Vanessa (28 Dec 2014)
"RESPONSE TO JENNIE ON JUBILEES"
I found this on chadsite…..Hope you will find some answers as I believe
the Jubliee clock stopped and will begin where it left off and we may
not know for a while still.
In short, the answer to your question is that the Jubilee year is
currently not observed or commemorated. The reasons for this are complex
and involve many different opinions on the matter. In the following
lines I will attempt to briefly relay the relevant issues.
According to biblical law, the Jubilee is only observed when all twelve
tribes of the Jewish nation are living in Israel, as is derived from the
verse,1 “And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom
throughout the land for all who live on it,” which implies that the
Jubilee is only sanctified when “all who live on it”—meaning, all who
are meant to be living there—are in the Land of Israel. Furthermore, the
Jubilee is only observed when every tribe is living in the specific
part of the land which was it was allotted when the Land of Israel was
divided. However, some are of the opinion that the Jubilee is observed
as long as there is a partial representation of each tribe, even if most
of the tribe is not in Israel.
In the 6th century BCE, the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of
Israel and sent the majority of its population into exile. Those who
were deported are historically known as the Ten Lost Tribes.
We are certain that before that point in time the Jubilee was regularly
observed. We also know that, with the destruction of the Second Temple
and the disbandment of the Sanhedrin (supreme rabbinical court), we
ceased to mark the Jubilee year in any form. The periods about which
there is a question are the remaining years between the exile of the Ten
Tribes and the destruction of the First Temple, and the Second Temple
Era.
According to the opinion that partial representation of each tribe is
sufficient to fulfill the scriptural requirement, biblically mandated
Jubilees were fully observed throughout the periods in question, because
there remained a small representation of each tribe in Israel.
However, according to the first opinion mentioned above, with the exile
of the Northern Kingdom the required condition for the Jubilee to be
sanctified was lost. Thus, the last time there was a biblical
requirement to observe the Jubilee was about 150 years before the
destruction of the First Temple.
The question remains, however, whether according to this opinion Jubilee
years were designated or observed during this time by rabbinic
injunction. This is the subject of debate amongst the sages.2
As mentioned above, though, today the Jubilee year is neither designated nor observed.3
And now for the answer to your question: “When is the next Jubilee year?”
We eagerly await the day when G‑d will bring our entire nation back to
our homeland—including the ten “lost” tribes—and we will again resume
observing the Jubilee year, as well as so many other mitzvot which we
are incapable of performing until that awaited day.4
Regards
Vanessa