As the Shemita year creeps up on us, Maran Hagoen Rav Elyashiv Shlita – together with other leading Gedolim – issued a powerful Kol Koreh against the practice of “Heter Mechira”, the sale of Israeli farmland to a non-Jew to avoid the Issur of working the land in Eretz Yisroel during the Shmita year.
The Kol Koreh states that the Heter Mechira leads to the desecration of the “holy and precious” Mitzvah of Shmita.
The debate surrounding the Heter Mechira has been going on for over a 100 years, and enables farmers to symbolically sell their land to non-Jews for the Shemita year, without stopping to cultivate the land.
Most Charedim do not accept the Heter, and during Shemita buy produce from Arab farmers or abroad.
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24 Responses
How long will it take for some people (who don’t like or agree with the kol korah) to claim that Maran Hagoen Rav Eliyashev Shlia and the other Gedolim were ‘hoodwinked’ into signing it by a few people who fooled them into signing it without them knowing ‘the real situation.’ (Or perhaps claim they didn’t ‘really sign it altogether.’)
Do you have a copy of the letter?
There are also Jewish farmers using hydroponics. I heard b’shem Reb Elyashiv that it is a Mitzvah to support them.
What about Otzer Beis Din?
Otzar Beis Din is a viable solution, accepted in both the Chareidi and National Religious world. More & more National Religious and Chardal-oriented Jews are turning to this as an appropriate solution for the Shmita year.
The purchase of Arab produce, while avoiding the Halachic problems of the Hetter Mechira, does pose a security problem – do you want to support a potential terrorist?
What is new about this? The disagreement over shemitta derobbonon has existed since the times of the Hazon Ish and R AY Kook. By now there is almost noone in the R Elyashiv community who would take the Dati Leumi view. However, some people in the Dati Leumi world might still take the more stringent view of R Elyashiv and the HI. This being the case, why do we need this kol korai? Is it just to impugn the Rabbanut and others who allow farming during shemitta as somehow less authentic than the Haredi crowd? If so, why not make a kol korai against the Talmud, which states “go out and farm on shemitta, because of the oppressive tax?” Obviously the preferred situation is to keep the laws of shemitta fully, but in a time when the jubilee year is not kept, this is rabbinical and a qualified posek, like R AY Kook could override such objections for his community. So why the unnecessary acrimony?
Ahhha Mr. Israeli Yid,
You just displayed your true colors. You will not fight this kol koreh because you don’t disagree with it. But where you to disagree with it, as last time, you would be making all the same claims as last time — that just perhaps they didn’t ‘really’ issue it or otherwise they must’ve been bamboozeled into it by the powers that (really) be.
I didn’t actually expect too much opposition to this particular kol korah. I was making my point, which you amply demonstrated.
And with that I rest my case.
Israeli,
That is because you have no answer. You were chapped good here. I remember your comments on the original Kol Korah thread. And your original comment on this thread showed where you are coming from. And you couldn’t answer the taineh made.
The heter mechira was initiated by Rav Elochonon
Spectner of Kovno zt”l together with other gedolim in the early 1900’s. It was never universally accepted and has been Halakhic debate since then. The reason a questionable ‘heter mechira’ is still needed, is since many farmers will market their produce regularly as if it is not shmittah, leading to a situation in which the whole country and its markets will be filled with forbidden foods, since the mitzvah is rabbinical, a solution of ‘do not put a stumbling block in front of the blind’ has to be found. What do the many charedei families who will not purchase ARAB-grown $$$ produce (Kassem missile cukes)find their foods? Will the Badatz have markets with Otzar Bais Din fruits and vegetables, so the mitzvah of kedushas shivis can be observed? Let us know!!
Question
I am not clear on the concepts here and I am sure this is debted at length in some scholarly journals but, for the less educated amongst us, why is the heter mechira any different then “selling” your chometz to a non-jew at pessach time while it is realy sitting in your closed cupboard?
bklynmom- The original Heter Mechira of R’ Yitzchok Elchonon does not apply at all today.
The heter (which was rejected by most other poskim of that generation) was for only one shmittah, required that the land be worked by goyim only, and was predicated on the fact that the country was part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Heter Mechira as done by the Rabbanut for the last 60 years is a joke. They have someone from the Lands Ministry make a kinyan for all the farmers who continue working as usual.
Reb Israeli,
Count me amongst those who don’t understand you. Joseph made a good point against your flawed way that, apparently, you cannot address.
enYes Reb Israeli, that may be well & true but you are skirting the point made by Joseph over here. It is your stated reasoning used to oppose it, not whether you are right or wrong in opposing the previous kol koreh of the Gedolei Yisroel shel Eretz Yisroel.
You claimed previously — when you opposed the Gedolim’s kol korah for whatever (and it is irrelevant to this discussion) reason — that the kol koreh regarding the concerts was either not really issued by the signatories — despite their lack of protest to the widespread dissemination of their purported signatures — or that some mystery man behind the curtain somehow fooled nearly all of Eretz Yisroel’s Gedolim into signbing it. In that case you should not beaccepting ANY kol koreah’s, yet hypocritically you have no suh protest over her (since your false reasoning was ony used when you didn’t like what you heard.) en
my apologies for the typos (as a result of a software bug.)
To Simon, destro613 and bklynmom:
No one seeks to support terrorists’ chas vishulim.
I do find it rather interesting that the non-charedi religious in Israel rely on the heter.
If it is patriotism and love of the land which leads them to support the heter, then they are defeating the purpose.
What greater way to show love of Eretz Yisroel than by trying as severely and strictly as possible to protect its kedisha?
In my humble opinion, the best defense we have against kassams and katyushas is our stronger adherence to Hk”bh and his toirah.
Reb Israeli,
In closing, if you had stuck to ”my Rabbi holds differantly then Maran Hagoenem Rav Eliyahev, Rav Kanievsky, Rav Shteinman, the Gerrer Rebbe, et al” we all could have left it like that. But you went further and stated that the kol koreh (by the concerts) itself was a farce (for your multitude of silly reasons.) That is where we protest your unfortunate point.
And as the great & benevolent Joseph said, with that I rest my case.
IMHO- there are poskim that hold that selling you’r chometz on Pesach is just as much a problem as heter mechira. The Vilna Gaon, for ex., does not hold that the mechira we do for our chometz is valid at all. Of course there are many poskim that say it is valid. Hope this answered your question.
#15 & #20
The issue of flooding the markets with forbidden foods from shmittah, and ‘leaving an obstacle in front of the blind’ also needs some type of solution, which the heter can give.
There are also poskim who hold that no arab can legally (contract is not binding re: kedushas haeretz) own land of eretz yisrael, so eating from their produce has the same kedushas shivis as any other Jewish owned land.
Israeliyid, Add Cherry Hill amongst Joseph, Volvie, and Brisker. I’d feel honored to be amongst such illustrious commentators. I too concur with them.
You seem to only be able to repeatedly dismiss their valid argument, rather than address it.
Nope, you never did as you skirted the issue as Brisker made clear in his follow-up that you completely ignored (as far as substance.)
I stand with the Gedolim on this.
How can you chas v’shalom accuse the Chachomim (in the full meaning of that word) of being nincompoops who are puppets for others? Or imbeciles who sign off on unclear facts? Or fools who do not know what is said in their names?
Please. Do yourself a favor and keep quiet while you are ahead.
1. no one in the dati leumi community relies on the heter mechira (even the o-u in america doesnt rely on it)
2. the badatz IS (unfortunately) getting involved in palestinian produce.
3. hydroponic grown vegetables have several problems a- they taste bad (the ground really adds taste) b – there is a question / shayla of is it borei pri ha’adamah c – the romaine lettuce is not necessarily appropriate for marror and d- i’ll let you in on a secret — it is now grown in chabash (look at the bag — it doesn’t say produce of israel — just the name alei katif and hashgacha of rav kaminetsky, rav of gush katif)
Badatyz is not Satmar. It is an umbrella group of many chassidus’.
Actually I was thinking of Hisachdus.
Badatz is an umbrella group of many of the leaders of Klal Yisroel – Chasidush, Litvish, etc.