The mitzvahs concerning the seventh year (שביעית) are given in parshas Behar. It is called a “Shabbos for the land” because the land in this year is to be left fallow and not worked. Shabbos basically means to take a break. Essentially commercial exploitation of the land is banned. This includes planting, plowing, and pruning trees. People are encouraged to pick that which grows by itself for immediate use, but professional harvesting is forbidden. One can only tend to things which if delayed would result in serious damage. Laws concerning private property are largely suspended particularly those against trespassing and anything that grows is treated like wild fruit in an ownerless area. Owners and workers, rich and poor, domestic animals and wild animals are free to partake of it. The main source of food is that which was grown in the sixth year or before.
The seventh year is also called shmita (שמטה) which means release because outstanding debts are forgiven. The intent of the mitzvah is not to annul credit extended in the course of ordinary business or loans for expensive appliances, cars, or houses. It is rather a form of bankruptcy for those without the resources to pay especially the poor. Financial disputes would also be annulled. Even so if the debtor should at some point be able to pay, they would be considered a gentleman for doing so.
Jewish slaves are also freed during shmita. They differ materially from “Canaanite” slaves in that it is fundamentally supervised living with a long term employment contract. Some of the Jewish slaves are the destitute. The main people doing it are thieves and bankrupts in order to pay off debts. The freeing of these slaves is a variation of the forgiveness of debts.
Jubilee falls after the seventh shmita in the fiftieth year. It is considered a Sabbath of Sabbaths. All of the laws concerning shevi’it apply. In addition fields and houses in cities revert to their ancestral owners. These should only be leased and not permanently sold.
The Chumash than answers an expected question. Concerning the seventh year, you might ask, What will we eat? We have not planted nor have we harvested crops. I will direct My blessing to you in the sixth year, and [the land] will produce enough crops for three years. When you plant the eighth year, you will be eating your old crops until the crops of the ninth year are ripe, (see Leviticus 25:20-24). The commentaries have differing understandings of this. Some say that it refers to the seventh year alone and for various reasons the Jubilee need not immediately follow a seventh year. Others say it refers to two consecutive years where the land was left fallow.
In these mitzvahs there is an aspect of the responsibility of the Jewish people to properly take care of the soil of the land of Israel. This is because land that is constantly cultivated becomes worn out of unless it lays fallow from time to time. Rashi here compares the mitzvah of resting on the seventh year to the mitzvah of resting on the seventh day. Some versions of Rashi (Chabad.org) add the Sifthei Chachamim and Torath Kohanim 25:7 that it is not for the sake of the land so that it should gain fertility by lying fallow for a year. Just as every seventh day is a holy Sabbath day, acclaiming that G-d Himself rested on the seventh day and thus acclaiming that G-d is the Supreme Creator of all existence, likewise, man must rest from working the land on the seventh year, for the sake of G-d.
Others take the position that mitzvahs including Shabbos are also for the benefit of man. In other words just like it is good for a man to spend one day a week taking it easy and enjoying the things he has, so to it is good for him to take off one year out of seven from his regular routine. In addition just as there are holidays during the year, when it's a mitzvah to rest, so to once in a lifetime, it's good to take off two years in a row.
A person working year in and year out little by little gets burnt out, sometimes without knowing it. Maybe he needs a year to contemplate the situation and even prepare for a change in career. Also this could be the time to do some real touring, learn a new discipline, or do volunteer work. With two years free a person could write a book.
With some peace and quiet one can see that the world belongs to Hashem and that man is only passing through. The property will not be destroyed if it's open to the public for a year and the wild animals may actually turn out to be a bit friendly. Also a person may see that he doesn't gain anything by lying, cheating, and stealing, except the ill will of G-d and man.
This is a mitzvah that is explicit in the Chumash. Very few people though would come up with it on their own. Who would believe that you could actually afford to take a year off. Therefore the Torah must be from heaven and the Ribono shel olam must be wise, benevolent, and above nature.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
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