemittah year. In our times, according to the Ramban, the pruzbul should be made at the end of 5782. Why at the end? Suppose a person makes a pruzbul in Tammuz 5782. It can cover all the debts owed to him up to Tammuz 5782. But what if he lends someone money in Menachem Av 5782? The Torah says that when someone asks for a loan, one must not refrain from lending. Yet the pruzbul would not cover loans that did not exist when it was made. Therefore, it is best and proper to make the pruzbul at the end of the seventh year—that is, on the last day of 5782. It will then take effect and cover all the loans owed to him, including loans made during the seventh year. So according to the Ramban, as we said earlier, the

31:36 Speaker 2 pruzbul is made at the end of the shemittah year. Translated into the years we are discussing, that means at the end of 5782. But the Rosh disagrees with the Ramban. The Rosh says that there are two separate laws here. It is true that the debt is canceled only at the end of the shemittah year. The seventh year cancels debts only at its end—at the end of 5782 in our cycle. But the prohibition of “lo yigosh,” which forbids the lender from demanding payment, begins at the start of the seventh year—in our case, at the beginning of 5782. Let me explain the Rosh’s view a little. According to the Rosh, there are two things here. The lender may not demand payment starting at the beginning of 5782. So what is the difference between the beginning of the year and its end? The difference is this: Once 5782 has passed, not only may the lender no longer demand the money, but the borrower is not obligated to repay him at all. There is no debt anymore. That’s it—the debt is gone. As we said earlier, if the borrower wants to give him the money as a gift, the Sages are pleased with him. Therefore, when the borrower comes to repay the debt after the shemittah year, the lender must tell him, “I release the debt; you do not have to give me anything.” If the borrower says, “Nevertheless, I want to give it to you,” as a gift or the like, the Sages are pleased with him. But once shemittah has passed, once 5782 is over, it is not merely that the lender may not demand payment: the borrower does not have to give him the money at all. He owes him nothing. If he wants to be generous and give it to him as a gift, the Sages say, “We are pleased that you are doing this.” But by law, he does not have to give him anything. Whereas

33:31 Speaker 2 Yes, at the beginning of 5782, the Rosh says, the lender becomes prohibited from demanding the money. If the borrower comes of his own accord during 5782 and wants to give the lender the money, the lender has to tell him, “I remit the debt,” and then he can take the money, because the debt still exists. Until the end of 5782, the debt exists. Everyone agrees on that. As we said earlier, Shemitah cancels debts only at its end—at the end of 5782. But as we said, according to the Rosh, from the beginning of 5782 the lender is already prohibited from demanding payment. According to the Ramban, the lender may demand payment throughout 5782, until the year ends. According to the Rosh, on the other hand, the debt exists, and if the borrower wants to repay it during 5782, he can, and the lender may accept the money. But according to the Rosh, the lender may not demand it from the beginning of 5782. So according to the Rosh, the pruzbul must be written at the end of 5781. Why? Because if we want the lender to be able to demand payment, so that he’ll also be willing to lend money, we have to do that. If he can’t demand payment, he’ll have to rely solely on the borrower’s goodwill, and that doesn’t always work. You know, sometimes the borrower says, “Right, I don’t remember, I forgot. We’ll see—tomorrow, the day after, or in another month or two.” The lender can’t demand payment. He depends entirely on the borrower’s goodwill. So there’s a concern that he won’t lend him money: “Who knows what he’ll feel like doing? Will he repay me or not? I can’t say a word to him.” Therefore, according to the Rosh, the pruzbul must be written at the end of 5781, so that the lender can demand payment during the Shemitah year on all the debts owed to him by the end of 5781,

35:25 Speaker 2 and then he’ll be willing to lend. So, in summary: according to the Ramban, the pruzbul is written at the end of the Shemitah year—in our case, at the end of 5782. According to the Rosh, it is written at the end of the sixth year, before the Shemitah year begins—in our case, at the end of 5781. Many halachic authorities rule in accordance with the Ramban, and that is how many Jews conduct themselves: they write the pruzbul at the end of the Shemitah year, in our case at the end of 5782. But the Alter Rebbe takes the Rosh’s opinion into account. In Hilchos Halva’ah, the Alter Rebbe writes explicitly that, ideally, one should follow the Rosh’s opinion. That means writing the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year, before Shemitah begins. Because if one does not write it then and enters Shemitah without a pruzbul, one must take the Rosh’s opinion into account and cannot demand payment of the debts. Lenders cannot demand payment of what they are owed. That is the Alter Rebbe’s position. Therefore, according to the Alter Rebbe, because he takes the Rosh’s opinion into account, the pruzbul must be written at the end of the sixth year. In our case, it should be written at the end of this year, 5781. However, the Alter Rebbe says that if someone forgot and did not write a pruzbul in 5781, he can still write one during 5782, the seventh year, even toward its end, up until the year ends. But ideally, he should write it before the Shemitah year begins. In our case, that means writing it at the end of 5781 to take the Rosh’s opinion into account. There are a number of directives from the Rebbe concerning pruzbul. First, the Rebbe, of course, gave weight to the Alter Rebbe’s ruling that, ideally, the pruzbul should be made at the end of the sixth year. It mattered to the Rebbe that many Jews

37:48 Speaker 2 follow the Alter Rebbe’s opinion. There are many, many accounts of the Rebbe asking in various places that the Alter Rebbe’s ruling be publicized. In practice, the Rebbe instructed and asked that this ruling be publicized: to take the Rosh’s opinion into account and write the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. So it is a mitzvah to publicize this and enable as many Jews as possible to do it. Second, when should the pruzbul be written? As we said earlier, if we want the pruzbul to cover all the debts owed to us, so that Shemitah will not cancel them, then it would follow that we should write it on the last day of the sixth year, the last day of 5781, toward the end of that day. That way, even a loan made on the last day will not be canceled by Shemitah. But the Rebbe said that with all the preparations and preoccupations involved in getting ready for Rosh Hashanah, a person might forget to make a pruzbul. So the Rebbe suggested making it on Erev Rosh Hashanah, at the time of Hataras Nedarim. A person is already in shul, and ten people are already sitting together while he performs Hataras Nedarim before them, so there is already a beis din. At that time, after performing Hataras Nedarim, he can say before them—there are more than three people there, yes? Even if there are three people, yes?—he can tell those sitting for Hataras Nedarim that he hands over to them all the debts owed to him, so that he may collect them whenever he wishes. That way he won’t forget, because he is already in shul and has already gathered

39:28 Speaker 2 people. There is already a beis din that he has gathered for Hataras Nedarim. So at the time of Hataras Nedarim, it is advisable to recite the wording of the pruzbul. As we said earlier, according to the Alter Rebbe, it can be said orally. According to the Alter Rebbe, the judges do not specifically have to be experts well versed in Choshen Mishpat. So just as these people can serve as judges for Hataras Nedarim, if they are qualified Jewish men, they can also serve as judges for a pruzbul. In practice, then, the Rebbe suggested: first, publicize the Alter Rebbe’s ruling as widely as possible so that as many Jews as possible can do this, and make the pruzbul by reciting its wording on Erev Rosh Hashanah after Hataras Nedarim. Third, the Rebbe made another suggestion to enable as many Jews as possible to do this: every rabbi or rosh yeshivah should gather two other people and prepare a document, writing the wording of the pruzbul in it. Then even Jews who perhaps do not come to shul, or are not yet so familiar with the whole matter, or are not so inclined to do it, can give their consent—even by telephone or through an agent—to have their names included in the pruzbul. In this way, more and more Jews can be enabled to fulfill the enactment of the Sages, the institution of pruzbul. There is another benefit to making such a document. One of the laws concerning pruzbul is that it works only if the borrower has some land, however small. It does not necessarily have to be land he owns or a home he owns. Even a home in which he lives

41:07 Speaker 2 Renting also counts as having land. Yeshivah students, too, who have permission to sleep in their rooms are considered to have land. But sometimes there may be people who have nothing at all. So it says that if the borrower has no land, in which case, as mentioned, the enactment of pruzbul does not apply, the lender or someone else can transfer some land to him, and then a pruzbul can be written for his loans too. So when the document is prepared, one of the judges or someone else can arrange to transfer land to everyone for whom a pruzbul is being made. Once land has been transferred to them, a pruzbul can be made even for those who have no land of their own. Another point: the Rebbe instructed that since the Sages enacted the pruzbul—“The words of the Sages are dear to Me”—and the Alter Rebbe also instituted that the pruzbul be made at the end of the sixth year, a Jew should show that the Sages’ enactment is dear to him, and a chossid connected to the Baal Shem Tov should show that the Alter Rebbe’s enactment is dear to him. So even a Jew who says, “Why do I need to make a pruzbul? Nobody owes me money. Or even if someone does, it’s a small amount. I don’t mind waiving it. Why would I need to make a pruzbul?”—the Rebbe says no: there is value in following “The words of the Sages are dear to Me” and observing the enactment of pruzbul. There is value in showing one’s connection to the Alter Rebbe and his enactment. Therefore, every Jew should make a pruzbul, even if he has a small debt owed to him that he does not really

42:46 Speaker 2 care about. More than that, even a Jew who says, “Nobody owes me money,” should lend someone money, even a small amount, so that he has a loan for which to write a pruzbul. Then, as mentioned, he can observe both the Sages’ enactment and the Alter Rebbe’s enactment to write a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. Another point the Rebbe discussed: the halachic authorities ask what happens when Shemitah passes. Is the debt released on its own? In the language of the halachic authorities, this is called afka’ata d’malka. In other words, does the Torah say that as soon as Shemitah ends, the debt is released on its own? Or is it afka’ata d’gavra—meaning that the lender must say that he waives the debt, that he releases it, and if he does not say so, the debt still exists? This is a question the halachic authorities discuss. The Minchas Chinuch, for example, holds that it is afka’ata d’malka: as soon as Shemitah ends—since, as we said earlier, Shemitah releases debts at its end—the debt is automatically released. The borrower no longer owes the lender money. But the Rebbe discusses this at length in Likkutei Sichos, volume 17, and takes a different approach. The Rebbe understands it as afka’ata d’gavra: the lender himself must decide to release the debt. If he does not make that decision, then even though Shemitah has passed, the debt still exists. The Rebbe discusses this there at length. There are very interesting distinctions in this whole area of the release of debts during Shemitah. We certainly will not go into them here. Study that sicha. In any event, the Rebbe understands it as afka’ata d’gavra: it is the lender who must release the debt. There are

44:39 Speaker 2 many laws and details concerning Shemitah in general and the release of debts in particular. Which debts are released? When are they released? There are also many details concerning the law of pruzbul. Of course, we will not go into all the laws now. If someone has a question, he should consult a rabbi qualified to give practical halachic rulings. Let us just mention one more point that the Rebbe also discusses and writes about. First, the Alter Rebbe writes that someone who did not manage to make a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year, in accordance with the Alter Rebbe’s view, should make one during the seventh year. Based on this, the Rebbe says, we can also understand what happens if a person lent money and made a pruzbul in accordance with the Alter Rebbe’s view, at the end of the sixth year. As a result, Shemitah does not release any debts owed to him up to the end of that year, the end of 5781, because he made a pruzbul. But then a Jew comes to him during the Shemitah year, in 5782, and asks for a loan. One must lend during Shemitah too. That is the halachah concerning “Lest there be a base thought in your heart”: a person must not let Shemitah stop him from lending. So what happens then? He already made a pruzbul, but it does not cover loans he makes afterward. What should he do? The Rebbe says: If these loans are due after the Shemitah year, that is, after 5782, in 5783, then he does not need to make a pruzbul at all, because debts that are not due by the end of the Shemitah year are not released by Shemitah. But if these debts are due during the Shemitah year, in 5782—for example, he lends someone money in Cheshvan and the borrower is to repay the

46:13 Speaker 2 money in Adar 5782—then, if he has new debts that arose during the Shemitah year, he should make another pruzbul at the end of that year, at the end of 5782, for those debts. In other words, he makes a pruzbul twice. He makes one at the end of 5781, in accordance with the Alter Rebbe’s view, to preserve all the debts owed to him before the Shemitah year. Then he makes a second pruzbul at the end of 5782 for any loans he made during Shemitah. If he did not make any such loans, the pruzbul he made at the end of 5781 is enough. I want to conclude with something the Rebbe discussed in one of the sichos. We have a principle: “He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and His laws to Yisroel.” Whatever Hakadosh Boruch Hu asks of the Jewish people, He does Himself. So just as Hakadosh Boruch Hu asks the Jewish people to release all debts during Shemitah, He too releases the debts of the Jewish people. And since the Alter Rebbe writes that we should initially take into account the Rosh’s view—that one may no longer demand repayment of debts from the very beginning of the Shemitah year, not only from its end—so too, Above, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not demand payment of our debts. He does not wait until the end of the Shemitah year; from its very beginning, from the beginning of 5782, He does not demand the spiritual debts we owe Him. And since He does not demand payment of our debts, this further hastens and strengthens the prospect that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will grant us all a good inscription and sealing for everything we need. Children,

47:55 Speaker 2 Life and ample sustenance, and abundance in everything, materially and spiritually, and materially and spiritually together. Above all, may this Shemitah year be marked by the Geulah: may we merit the coming and revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, who will redeem us from exile, bring us to Eretz Yisroel, and build the Beis Hamikdash in its place. Then, as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim, when the Geulah comes and all the Jewish people are in their place, the Torah will be observed in its entirety: all the mitzvos will again apply by Torah law, Yovel will apply by Torah law, and Shemitah will be a Torah obligation in the true and complete Geulah. May it happen right now, so that in 5782 Shemitah will apply by Torah law. There are a number of the Rebbe’s instructions concerning pruzbul. First, the Rebbe placed particular emphasis on the Alter Rebbe’s ruling that, ideally, pruzbul should be made at the end of the sixth year. It mattered to the Rebbe that many Jews follow the Alter Rebbe’s opinion. There are many stories of the Rebbe asking, on various occasions, that the Alter Rebbe’s ruling be publicized. So, in practice, the Rebbe instructed and asked that we publicize the Alter Rebbe’s ruling: taking the Rosh’s opinion into account, one should make the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. It is therefore a mitzvah to publicize this and help as many Jews as possible do it. Second, when should the pruzbul be made? As we said earlier, if we want it to cover all the debts owed to us, so that Shemitah will not cancel them, then obviously we should make it on the last day of the sixth year, the last day of 5781—and late in that day, because someone might suddenly make a loan on the last day, and that loan, too, should not be canceled by Shemitah. But the Rebbe said that a person might forget to make a pruzbul amid all the preparations and demands of getting ready for Rosh Hashanah.

49:50 Speaker 2 So the Rebbe suggested making the pruzbul on Erev Rosh Hashanah, at the time of hataras nedarim. The person is already in shul, with ten people sitting there for him to annul his vows before them, so there is already a beis din. After his hataras nedarim, he can say before those sitting there—and there are more than three people there—that he hands over to them all the debts owed to him, so that he may collect them whenever he wishes. That way he will not forget, since he is already in shul and the group has already gathered. With a beis din already assembled for hataras nedarim, it is a good time to say the wording of the pruzbul. As we said earlier, according to the Alter Rebbe, it may be said orally. The Alter Rebbe also holds that the judges do not specifically have to be experts well versed in Choshen Mishpat. So just as these people can serve as judges for hataras nedarim, if they are upright Jews, they can also serve as judges for pruzbul. In practice, then, the Rebbe suggested, first, publicizing the Alter Rebbe’s ruling as widely as possible, to help as many Jews as possible; and making the pruzbul—saying its wording—on Erev Rosh Hashanah after hataras nedarim. Third, the Rebbe made another suggestion to help as many Jews as possible: every rabbi or rosh yeshivah should gather two other people and prepare

51:25 Speaker 2 a document, writing the wording of the pruzbul in it. Then even Jews who perhaps do not come to shul, or do not yet know much about the matter, or are not particularly inclined to do it, could give their consent—even by telephone or through a messenger—to have their names included in the pruzbul. In this way, more and more Jews could fulfill the enactment of the Sages concerning pruzbul. There is another benefit to making this document. One of the laws of pruzbul is that it works only if the borrower has some land, however small. The land does not have to be property he owns. Even a home he rents counts as his having land. Yeshivah students who have permission to sleep in their rooms also count as having land. But there could be people who have nothing at all. It is stated that if the borrower has no land, and the enactment of pruzbul therefore does not apply, the lender or someone else can grant him ownership of a small piece of land. A pruzbul can then be made for his loans as well. So when they prepare a document, one of the judges or someone else can arrange to grant land to everyone included in the pruzbul. Once land has been granted to them, a pruzbul can be made even for those who have no land of their own. Another point the Rebbe makes is that we have the enactment of the Sages to make a pruzbul—“the words of the Sages are precious to me”—and we also have the Alter Rebbe’s ruling to make the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year.

53:04 Speaker 2 A Jew in general should show that the enactments of the Sages are dear to him, and a chossid connected to the Baal Shem Tov should show that the Alter Rebbe’s ruling is dear to him. So even if someone says, “Why do I need to make a pruzbul? Nobody owes me money. Or even if someone does, it’s not a large amount. I don’t mind waiving it. Why do I need a pruzbul? I have no reason to make one,” the Rebbe says: No. There is value in following “the words of the Sages are precious to me” and fulfilling their enactment of pruzbul. There is value in showing one’s connection to the Alter Rebbe and his ruling. Therefore, every Jew should make a pruzbul, even if he is owed only a small amount that he does not particularly care about. More than that, if a Jew says, “Nobody owes me money,” it is worthwhile for him to lend someone money, even a small amount, so that he has a debt for which to make a pruzbul. He can then fulfill the enactment of the Sages and the Alter Rebbe’s ruling to make a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. The Rebbe spoke about another aspect of this. There is a question discussed by the halachic authorities: when Shemitah ends, is the debt canceled automatically? In their terminology, this is called afka’ata d’malka: the Torah says that as soon as Shemitah ends, the debt is canceled on its own. Or is it afka’ata d’gavra, meaning that the lender must state that he waives and cancels the debt, and if he does not say so, the debt still exists? This is a question the halachic authorities discuss. The Minchas Chinuch, for example, holds that it is afka’ata d’malka. In other words, as soon as Shemitah ends—as we said earlier, Shemitah cancels debts at its end—as soon as

54:56 Speaker 2 That when Shemitah passes, the debt is automatically canceled. The borrower no longer owes the lender money. But the Rebbe discusses this at length in Likkutei Sichos, volume 17, and understands it differently. The Rebbe holds that this is a case of afka’asa d’gavra: the lender himself has to decide to cancel the debt. If he does not make that decision, then even though Shemitah has passed, the debt still exists. The Rebbe discusses this at length there and explains that there are some very interesting distinctions in the laws of the cancellation of debts during Shemitah. Of course, we cannot study that sicha here. In any case, the Rebbe holds that the lender is the one who must cancel the debt. There are many laws and details concerning Shemitah in general and the cancellation of debts in particular. Which debts are canceled? When are they canceled? There are also many details concerning pruzbul. Of course, we cannot go into all the laws now. If someone has a question, he should consult a rabbi about what to do in practice. I just want to mention one more point that the Rebbe discusses and writes about. First, the Alter Rebbe writes that someone who did not manage to make a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year, as the Alter Rebbe instructs, should make one during the seventh year. Based on this, the Rebbe says, we can also understand what happens when someone has made a pruzbul according to the Alter Rebbe’s ruling. He made it at the end of the sixth year, so Shemitah will not cancel any debts owed to him up to the end of that year, the end of 5781. Then a Jew comes to him during the Shemitah year, in 5782, to ask for a loan. We must lend during the Shemitah year too.

56:34 Speaker 2 There is a law based on the verse, “Beware lest there be a base thought in your heart”: a person is prohibited by a negative commandment from refusing to lend. So we must lend during the Shemitah year too. Well, what happens then? He has already made a pruzbul, but that pruzbul does not cover loans he makes afterward. What should he do? The Rebbe says this: If the loans are due after the Shemitah year, meaning in 5783, he does not need to make a pruzbul at all for them. The law is that Shemitah does not cancel debts that are not yet due by the end of the Shemitah year. But if the debts are due during the Shemitah year—for example, he lends someone money in Cheshvan and it must be repaid in Adar 5782—then, if he has new debts that arose during the Shemitah year, he should make another pruzbul at the end of that year, the end of 5782, for those debts. In other words, he makes a pruzbul twice. He makes one according to the Alter Rebbe’s ruling at the end of 5781, to preserve all the debts owed to him before the Shemitah year, and a second at the end of 5782 for any loans he made during the Shemitah year. If he made no such loans, the pruzbul he made at the end of 5781 is enough. I want to conclude with something the Rebbe said in one of his sichos. We have a principle: “He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and ordinances to Yisroel.” Whatever Hakadosh Boruch Hu asks of the Jewish people, He does Himself. So just as Hakadosh Boruch Hu asks the Jewish people to cancel all debts during Shemitah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu also cancels the debts

58:13 Speaker 2 of the Jewish people. And since the Alter Rebbe writes that, from the outset, we must take into account the opinion of the Rosh—that it is forbidden to demand repayment from the very beginning of the Shemitah year, not only from its end—the same applies Above. Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not demand payment of our debts, including our spiritual debts to Him, even from the beginning of the Shemitah year, the beginning of 5782. And since He does not demand payment of our debts, this gives even greater strength and urgency to the blessing that Hakadosh Boruch Hu grants us all: may we all be inscribed and sealed for a good year, with everything we need—children, life and ample sustenance, all in abundance—materially and spiritually, and materially and spiritually together. Most importantly, may this Shemitah year be marked by the Geulah. May we merit the coming and revelation of Moshiach, who will redeem us from exile, lead us to the Land of Israel and build the Beis Hamikdash in its place. Then, as the Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim, when the Geulah comes and all the Jewish people are in their place, the Torah will be complete and all the mitzvos will once again apply by Torah law. Yovel will apply by Torah law, and Shemitah will be a Torah obligation, with the true and complete Geulah. May it happen right now. May Shemitah apply by Torah law.