The irony of shmita: making the poorest poorer
Exodus 23:10-11: “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.”
This year is a shmita year, described above. It only applies in Eretz Yisrael. In modern Israel, the teleology of the shmita year (arguably to benefit the poor) seems to crash up against the halachic practice of the law: some of the country’s poorest are having to pay exorbitant prices for produce. The New York Times today has an article on it. [Note: heter mechira is the ruling that allows eating produce grown and harvested on the shmita year. See Kol Ra’ash Gadol’s recent pieces on the controversy of the rulings.]
The chief rabbinate, which controls the vital kosher certificates for food, declared this year that heter mechira was the rule, but it also said rabbis of local cities and towns could decide for themselves. The announcement resulted in confusion, anger, an unresolved suit before the Supreme Court, a rabbinical revolt and a declaration by the agriculture minister, Shalom Simhon, that he will forbid imports that compete with Israeli produce.
In Jerusalem, Israel’s poorest city, heter mechira is not supposed to be recognized. But while the Supreme Court is deciding on a petition against the chief rabbinate’s ruling, some supermarkets are selling produce under the heter mechira dispensation.
Since the ultra-Orthodox make up at least 30 percent of the city’s population, shops in areas like Geula and Mea Shearim are paying prices two or three times higher than normal for cucumbers and tomatoes grown only by non-Jews in the West Bank. The community is already among the poorest in Jerusalem, but the rulings of their rabbis matter far more to them than money.
2 comments:
bsd
Their halachic rulings are not in the spirit of Shabbat. They are supporting enemies of the people of Israel. The Shemittah year is a year of partying. Everyone is allowed to go to anyones field and pick for free. We should have a year of nonstop tiyulim and parties. After all if I don't have to pay for my food, I might as well cook up a gourmet meal and share it with my friends.
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Clearly the shmita year isn't helping out the poor, as its main goal was to do this. So in this case I think Shmita year should be optional, to some degree. If people can afford the shmita year than they should keep the customs. But I don't think it's right to make people keep a custom that results in bankruptcy and such. Israel should do whatever they can to help out these farmers out. I agree with the agricultural minister, that he should ban foreign products, to make it easier on the poor farmers.
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