A number of months ago, a large esrog orchard was planted in Jordan, in an area near a central city as the investors are hopeful relations with Jordan will remain peaceful and he will be able to import mehudar esrogim from there. These esrogim will provide a solution during shmitah year but owners are hopeful there will be esrogim before the next shmitah.
The idea that of an entrepreneur during the last shmitah year, and for this purpose he contacted businessmen in Jordan and studied the area. A special agronomist was also sent to inspect the area, in order to provide a professional opinion regarding the quality of the esrogim that would grow in a desert area.
After the various tests, including the economic feasibility, it was decided to involve the members of the Eida Chareidis kashrus, who gave their blessing to the move, after they were presented with the main argument that the move was made for the shmitah.
Esrogim require a great deal of work and even when there are tensions between Israel and Jordan, there will be activities on the ground as Jews will be required to work to take care of the planted trees towards realizing a good crop.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
This is not a well understood area of halacha. Do yidden have to plant and maintain the tree throughout the growing cycle (e.g. fertilize, prune, spray for insects, etc.) or can some of this work be peformed by goyim under the supervision of a “mashigiach”? Also, what makes these “mehudar” esrogim aside from the prices that some entrepreneur intends to charge?
It would appear to me that an etrog grown by Jews in Israel would be the preferred way to do a mitzvah
Disappointing to see that the phenomenal harm that is chronically done to Jews by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is completely sanitized in this brief report. Readers ought to at least be reminded of how frum Jews have been threatened with arrest for davening and bringing tefillin into Jordan in the past few weeks and in years gone by. The murders on Har Habayit last month produced an outpouring of hatred from all levels of Jordanian society, not against the killers but against Israel for protecting Jews and Arabs alike.
These are important enough issues to have an influence on what people think when they learn of fresh efforts to give the Jordanians an income from Jewish sources.
I would encourage the editors to revise the report and at least make mention of the hateful policies being pursued by Jordan.
My wife and I have learned the hardest way where that Jordanian hatred of Jews leads. It centers on the murder of 15 Jews in a Jerusalem pizzeria. One of those Jews was our daughter Malka Chana Hy”d who was 15. If anyone needs the background, we are ready to provide it.
Arnold Roth- My heart is with you. After almost forty years in Israel it still amazes me what people will do for money and to undermine the country that provides them with security, health benefits and monthly stipends.