The opening segment of our Torah portion deals with certain aspects of agricultural law that only apply to the land of Israel. The Sabbatical Year (Sh'mittah) regulations stipulate that every seventh year the farmer may not till the earth, and upon the completion of seven seven-year cycles, the fiftieth year, or Jubilee, is to be proclaimed. In the Jubilee year all land must revert to its original tribal ownership, and all Hebrew slaves are to be freed.

If ancestral land was sold because of financial hardship, the owner or another relative could buy back the property prior to the Jubilee. Only houses in walled cities were exempt from the Jubilee rules: they could be sold in perpetuity.

In keeping with one of the purposes of the Jubilee Year (economic protection of the impoverished), the Torah sets forth additional laws governing treatment of the poor: loans were to be made without charging interest; an Israelite slave (one who was sold or sold himself/herself into servitude due to indebtedness) was to be treated as hired help throughout his/her term of bondage.

The sidra ends with the admonition not to fashion idols, to observe the Shabbat and to revere the Sanctuary.