In a unique and perhaps commendable effort, Rabbi Eliav Meir of Moshav Gimzo on Sunday decided to prevent the planting of trees in violation of shmitah, using his body to do so.
Trees being planed near Shoham were to be placed on hold until after Rosh Hashanah as per promises received by the rav from Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.
When the rav saw the holes were dug to permit the tree planting now, ahead of the end of shmitah, he decided he must act, and act he did. He got into the hole dug for the tree and announced he was not leaving until he received a commitment that the trees would not be planted ahead of Rosh Hashanah. A supporter of the rav climbed into the second hole, and taking his cue from the rav, refused to leave until the rav gave the okay.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
A modern day Choni Ha’ma’agil
A “hole” new meaning to “Ki Haadom Eitz Hasadeh”
Wow! I like it! … and I love the two above comments. Something easy for a change.
“Unique and perhaps commendable”? Surely you meant “Commendable and perhaps unique”. How could the rav’s action possibly not be commendable? What could one possibly find to criticize about it? On the other hand, it’s possible that someone else has done something similar in the past, so perhaps it’s not unique.