Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Leviticus 26:43/רמב"ן על ויקרא כ״ו:מ״ג
אוּפֵרוּשׁ וְהָאָרֶץ תֵּעָזֵב מֵהֶם כִּי גַּם אַחֲרֵי הַזְּכִירָה תֵּעָזֵב מֵהֶם, רֶמֶז כִּי אַחֲרֵי פְּקִידַת כּוֹרֶשׁ נֶעֶזְבָה מֵהֶם וְרָצְתָה הַשְּׁמִטּוֹת עַד אַחֲרֵי תְּשַׁע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה שֶׁנִּבְנָה הַבַּיִת וְקִדְּשׁוּ הָעִיר בִּשְׁתֵּי תּוֹדוֹת (נחמיה יב לא), וְחָזְרָה קְדֻשַּׁת הָאָרֶץ, וְכָרְתוּ אֲמָנָה (שם י א) וְאָמְרוּ (שם י לב), "וְנִטֹּשׁ אֶת הַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִית וּמַשָּׁא כָל יָד". כָּל הַקּוֹרוֹת אוֹתָם רְמוּזוֹת בַּפָּרָשָׁה הַזֹּאת:
1And the Land shall lie forsaken without them.177 This means that even after the remembring [of the covenant and the Land] it shall lie forsaken without them, hinting that even after the decree of Cyrus178 [granting the Jews in Babylon permission to return and rebuild the Temple], the Land will still lie forsaken without them and her Sabbatical years, until nineteen years179 after the Temple was rebuilt; and then they sanctified the city [of Jerusalem] with two thanks-offerings,180 and the sanctity of the Land was restored,181. and they made the covenant,182 and declared [among other conditions] and that we would forego the Seventh year and the exaction of every debt.183, Verse 32. I.e., they undertook to keep the Sabbatical laws with respect to cessation of agricultural work and cancellation of debts. All events that happened to them [at the beginning of their return to the Land after the Babylonian exile] are alluded to in this section.