In Chapter 25 of the Book of Leviticus, it says that every seven weeks of years, in the fiftieth year, the “horn blast” must resound to proclaim a “Shabbat” lasting twelve months. It is a time of rest for the land, of condoned debts and freedom for slaves. The horn with which this special year was announced was a ram’s horn, which in Hebrew is “Yobel”, from which the word “Jubilee” comes.  The ram’s horn is blown to recall the faith of Abraham on Mount Moriah, when he agreed to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. At that moment, the apparition of a ram with its horns caught in a bush was the sign that his obedience had been appreciated.

The “merciful” nature of this time, in which justice is proclaimed against every form of exploitation of the fruits of the land and above all of man by other men, emerges from the biblical text. The jubilee year is the possibility of a new beginning: it breaks the vicious circle of injustice, and releases from the fault.