Parshiot Behar/Bechukotai
25 Iyar 5761
May 18, 2001
Daf Yomi: Kiddushin 12


Guest Rabbi:
Rabbi Feivel Wagner
Young Israel of Forest Hills, NY

Sponsored by the Young Israel of Jackson Heights, NY in memory of all those who have perished in the most recent uprising in Eretz Yisrael.

Parshat Behar opens with the mitzvot of Shmita - the seventh year which has many halachot that affect the people and the agriculture of Eretz Yisrael. Since this year, 5761, is a shmita year, according to our traditional counting (see Rambam, Hilchot Shmita v'Yovel: Perek Bet, Halacha Vav). I felt it would be appropriate to present a short primer on some of the halachot of Shmita.

1) Avodat Karka - During the seventh year, the Torah prohibits working the land. Specifically, plowing, planting and harvesting are prohibited by Torah law, but this was extended by the Rabbanan to include anything that improves the field for planting or promotes the growth of produce, such as clearing the field of stones, fertilizing, watering, etc.

2) Kedushat Shviit - The land and its produce have a special sanctity during this year, which has a number of ramifications.

A) Hefker - All produce growing in the field must be viewed as ownerless. Everyone is permitted to enter the field, vineyard or orchard and help themselves to the produce.

B) Isur S'chora - No business may be done with Shmita produce. If any produce of Shmita is sold in the normal fashion, the money exchanged for the produce would also retain Kedushat Shviit.

C) Isur Hefsed - Produce of Shviit must be put to optimum use. If it is edible for humans, it can not be given to animals to eat, and certainly can not be spoiled or wasted. If it is something only suitable for animal consumption, then it must be used for that.

3) S'fichin - The Rabbis were concerned that farmers would surreptitiously plant vegetables or grain, afterwards claiming that they had grown from seeds left in the field the previous year or blown onto the field and were therefore permitted. They therefore prohibited any grain or legume that grows during Sh'viit (in a Jewish field) providing that it did not reach one-third of its growth before Rosh HaShana of Shmita. For vegetables, the same prohibitions applies except that if they had already begun their growth before Rosh HaShana of Shmita, they are permitted. Thus, most vegetables, grain and legumes that are harvested during the Shmita year are prohibited.

4) Bi'ur - Produce of the fields may be eaten only as long as the same type of produce is still available in the fields for animals to eat. The time at which there is nothing left in the fields is called z'man habiur - the time of removal. The majority halachic view is that this is done by taking the produce outside into a public place and declaring it is hefker - ownerless. Afterwards, anyone, including the original owner, may claim it.

5) Otzar Beit Din - We have noted before that the produce of Shmita is hefker - ownerless and anyone may enter any field and take for himself and his family whatever he wants. This could lead to chaos and waste, in which fields would be trampled and food certainly not put to its optimum use. What is done, therefore, is that Beit Din ensures that everything is done in an orderly fashion. They oversee the harvesting of the produce, the packaging and shipping to the market. In the case of grapes, they ensure that wine and grape juice are properly manufactured. In all these cases they pay the workers and expenses involved. The consumer thus simply pays for all of these expenses, not for the product itself.

6) Heter Mechira - The difficulties inherent in the proper observance of Shmita led a number of G'dolei Yisrael to permit the sale of Jewish land to non-Jews for the Shmita year of 1889. This would permit S'fichin, prevent K'dushat Shviit from taking effect (according to the Beit Yosef) and perhaps even permit Jews to work those lands. From the very beginning of this heter, many Gedolim opposed it and with each subsequent Shmita, as the economic situation improved, more and more poskim felt the heter was not to be relied upon. (For a more detailed explanation of all the above, see the many excellent sefarim on the topic, including "The Jewish Dietary Laws, Part II" by Dayan Grunfeld.)

Anticipating the fear and insecurity of an entire nation letting its land lie fallow for an entire year, the Torah promises "I will command My blessing upon you" (VaYikra, Chapter 25, Verse 21).

I'd like to quote from an e-mail I received from our daughter, Sara, who is studying at Bnos Chava Seminary in Yerushalayim. On Sunday, March 25 they went on a tiyul to Moshav Komimyut (in the south of Israel) which has been a pioneer in keeping and spreading the strict adherence to the laws of Shmitta.

This past Sunday, March 25, the school took us on a really great tiyul. We went to Moshav Komimyut and we had a whole "Shmita day". At the first stop, we sat on benches with hay all over. We were under a big canopy, and in front of us was a display of many past Shmitas, how they were kept, and which Gedolim were heading the "Shmita movement" in each year. There we heard a farmer who is a baal teshuva and keeping Shmita strictly for the first time this year. He has a very big business, and sells his produce to major suppliers in and out of Israel. He explained to us how hard it was for him to actually decide to keep Shmita this year, but he listened to his rabbi who told him that he would see nissim and niflaos.

From the time he made his decision, he had many nisyonos. Among them were:

1) It was already Pesach time in the sixth year, too late to make the major preparations that are needed.

2) When he told his customers of his plan to keep Shmita, many answered that if he does, they may not buy from him even after the seventh year.

3) Just in general, it's very hard for ANYONE to just completely shut down their business for a year and say, "whatever will be, will be"!!

He quoted the pasuk, "v'tzivisi es birchosi", many times, and he most definitely had nissim v'niflaos happen to him. There were more, but here are a few:

1) In the sixth year, his crops were so prolific, he had enough extra money to last him for at least the next year. He said that usually he has enough money for that year, but not extra for the year to come.

2) He received a tax return of 20,000 shekel.

3) One of his main crops is cherry tomatoes. He told us that he hadn't planted them because of the Shmita, but all the surrounding farms' cherry tomatoes were ruined right after Rosh HaShana from some sort of "natural disaster". Had he planted his tomatoes, he would have had a big loss!!

Eretz Yisrael is our land; the land given to us by HaShem. If we appreciate its special quality, and keep its special mitzvot, we will be zocheh to continue and strengthen our hold on it.