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<DIV>RZS wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">And what does a plant get in an otzitz nokuv?
How does the power in the<BR>earth jump the gap between the ground and the hole
at the bottom of the<BR>pot? And in what way do plants in holed pots grow better
than those in<BR>unholed ones?</FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>CM responds:</DIV>
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<DIV>There are 2 cases of otsits nakuf both treated the same in halacha if I am
not mistaken, 1) where it is directly on the ground and 2) where it is in the
air above the ground. In case 1) I imagine the leichus with the contained
nutrieints would just climb a few more inches in earth through the hole, but in
case 2) I agree you with you the question would apply.</DIV>
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<DIV>RZS wrote:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">AIUI the theory in those days was
that the power to grow comes from the<BR>earth. When you plant a seed it was
thought to rot completely, so that<BR>none of it was left, and then the power of
growth that is in the earth<BR>produces a new plant that follows the template of
the seed it was given.<BR>I'm not sure how they understood why plants can grow
in unholed pots.<BR>And I'm pretty sure they'd have thought hydroponics
impossible.</FONT><BR>
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<DIV>CM reponds:</DIV>
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<DIV>Perhaps they believed that any (clump of) earth had the power of growth not
just “the” Earth, but the halachic difference lay in whether it was considered
mechubor to “the” Earth or not.</DIV>
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<DIV>Btw, you may have the unholy but not the “unholed.” <IMG
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<DIV>Kol Tuv</DIV>
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<DIV>Chaim Manaster</DIV>
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