Rav/Posek of the Jerusalem Religious Council Rabbi Eliyahu Schlesinger Shlita spoke with Kol Berama Radio’s Moti Lavi on Tuesday morning 18 Marcheshvan on the topic of shmitah. The rav was asked to clarify the position of the Rabbanut in the capital regarding shmitah now that Rabbi Aryeh Stern Shlita will assume responsibility for the city’s kashrus having been elected the new Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi.

Rabbi Schlesinger explains that in essence, nothing has changed other than from an administrative perspective. Over the years, the Jerusalem Religious Council never gave a hashgacha for restaurants or eateries during shmitah that is based on heter mechira but that is not to say some restaurants did not have heter mechira. In past years, those businesses displayed a teudat kashrus from the Matte Yehuda Rabbinate.

Rabbi Stern has decided that those wishing heter mechira will now be able to get one from the Jerusalem Rabbinate and the teudah will be clearly marked to avoid confusion. Hence explains Rabbi Schlesinger, instead of seeing teudot in restaurants for heter mechira from another rabbinate, they will now be from the local Jerusalem Rabbinate instead of Rabbanut Matte Yehuda but the status will not change.

The rav went on to address the machmir tzibur that does not wish to use heter mechira but relies on produce that is not from Eretz Yisrael. The rav explained he met with officials from both Badatz Eida Chareidis and Badatz Rav Yosef Efrati Shlita and he understands well that this year there are additional costs involved in providing hashgacha as mashgichim are traveling and produce is coming in large supply from abroad.

He adds that after all the calculations were done, he understands items might have to cost 20, 30 or 40 agorot more per kilo, and in some cases even a half shekel or 60 agorot but “There is no justification whatsoever for the price gouging that we see, the selling or produce for twice the price per kilogram of heter mechira produce”.

Rabbi Schlesinger reminded listeners that in his recently published sefer on shmitah he includes a letter from the Pnei Menachem of Gur ZATZAL in which the tzaddik admonishes those who wish to take advantage of the machmir tzibur, primarily the avreichim who have limited funds by shmitah price gouging, calling it a mitzvah that leads to an aveira.

Rabbi Schlesinger feels that a consumer boycott of produce is in order, pained at the fact avreichim that can barely afford to feed their families must now face the shmitah price gouging to permit some “to line their pockets with money”.

“Let them see the produce rot on the shelves until they understand they cannot continue taking advantage of the mehadrin public”. Lavi added clearly there are people who do not work for six years and make their money during shmitah to carry them to the following shmitah. Rav Schlesinger was in agreement and angrily calls on the decision makers to take the halachically correct steps to drop prices drastically and immediately.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)