Hannah Knibb Henza, Sarah Zell Young: Judaism Unbound Episode 287 - The Shmita Project
The Shmita year is a once-every-seven-years occasion. For an entire year, the land is given its own Shabbat -- a chance to rest. And it's not only humans' relationship to land that gets "reset." It is also a Biblical commandment for debts between human beings to be forgiven when the Shmita year rolls around. In this first episode devoted to the topic of Shmita (the next Shmita year begins on Rosh Hashanah, in less than a month!), Hannah Knibb Henza and Sarah Zell Young, from The Shmita Project, join Dan and Lex to consider what Shmita has been in the past and what it could be moving forward. In doing so, they name the centrality of art, and creativity, as we re-invigorate this ancient practice. They also undrescore the opportunity we have, as Jews and human beings, to align Shmita with a variety of contemporary fights for social and climate justice.
[1] Check out the Biblical source-text for the Shmita year (Leviticus Chapter 25) here.
[2] Head to ShmitaProject.org to learn more about The Shmita Project’s work to “bring the values of Shmita to life today to support healthier, more sustainable Jewish communities.”
[3] Learn more about the Shmita Prizes (and consider submitting your own art, writing, or music!) here!
[4] Dan mentions the Leichtag ranch, and their Shmita practice. Learn more about their observance by watching this video!
[5] Hannah Knibb Henza encourages organizations to put together long-term climate justice, and/or social justice, plans, for Shmita. Learn more about Hazon’s approach to this via Seal.Hazon.org.