Jewish Farmers Prep for Sabbath Year

God told the Israelites that when He brings them to the Holy Land they are supposed to give the land a rest every 7th year.  The year of rest is called the SHMITA (sometimes spelled SHEMITAH or SHEMITA)

The reason the Jews were hauled off to Babylon during the days of Daniel is because they REFUSED to listen to God's clear command regarding the shmita....so God allowed the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and haul the people of Judah off to Babylon for 70 years.

So now that the Jews are back....what are the observant Jewish farmers planning on doing about the shmita?

HAIFA, Israel — Many Israeli farmers have spent months preparing for a biblically mandated event that comes just once every seven years, in which fields and orchards managed by Jews in the Holy Land must lie fallow for the entire year.

It is known in Hebrew as Shmita, or the sabbatical year, and it begins Wednesday with the start of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

One such farmer is Rony Rosenzweig of Kibbutz Lavi, a religious cooperative community near Tiberias in the northern Galilee region.

“Shmita offers us a lot of challenges that we have to face. Our local rabbi guides us as to what we are and aren’t allowed to do,” Rosenzweig told TheBlaze.

Among the rules that present a unique challenge to the work of his community: “Don’t plant crops, don’t lay new grass, just take care of what exists, don’t add anything new.”

The sabbatical year is mentioned several times in the Bible, starting with Exodus 23:10-11 in which the Israelites are told: “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.”


According to the Bible, Jews in the land of Israel are prohibited from working their fields, including planting, pruning or harvesting crops, nor can they buy or sell the fruits of their labor. Maintenance work like watering and fertilizing is permitted, and whatever the land yields without human intervention during the year may be eaten.

Read it all here;  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/09/24/how-farmers-in-israel-are-preparing-for-a-rare-biblical-event-that-starts-this-week/

So TODAY is the start of the shmita year and it ends on Sunday, September 13, 2015.  Remember that Jewish years are 360 days as they follow a lunar calendar instead of a solar calendar.

Cool.

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has a book out on the shmita.  I just finished it and I will tell you it's pretty darn interesting as it applies to US history.

Almost all of the major stock market crashes in US history appear to have happened during the Jewish shmita year...including the crash of 2008 that almost collapsed our system.

Also the World Trade Towers were planned during a shmita year, built during a shmita year and destroyed during a shmita year.  Towers have always been a symbol of man's pride and arrogance and America has been the world's proudest and most blessed nation on earth for sure since winning WWII.  So was their collapse a warning for America to turn back to God?

So could it all be a coincidence?  God clearly told the Jews that if they turned from Him then He would allow them to be destroyed and driven from the land.

As America turns from God could His hand of blessing already been removed?  Could America be in for another serious blow during this shmita year?

Of course I have no idea, and neither does Rabbi Cahn.....but let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if there was something BIG that happened between now and next September.  No doubt there is some type of ancient pattern that Rabbi Cahn does a good job of laying out.