{"id":12213,"date":"2026-07-12T00:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T21:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12213"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:06:57","slug":"17-12-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-12-02\/","title":{"rendered":"02. The Beginning of the Obligation"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the moment the nation entered the Land, it became obligated in the mitzvot that are incumbent on individuals independently: \u1e25adash<\/em>, orla<\/em>, kil\u2019ei zera\u2019im<\/em>, and kil\u2019ei ha-kerem<\/em>. These mitzvot applied to the territory west of the Jordan that those who left Egypt were commanded to conquer, as described in Parashat Mas\u2019ei (Bamidbar 34). Once the nation crossed the Jordan, the obligation applied to that entire territory, even though it had not yet been conquered in practice. Since the eastern side of the Jordan had already been conquered, the obligation extended there as well. However, in areas outside gevul olei Mitzrayim<\/em> \u2013 the borders of the Land as settled by those who came out of Egypt \u2013 even if they lie within the broader borders of Eretz Yisrael, from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates, these mitzvot did not apply unless those areas were conquered by the Jewish people collectively.[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

A second group consists of mitzvot tied to the nation\u2019s collective life in the Land. This includes terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, which field owners give to kohanim, levi\u2019im, and the poor, as well as shevi\u2019it<\/em> and yovel<\/em>, which structure the life of the nation as a whole. The nation became obligated in these mitzvot only after the conquest of the Land was complete and the Land had been divided among the tribes. The conquest took seven years. Dividing the Land among the tribes and families took another seven years, until every Jew received his portion. Thus, in the fifteenth year after entering the Land, they began counting the years toward shevi\u2019it<\/em> and yovel<\/em>, separating terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>, and leaving the gifts for the poor. In the twenty-first year, they observed the first shevi\u2019it<\/em>; in the sixty-fourth year, they observed the first yovel<\/em> (Sifrei<\/em>, Ekev 41; Peninei Halakha: Shemita Ve-yovel <\/em>5:1).[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Before the Temple was built in Jerusalem, ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> and neta reva\u2019i<\/em> were eaten near the Mishkan in Shilo, and bikurim<\/em> were brought there as well (Mishna<\/em>, Zeva\u1e25im<\/em> 14:4\u20138). This was the practice throughout the 369 years that the Mishkan stood in Shilo. Afterward, the Mishkan was located in Nov and Givon for another 57 years. From there, the center of worship moved to Jerusalem, to the Temple built by Shlomo, which stood for 410 years (Zeva\u1e25im<\/em> 118b; MT, Laws of the Temple 1:2).<\/p>\n

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[2]<\/a>. That these mitzvot took effect upon entry into the Land is stated explicitly with respect to \u1e25adash<\/em> (Kiddushin<\/em> 37b), \u1e25alla<\/em> (Nidda<\/em> 47a), and orla<\/em> (Mishna<\/em>, Orlah<\/em> 1:2); kilayim<\/em> follows the same rule as orla<\/em>. Individual land-dependent mitzvot, such as orla<\/em> and kilayim<\/em>, took effect within gevul olei Mitzrayim<\/em> \u2013 the territory the nation was commanded to conquer \u2013 and not throughout the full promised borders of Eretz Yisrael. These mitzvot have remained in force from the moment the nation crossed the Jordan and their obligation first began. Since they were not tied to the actual conquest of the Land, they were not annulled at the time of the destruction and exile (Yeshu\u2019ot Malko<\/em>, Terumot 1:26; Malbushei Yom Tov<\/em>; She\u2019ilat David<\/em>; Kerem Tziyon<\/em>; Gevulot Ha-sadeh<\/em> 1:13).<\/p>\n

Some authorities disagree and maintain that these individual land-dependent mitzvot were also annulled with the destruction of the First Temple, and that the second sanctification restored their Torah obligation permanently within gevul olei Bavel<\/em> (Mahari\u1e6d 1:47; Mor U-ketzi\u2019a<\/em>, O\u1e24 306; AHS, YD 294:10). Others say that according to the view that the second sanctification was later annulled, orla<\/em> and kilayim<\/em> today apply only by rabbinic law (Mishneh La-melekh<\/em>). Another view maintains that even during the Second Temple period, orla<\/em> applied only by rabbinic law, because the verse requires \u201cmost of its inhabitants\u201d to be in the Land for orla<\/em> as well (Tzela\u1e25<\/em>, Berakhot<\/em> 36a). In practice, however, the halakha follows the majority of authorities: orla<\/em> and kilayim<\/em> have applied by Torah law throughout gevul olei Mitzrayim<\/em> from the days of Yehoshua bin Nun until today. Beyond gevul olei Mitzrayim<\/em>, orla<\/em> still applies by virtue of a halakha le-Moshe mi-Sinai<\/em>, though doubts are treated more leniently outside the Land. The prohibition of kil\u2019ei ha-kerem<\/em>, by contrast, applies outside the Land only by rabbinic enactment; see Mishna<\/em>, Orlah<\/em> 3:9.<\/p>\n

Regarding the gifts to the poor that must be left in the field, the authorities disagree whether their obligation today applies by Torah law or rabbinic law, as explained below in section 15. Their status depends on how the mitzva is classified. On one hand, these gifts are left for the poor, which gives the mitzva a collective dimension, similar to shevi\u2019it<\/em>. On the other hand, the obligation falls on each landowner personally, who must leave these gifts in his field; in this respect, they are unlike shevi\u2019it<\/em>, which requires the entire Land to rest.<\/p>\n

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[3]<\/a>. Shevi\u2019it<\/em> and yovel<\/em> began only after the Land had been fully divided into inheritances, as explained in Sifra<\/em>, Vayikra 25:3; Arakhin<\/em> 32b; and Peninei Halakha: Shemita Ve-yovel <\/em>5:1. The year-by-year order in which the nation became obligated in the land-dependent mitzvot is explained in Tosefta<\/em>, Mena\u1e25ot<\/em> 6:20; MT, Laws of Shemita Ve-yovel 10:2; and Peninei Halakha: Shemita Ve-yovel <\/em>5:1.<\/p>\n

The requirement to separate terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> began once the Land had been divided and every Jew had received his inheritance, as explained in Nidda<\/em> 47a and Ketubot<\/em> 25a. Rashi explains (Ketubot<\/em> 25a, s.v. ve-lo nit\u1e25ayvu<\/em>) that terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em> depend on the counting of the shevi\u2019it<\/em> years: in years 1, 2, 4, and 5, ma\u2019aser sheni<\/em> is separated; in years 3 and 6, ma\u2019aser ani<\/em> is separated; and during shevi\u2019it<\/em>, the produce is ownerless and exempt from terumot<\/em> and ma\u2019asrot<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the moment the nation entered the Land, it became obligated in the mitzvot that are incumbent on individuals independently: \u1e25adash, orla, kil\u2019ei zera\u2019im, and kil\u2019ei ha-kerem. These mitzvot applied to the territory west of the Jordan that those who left Egypt were commanded to conquer, as described in Parashat Mas\u2019ei (Bamidbar 34). Once the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-12"],"yoast_head":"\n02. 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