Where There’s a Will There’s a Way- Rehovot Gets Ready for Shmitah Year

Municipal gardeners don’t usually make it to the headlines- but then it isn’t every day that they get trained on the law of Shmitah by the town`s chief rabbi!

In a spirit of unity and cooperation, Rabbi Simcha HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Rehovot, has managed to do just that: He recently invited the entire landscape and park department to an in depth session on the preparations that are needed before the oncoming Shmitah year so as to avoid work in the town`s parks that is forbidden by halacha during Shmitah.

In an earlier meeting with the head of the gardening department, Mr. Yossi Kfir, Rabbi Kook stressed that if the town was adequately prepared, Rehovot`s parks would not suffer and the public would hardly notice any change.

But there was more to come: Rabbi Kook reached an agreement with Mayor Mr. Rachamim Maloul to double the budget for the town parks this year so that many more trees and plants will be planted than usual, thus allowing the gardeners to merely maintain the green areas during Shmitah year, without doing forbidden work.

Known for his ability to create bonds between religious and secular, Rabbi Kook has also recently made a number of visits to farmers and vegetable growers in the Rehovot region to explain how they can best prepare for shmitah year.