“That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.”
Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. It is a year of sabbath rest for the land. The prohibition on harvesting the spontaneous growth of the sabbatical year communicates the completeness of the land's rest: even what grows without human cultivation is not harvested for personal benefit during the sabbatical year. The spontaneous growth belongs to the community for gleaning (verse 6) but cannot be organized for commercial harvest. The sabbatical year's rest is comprehensive: no agricultural industry, even of what grows by itself.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000