Across the globe, we have accumulated mountains of public and private debts. Many of the debts are effectively unsecured since the underlying assets have fallen steeply in value and will unlikely return to inflated (bubble) values. Furthermore, remaining incomes for most of humanity are insufficient to pay off those debts, now or for the foreseeable future, without decimating the lives of billions of people, and ignoring our much greater collective needs.
The reasons underlying this mess are best attributable to our many failings as human beings, such as greed, hubris, narcissism, selfishness, lying, jealousy, and by simply ignoring for too long the Golden Rule of behavior between people. Instead of endlessly arguing about whom to blame, how to extract retribution, and punishing our children under massive and un-payable principle and interest obligations, we might just look to the Torah for some guidance.
Christians and Moslems should regularly refer to the Torah (Old Testament) for some universal guidance since Judaism is the foundation of both global religions. It might also be appropriate to turn to Jews for how to properly interpret those ancient texts that go far beyond just bind adherence to the literal words and instead incorporating over a thousand years of Talmudic tradition. Even non-believers in the 3 Abrahamic faiths may find some parallels in their moral and ethical teachings. But for some major aspects of human life and covering the financial relations between people, parts of the Torah are pretty clear.
There is an excellent article written by Brett Weiss, a Maryland Bankruptcy Attorney back in 2007 and published in Bankruptcy Law Network. http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/2007/09/12/the-sabbatical-year-and-the-forgiveness-of-debts/
At sundown on September 12, 2007, the Jewish new year of 5768 begins. If you’re not Jewish, why does this matter? …5768 is a Shemitah (literally, “release,” but commonly known as the Sabbatical) year. Part of the observance of the Sabbatical year includes the forgiveness of debts.
The Sabbatical year is established in Deuteronomy: “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s release. (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). In the Book of Nehemiah, it says, “[A]nd if the peoples of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.” (Nehemiah 10:32).
In general, a Sabbatical Year cancels all debts, whether oral or in writing, even if the writing contains a clause placing a lien on the borrower’s real estate as security for the loan. A learned Rabbi, Rav Kook, described the Sabbatical year this way: “The seventh year serves to rectify the social ills and inequalities that accumulate in society over the years. When poorer segments of society borrow from the wealthy, they feel beholden to the affluent elite. “The debtor is a servant of the lender” [Proverbs 22:7]. This form of subservience can corrupt even honest individuals in their dealings with the rich and powerful. The Sabbatical year comes to correct this situation of inequality and societal rifts, by removing a major source of power of the elite: debts owed to them.” [Emphasis Added}
…this seven year debt forgiveness forms the philosophical underpinning for Chapter 7 in the Bankruptcy Code. Both allow for the forgiveness of debts, and both serve the same societal purpose.
Unfortunately the next Sabbatical year is not until 2014 according to the Jewish Calendar. Fortunately Julius Caesar created the modern calendar, putting it into effect on the 1st of January in 46 B.C. The Catholic Church later established the distinction between BC and AD based upon a best guess estimate for the birth year of Jesus Christ.
Today most everyone on the planet (Christians, Moslems, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and non-religious) uses the same calendar today. Thus in 2011, the general Sabbatical principle should be maintained, but a minor matter of timing might be slightly off. However, the Jewish calendar does not correspond to the actual earth’s rotation around the sun (neither does the Moslem calendar) and we should work with what we have. Really, what are a few years among friends and enemies when we’re all on the Financial Titanic?
As soon as possible and on a fixed date that applies around the globe, we need to have a universal agreement to release all debts among all people. After creating an unholy and unsustainable economic and financial mess over the past few decades, we really cannot move on as modern societies, nor can we efficiently operate or grow our local, regional and global economies, if we are burdened forever by our many past human mistakes.
Some among the wealthy and the oligarchy will howl about that they are owed such funds from the rest of humanity “under contracts” but they utterly fail to see their moral and ethical obligations to God and their fellow human beings. Realistically speaking, many of our large “legal fiction” institutions and wealthy individuals hold debts against people who have no ability to repay whatsoever. Our various national governments are merely playing “pretend and extend” by printing money, transferring private debts of politically connected organizations into public debts by purchasing worthless paper, and overall, trying to enforce the unjust and bankrupt past and status quo. It is simply going to end badly in a few years and really destroy many human lives, economies, governments and institutions.
Why can we not make a universal plan to wind down our collective nightmare in an orderly and just fashion – and according to the edicts of God? For many who hold worthless debt, they must understand that after the global release of debts, they will still have their real estate, personal possessions, and most importantly their lives, health, individual skills and knowledge, and their families and friends. These riches of the soul, mind and heart are the true treasures that make life worth living – not the pursuit of ephemeral wealth and abusive power over others.
We must clear the entire slate for humanity in order to start anew, without anger, fear, retribution, greed, malice, and looking towards the past. We also need to establish a host of sane, fair and workable international financial, banking, credit, consumer, and overall economic systems moving forward that would prevent those many frauds, injustices and messes that we have created to date from occurring in the future.
We may face a new set of self-inflicted messes in the future, but when they are beyond human resolution, we can ultimately turn to God’s wise and merciful guidance and instruction and use the Sabbatical year again.
Submitted by Marc Pascal from Phoenix, AZ
The Moderate Voice
(seventh edition), 
(Wiley), and 
(Palgrave-Macmillan). You can read more of Barry Rubin’s posts at 
