Talk to me about "Jubilee"... Are there other traditions in history

[annabanana]

where debts are forgiven? I'll bet there are. I suspect that ANY society where large personal debts can be incurred had a mechanism of relief for when too much went to too few. What is the last defense against torches & pitchforks?

[Bluenorthwest]

1. Jubilee is proof that none of the faith community believes their

book at all. They reject Jubilee, just as they reject the bulk of the teachings of their so called faith. Jubilee was not an option, it was commanded by the same God the faith community insists commanded nothing but the harassment of gay people.

[annabanana]

2. While that may be true, what I'm looking for is OTHER debt forgivness

traditions or occasions in history. My gut tells me that the current situation can not stand. I know that money & power always tends to flow to the top. Eventually it leads to revolution, or something else that will alleviate the burden.

I would like to find out about how other societies dealt with it..

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. Study history and you will find that Jubilee

while taught in Scripture was never widely practiced even in Biblical times.

However, the injunctions in Old Testament Scripture against usury were. Those injunctions set maximum interest rates at 10%. Until the inflation of the 1970s there were states that had CONSTITUTIONAL prohibitions against interest rates above 10%.

[robdogbucky]

4. "I'll meet you at the Jubilee..." Grateful Dead

"Sugaree"
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission

When they come to take you down
When they bring that wagon round
When they come to call on you
and drag your poor body down

Just one thing I ask of you
Just one thing for me
Please forget you knew my name
My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree
Just don't tell them that you know me

You thought you was the cool fool
Never could do no wrong
Had everything sewed up tight
How come you lay awake all night long?

Just one thing I ask of you
Just one thing for me
Please forget you knew my name
My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree
Just don't tell them that you know me

You know in spite of all you gained
you still have to stand out in the pouring rain
One last voice is calling you
and I guess it's time you go

Just one thing I ask of you
Just one thing for me
Please forget you knew my name
My darlin Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree
Just don't tell them that you know me

Shake it up now, Sugaree
I'll meet you at the Jubilee
If that Jubilee don't come
Maybe I'll meet you on the run

One thing I ask of you
Just one thing for me
Please forget you knew my name
my darling Sugaree

Shake it, shake it Sugaree
but don't tell them that you know me
Shake it, shake it Sugaree
Just don't tell 'em that you know me

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/sugaree.html


jubilee
In ancient Jewish times, Jubilee was held every 49 years, and was a ritualized way of giving everyone a clean slate. The tradition is outlined in the Bible in Leviticus, chapter 25:

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

The basic tenet of jubilee is that all debts should be forgiven. This included indenture and mortgage of person and property. Thus, the concept was readily embraced by America's slave population, and entered our folklore.

Perhaps the character in "Sugaree" is saying that both of them would need a jubilee in order to freely see each other again; othewise, they will remain on the run for whatever mysterious reason.

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/sugaree.html#jubilee



Hope this helps define and give historical context



Eat, Drink, and see Jerry!