• Growing a vegetable garden in the Sabbatical year?

    Growing a vegetable garden in the Sabbatical year?

    We are in the process of preparing for the Sabbatical year which will start in the spring (Aviv) of 2016. As we get closer to the time, we get questions and comments from others who plan to keep, or oppose the keeping of the Sabbatical year. One comment we received was that a family sized vegetable garden would be exempt from the Sabbatical year commandments due to the following reasons. Vegetables tend not to self seed, have a broad growing season and are not harvested in a bulk way. I value these comments even if they oppose our understanding, because it gives us an opportunity to dig deeper and learn more. In this case I actually want them to be correct seeing that vegetables are more difficult to store and we use so much of it. However, I will remain objective and I believe YHVH will help us find the truth. So, is our own family-sized vegetable garden exempt from the requirements of the Sabbatical year or are we required to keep these instructions?

  • Why does evil seem to prevail?

    Why does evil seem to prevail?

    We live in a wonderful world, the beauty of creation declares YHVH’s existence. You can’t study the detail of any created being or plant without realizing that there is a Designer of it all. It can’t just happen by change. YHVH created every intricate detail of existence. He designed it meticulously and we have yet to discover many facets of it. Modern science has touched the tip of it, but cannot claim they know or have discovered all there is to know. YHVH is in control of all this, and He has a plan, He knows the end from the beginning. Nothing is random or chaos. His purpose will prevail and his purpose is to save. Read further to find out how prevailing evil is connected to this…

  • The Sabbath, a delight?

    The Sabbath, a delight?

    To observe the Sabbath is to experience a little bit of eternity. When we spend the Sabbath in the way YHVH intended for us to spend it, we experience blessing, joy, love and insurmountable peace. It becomes the center of the week, a day to look forward to, a delight indeed. My favorite day of the week. In this article we will look at the practical observance of the Sabbath. Many people are new to this, but even for those who have been keeping the Sabbath for years, let this be a refresher for you. We all need it sometimes just to refocus or to realize how good we have it to be able to celebrate the Sabbath in freedom.

  • The sixth year, a year of preparation

    The sixth year, a year of preparation

    This sixth year of the Sabbatical cycle is a year of preparation. Just like we have the weekly Sabbath with the sixth day as the preparation day, we have the Sabbatical year, the seventh year, with the sixth year as a year of preparation. So this year when the barley is found aviv and the new moon has been sighted, we will start to prepare for the Sabbatical year which starts 1 Aviv 2016. The purpose of this article is to be a practical guide as to what we are to have in place before the beginning of the next Sabbatical year.

  • The Sabbatical year, a “reset” every seven years

    The Sabbatical year, a “reset” every seven years

    The next Sabbatical year is in 2016, from the first day of Aviv. We plan to keep this commandment. This commandment, to keep the Sabbatical year, is seen by some as quite controversial and one of those commandments which is said not to pertain to us who don’t live in the land. As a result of this mindset, it is pushed aside and not really studied. However, when you start studying this commandment and its significance, you would be amazed at how carefully YHVH has planned this.

  • Are fruit trees excluded from the Sabbatical year command?

    Are fruit trees excluded from the Sabbatical year command?

    After our previous article about preparing for the Sabbatical year, a very thought and study provoking question was asked by a friend. The question prompted us to want to investigate if fruit trees were included in the Sabbatical year commandment, specifically regarding pruning and harvesting. The answer to this would also affect if we could buy fruit during this time. We understand, after this study that fruit trees are included in the sense that we are not to prune our fruit trees or harvest fruit during the Sabbatical year. Let us present you our findings.