[Avodah] Shmitta

[Dr. Josh Backon]

R.  Eli Turkel stated:

>Mainly for the Israelis in the crowd. Just went to a shiur from the head of
>kashrut in Raanana - a major talmid chacham (learned in
>Ponovezh and is close to RSYE) and knowledgable in the facts
>
>1. Many vegetables such as cucumbers come almost exclusively from the Arabs
>and as such places that claim to only buy Jewish produce (all year round)
>are misleading.
>
>2. Gaza is completely closed and so no produce will come from there in the
>near future. Raanana will not accept most produce from the Arab west bank
>simply because adequate hasgacha is impossible.


That means prices will go through the roof!

I have 2 suggestions (below): setting up a foreign owned corporation
that would purchase the land, and aeroponics (growing not in water but in
air with a water spray):

1) there's a machloket (Rambam vs. the Geonim) if the Yovel
is included in the first shemita or not

2) there's a machloket between Rashi and the Rambam on the date
of the Churban Beit haMikdash from which date we count the
shemita

So for starters there's even a safek if the shemita today is actually
the correct date.

3) Rav Pessach Zvi Frank in the HAR ZVI 123 ruled that there is no problem of
the prohibition of *lo techanem* especially if they are Muslims. [According to
the Kesef Mishneh regarding living in Israel, today we *do* accept 
ger toshav].

4) DAAT YACHID: first of all it's *not* a "daat yachid" [single solitary
opinion] that shemita today is not even d'rabbanan but a "midat chasidut".
Those that rule this way include the RAZAH (the Baal HaMaor !), the Baal
HaIttur [half of Yoreh Deah is based on his piskei halacha. Check the
Beer Heitev and the BACH for sources], the Raavad in his Hassagot on the
RIF in Gittin; the Meiri, the SMA (Meirat Einayim), and the Perisha.
[The RAN calls them [above] "yesh chachamim"; the Rema talks about "yesh
omrim"]. And one of those that considered shmitta today as not even
d'rabbanan was the BEHAG (R. Shimon Kayara, 8th Cent. CE) who was *only*
one of the early Geonim.

5) KINYAN L'NOCHRI: [having the gentile take ownership of the property]:
The Sefer haTeruma permits and thus the holiness of the land is removed.
[See the sugya in Gittin 47 where in Mitzvot d'rabbanan  there *is* kinyan
l'nochri [Israel being in the category of Syria]. The Sefer Hilchot Eretz
Yisrael (attributed to the Baal haTurim) specifically permits "kinyan l'nochri
l'hafkia".

6) LAND REGISTRY [tabu]: look at what the Chazon Ish writes in Hilchot
Maasrot (Siman 10) ! [selling land to gentiles in Israel is *tofes*
even if the transaction was NOT registered in the land's registry]
And for the past 20 years, the heter mechira of the rabbanut does include
an indication "He'arat azhara" in the Land Registry.

So the above satisfies those who rely on the Heter Mechira.

7) SUGGESTION FOR FOREIGN OWNED CORPORATION
  (what I call "Murray my accountant's" version):
The solution for *heter mechira* is NOT to "sell"
the land to gentiles living in Israel but to a foreign-owned corporation
(there's a problem of *kinyan karka* [land] but not of *peirot* [produce]).
[See: Bet Yitzchak Yoreh Deah II 113 s"k 6; but see the opposing view
that a gentile does have ownership of the land [Yerushalmi Gittin 4:9;
Chazon Ish Shevi'it 21 s"k 5).

A corporate entity (vs. single person) even if partly owned by Jews may have
a different status (see:  Shaagat Aryeh 89-90; Ha'Elef Lecha Shlomo 238)
so the solution would be to sell or lease the land during shmitta to a
foreign owned *corporation*.

It would be a completely legal transaction but wouldn't violate the
issur of *lo teichanem*.

8) USE OF HYDROPONICS/AEROPONICS: most poskim permit vegetables
grown hydroponically during shmita (and the produce has no kedushat sheviit)
[see: Yechaveh Daat VI 12; Az Nidberu IV 51).

Setting up a hydroponics or aeroponics unit on your porch (no earth 
whatsoever, not
even touching the ground) is not expensive and there are even 
companies in Israel
that sells kits http://www.hydrogrow.co.il and 
http://www.hydroshop.co.il  Members
of our shul may even chip in to buy a medium sized model.

KT

Josh