Daily Talk

From the Donkey to the Sabbath of the Land

The Rambam closes the book of priestly gifts with the firstborn of a lowly donkey, and opens the laws of the Sabbatical year by releasing an entire land. From the first of one stubborn beast to a whole year of rest, the same truth runs underneath: none of it was ever ours.

First Fruits 12, Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee 1-2Thursday, June 25, 2026

From the Donkey to the Sabbath of the Land

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About This Talk

A treatise-transition day moves from redeeming the firstborn donkey - lifting even the lowest, most material thing - to the shemittah, when an entire nation takes its hands off the land for a year, in trust.