Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 15:1/אבן עזרא על דברים ט״ו:א׳

אוטעם מקץ שבע שנים תעשה שמטה. בתחלת השנה כאשר פירשתי והעד הקהל את העם ונדבקה זאת הפרשה בעבור שאמר כי מעשר עני הוא ללוי ולגר וליתום ולאלמנה אמר וכן דבר השמטה והטעם כמו שמטוה והניחו' ותפול:

1AT THE END OF¹. EVERY SEVEN YEARS.] Its meaning, as I have explained, is, at the beginning of the year.² means either at the end of or at the beginning of. Here it means at the beginning. Thus our clause reads, At the beginning of the seventh year. See I.E. on Deut. 9:11. Assemble the people (Deut. 31:12) is proof of this.³ (mikketz) every seven years (Deut. 31:10). According to I.E. the latter should be rendered: At the beginning of the seventh year. We thus see that mikketz can be rendered, at the beginning of. This section follows⁴ because Scripture states that the poor tithe⁵ belongs to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.⁶ Scripture now says that the same applies to the remission of debts (shemittah).⁷ The word shemittah is similar to shimtuha (throw her down) (II Kings 98:33), the meaning of which is, release her and she will fall.⁸ is, a release.