{"id":2152,"date":"2015-07-06T17:40:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T17:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2021-09-10T10:23:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T10:23:35","slug":"shmitta-5775","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/2152\/shmitta-5775\/","title":{"rendered":"Shmitta 5775"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published Fall 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

For over nineteen hundred years, the Jewish people have longed to return to\u00a0Eretz<\/i>\u00a0Yisroel,<\/i>\u00a0the Land of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0It is only in the Land of Israel that we can realize our full potential as a nation; it is only in the Land of Israel that the\u00a0Torah’s<\/i>\u00a0blueprint for life can be completely fulfilled.\u00a0\u00a0For the millennia, the most important dimension of this longing was the yearning to once again be able to fulfill the\u00a0mitzvos<\/i>\u00a0hatluyos\u00a0ba\u2019aretz\u00a0<\/i>(agricultural laws), the commandments that can be observed only in the Land of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0With\u00a0Hashem’s<\/i>\u00a0help, many of us in this past generation have realized part of this two thousand year old dream.\u00a0\u00a0Yet, this realization has presented us with new challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without a doubt, one of the greatest\u00a0mitzva<\/i>\u00a0challenges of all times is the fulfillment of the\u00a0mitzva<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0Shmitta<\/i><\/b>, the year of Sabbatical rest for the land of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0Midrash<\/i>\u00a0perceives this multifaceted\u00a0mitzva<\/i>\u00a0as being so challenging and difficult that he who meets the challenge of\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0in all its details is called, in the words of the\u00a0Midrash<\/i>, an angel.\u00a0\u00a0True, observing the\u00a0mitzva<\/i>\u00a0may be spiritual, but the details of the\u00a0mitzva<\/i>\u00a0are very practical.<\/p>\n

This article will outline some practical\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0insights so that we can gain a greater understanding and appreciation of this beautiful\u00a0mitzva<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The laws of\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0can be divided into three major categories:\u00a0\u00a0laws regarding\u00a0working the land<\/b>, laws pertaining to the\u00a0produce of the land<\/b>, and\u00a0consumer\u00a0halachos<\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0pairos<\/i>\u00a0sheviis<\/i><\/b>, fruit grown during the\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0year.<\/p>\n

I. Working The Land – What Is Prohibited?<\/b>
\n<\/b>The laws regarding the land are extremely complicated and not very relevant to people who do not own land in\u00a0Eretz<\/i>\u00a0Yisroel<\/i>, so it will be dealt with very briefly.\u00a0\u00a0In general, all work intended to enhance the land, to prepare the land for producing a yield, or to enhance vegetation is forbidden.\u00a0Therefore, one may\u00a0not<\/b>\u00a0plow the land, plant seeds or\u00a0saplings, or even prune trees because these activities promote growth and are considered forbidden work.<\/p>\n

Some other forbidden activities include watering, fertilizing, weeding and other essential fieldwork.\u00a0If the purpose of the work is to protect what has already grown prior to\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0so it should not get ruined, or if trees are in danger of dying, certain activities are generally permitted to protect them.\u00a0Since these laws are very complicated, a\u00a0posek<\/i>,\u00a0Torah<\/i>\u00a0authority familiar with these laws, should be consulted.<\/p>\n

Flower pots at home in the Land of Israel present their own problems.\u00a0\u00a0Therefore, a\u00a0posek<\/i>\u00a0should be consulted for instruction on proper\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0plant care.<\/p>\n

II.\u00a0The\u00a0Produce of the Seventh Year –\u00a0Pairos<\/i>\u00a0Sheviis<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>
\n<\/b>In order to facilitate an understanding of what fruits and vegetables are permitted or forbidden, we must clearly define the four W’s:\u00a0\u00a0Which produce are we speaking about?\u00a0\u00a0When was the produce grown?\u00a0\u00a0Where was the produce grown?\u00a0\u00a0Who owns the land?<\/p>\n

Which<\/b>\u00a0Produce?<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0There are essentially three categories of produce that we deal with:\u00a0\u00a0a. Vegetables, b. Grains and Legumes, c. Fruit grown on trees.<\/p>\n

When<\/b>\u00a0Was The Produce Grown?<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0New fruit\u00a0trees cannot be planted 44 days or less before\u00a0Rosh Hashana<\/i>\u00a0of a\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0year.\u00a0\u00a0New seeds cannot be planted after three days before\u00a0Rosh\u00a0Hashana\u00a0<\/i>or\u00a0<\/i>during the entire\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0year.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0halachos<\/i>\u00a0regarding the produce included in this prohibition and the produce to which the laws of\u00a0sheviis<\/i>\u00a0apply will be dealt with in section III.<\/p>\n

Who Owns The Land?<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0There is a difference of opinion among the\u00a0poskim<\/i>\u00a0as to whether produce grown on land owned by a non-Jew living in the Land of Israel is considered produce of\u00a0sheviis<\/i>.\u00a0The custom in\u00a0Yerushalayim<\/span><\/i>\u00a0is not<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>to consider it produce of\u00a0sheviis<\/i>, while the custom in\u00a0Bnei<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Brak<\/span><\/i>is<\/span>\u00a0to consider it produce of\u00a0sheviis<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Selling The Land:<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0Heter<\/i>\u00a0Mechira<\/i>\u00a0was formulated and instituted by many very prominent\u00a0rabbanim<\/i>\u00a0(including the\u00a0Gadol<\/i>\u00a0Hador<\/i>,\u00a0Harav<\/i>\u00a0Yitzchok\u00a0Elchanan\u00a0Spector) in the year 1887.\u00a0\u00a0There was a great deal of controversy among other prominent\u00a0rabbanim\u00a0<\/i>surrounding the\u00a0heter<\/i>, the foremost of whom was the\u00a0Netziv<\/i>\u00a0(Harav<\/i>\u00a0Naftoli\u00a0Zvi Yehuda Berlin) of\u00a0Volozin.\u00a0\u00a0Most of the controversy centered\u00a0around\u00a0the problem regarding theTorah<\/i>\u00a0prohibition of selling any part of the Land of Israel to non-Jews.\u00a0\u00a0Those who proposed the\u00a0heter<\/i>\u00a0claimed that the situation in the Land of Israel was so precarious that not working the land for an entire year would put the entire Jewish settlement in danger, thus warranting this drastic measure.\u00a0\u00a0Others claimed that the prohibition of selling the land was worse than the prohibition of working the land.\u00a0\u00a0Since then, every\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0there have been\u00a0rabbanim<\/i>\u00a0who have sold the land.\u00a0\u00a0Harav<\/i>\u00a0Avraham\u00a0Yitzchok\u00a0Kook institutionalized the sale (although he, too, agreed it was to be done only under grave duress).\u00a0\u00a0Since\u00a0it’s inception, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has sold the land every\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0However, there are presently many\u00a0rabbanim<\/i>\u00a0who question whether the current situation in Israel warrants this type of sale.\u00a0\u00a0Furthermore, there is another more serious problem the consumer faces.\u00a0\u00a0The produce that is sold in the regular stores during the year of\u00a0Shmitta\u00a0<\/i>predominantly comes from non-religious\u00a0kibbutzim<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0moshavim<\/i>, who would never agree to sell their land.\u00a0\u00a0This is compounded by the fact that the non-religious\u00a0kibbutzim<\/i>\u00a0do not observe those prohibitions which\u00a0Harav<\/i>\u00a0Kook instituted, and\u00a0Harav<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Kook never permitted their current practices<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Certainly, a tourist who is not knowledgeable concerning the\u00a0dinim\u00a0<\/i>of\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0should buy produce only from stores that do not rely upon the\u00a0heter<\/i>\u00a0mechira<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Where The Produce Was Grown (Location)?<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0The laws of\u00a0Shmitta<\/i>\u00a0apply only to produce grown within the boundaries of\u00a0Eretz<\/i>\u00a0Yisroel<\/i>, which are defined as those areas which were occupied by the people of Israel in the period of the Second Temple.\u00a0\u00a0These are not the same boundaries of the State of Israel that exist today.\u00a0\u00a0To which boundaries this does extend is a matter of great controversy.\u00a0\u00a0Some authorities state that anything grown south of\u00a0Ashkelon\u00a0\u00a0is\u00a0outside of the boundaries of\u00a0Eretz<\/i>\u00a0Yisroel<\/i>. Others extend the boundaries well into the Negev desert until\u00a0Eilat.\u00a0\u00a0In the north, the Golan Heights is questionable.\u00a0\u00a0Each supervising organization will follow the\u00a0psak<\/i>\u00a0of its own rabbis and advise their companies and facilities, accordingly.<\/p>\n

III.\u00a0The Practical Laws of Produce of\u00a0Sheviis<\/i>
\nThere<\/b>\u00a0are many laws regarding produce of\u00a0sheviis<\/i>.<\/p>\n