Free Republic

The current Hebrew year, 5782, began on Rosh Hashanna one month ago, beginning a new shemittah (sabbatical) year. Most people believe that the shemittah has implications only for farmers based in Israel however in Biblical times, all debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted. One Israeli economist has chronicled a correlation between the seven-year shemittah cycle and major economic events. If his theory is correct, the world is about to enter a major crisis. SHEMITTAH AND ECONOMIC CRISIS Rafi Farber, an Israeli economist and financial journalist who blogs and videos under the pen The End Game Investor, combines...

Pope Francis has explained his plans for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, in an interview with the Italian magazine Credere. "I believe that this is the time for mercy," the Pope said. "We are all sinners, all of us carry inner burdens." The idea of a Year of Mercy reflects a theme that has been developed by previous Pontiffs, Pope Francis said. In particular he mentioned St. John Paul II, who wrote Dives in Misericordia and instituted the feast of Divine Mercy. The emphasis on God's mercy, the Pope continued, is a "relatively recent renewal of a tradition that has...

Is something really big about to happen? For months, people have been pointing to the second half of this year for various reasons. For some, the major concern is Jade Helm and the unprecedented movement of military vehicles and equipment that we have been witnessing all over the nation. For others, the upcoming fourth blood moon and the end of the Shemitah cycle are extremely significant events. Yet others are most concerned about political developments in Washington D.C. and at the United Nations. To me, it does seem rather remarkable that we are seeing such a confluence of economic, political...

Jubilee Year (shenath ha-yobhel; etos tes apheseos; annus jubilaeus, "year of jubilee" (Le 25:13), or simply ha-yobhel, "the jubilee" (Le 25:28; compare Nu 36:4), the King James Version and the English Revised Version Jubile): The Hebrew word yobhel stands for qeren ha-yobhel, meaning the horn of a ram. Now, such a horn can be made into a trumpet, and thus the word yobhel came to be used as a synonym of trumpet. According to Le 25:9 a loud trumpet should proclaim liberty throughout the country on the 10th day of the 7th month (the Day of Atonement), after the lapse...