With
[773] the approach of the year of
Shemitah, it is a
mitzvah to publicize the view of the Alter Rebbe as recorded in his
Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Halva'ah, sec. 36
): "The most preferable time to write a
prozbol is at the end of the sixth year, before Rosh HaShanah of the seventh year. It is true that the
Shemitah year takes effect [in remitting loans] only at the end of the year,
[774] as it is written, 'At the end of every seventh year you shall hold a
Shemitah.'[775] Nevertheless, there are authorities who hold that it is forbidden to demand repayment of loans as soon as the seventh year begins,
[776] as it is written, 'One may not press his friend or brother, for it has been called a
Shemitah year for G-d,'
[777] implying that this law takes effect as soon as the seventh year has been proclaimed."
Notes:
- (Back to text) From a gloss of the Rebbe Shlita, end of Kuntreis 94.
- (Back to text) [Arachin 28b.]
- (Back to text) [Devarim 15:1.]
- (Back to text) [See, e.g., Ibn Ezra on the above verse.]
- (Back to text) [Devarim 15:2.]
Yahrzeit of a Tzaddik