[Avodah] Yovel

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 10:36:05AM -0500, Lisa Liel wrote:
> I've read in a number of articles that we are approaching the point  
> where a majority of Jews live in Israel.  I realize that the numbers are 
> skewed both by the problem identifying who is actually Jewish as well as 
> the fact that some Jews in Israel live outside of Eretz Yisrael...

It seems to me from the bottom of Eirachin 32a that this is by sheivet,
not just by majority. It says that the mixing of Yehudah and Binyamin
rather than each on its own land is sufficient to prevent yovel and
shemitah deOraisa. This was raised to explain that yovel deOraisa ended
with the loss of the land mei'eiver laYardein, even though it's likely
that enough of those shevatim moved in among their brothers.

Rashi on Megillah 14b "efshar yovel bateil" uses a prallel argument about
the end of yovel in the days of Chizqiyahu and the loss of 10 shevatim.

The Rambam pasqens accordingly in Shemitah veYovel 10:8, 
    ... bizman shekol yosheveha aleha,
    vehu shelo yihu me'urbabin sheivet besheivet,
    ela kulin yoshevim kitiqunan.

So, it requires Eliyahu (or the melekh hamashiach <grin>) redeviding us
by sheivet, seems like.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The waste of time is the most extravagant
micha at aishdas.org        of all expense.
http://www.aishdas.org                           -Theophrastus
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