E BMW' JEWISH NEWS How Shmitta Year Affects Israelis By JODY BRANSE World Zionist Press Service In the markets and corner stands of Israel, many shop- pers these days are alert to more than plump tomatoes, shining apples and sweet- smelling melons. EN en be- fore entering, they look for a notice, in heavy black print, assuring them that the es- tablishment is under the 'supervision of the local "shmitta" committee. The year 5740, which just ended, marks the comple- tion of another seven-year and the Torah- scribed cessation of ag- ricultural labor in the land of Israel. It is a sabbatical year, not for university lec- turers but for the land itself. "Six years thou shalt sow thy land and gather in its fruits; but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow," God instructed Moses. "Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard." The commandment of the shmitta, or sabbatical year, and the intricate body of Halakha derived from it, is no less binding on the observant Jew than that of the weekly Shabat: The seventh year, like the seventh day, is to be sanctified; land, like man, must enjoy the rest decreed by the Lord. But the shmitta applies only to the crops of the land of Israel. Thus, during the cen- turies of the Diaspora, when the few Jews remaining in Israel dwelt mostly in cities, this land-bound mitzva was in abeyance. Through the first decades of the 20th Century, com- pliance with the shmitta depended on a variety of fac- tors: The commitment of a given group of settlers to religious law, economic and climatic conditions, the presence or absence of strong rabbis, and the countless hardships con- nected with building a new nation. Since the birth of the state of Israel, two con- flicting approaches to the shmitta have developed in the religious community. The "official" view of the Chief Rabbinate acknowl- edges on the one hand the need to preserve the tradi- tional law in full; but on the other that at present it is impossible to persuade the nonobservant majority to comply. The rabbinate is moti- vated by the desire to prevent the public con- sumption of nonkosher produce, and to minimize the commission of trans- ssions by farmers who ► b not respect the shmitta. The solution is the token sale of the land of Israel to an Arab. Farmers who con- tinue working the land while it is technically in the possession of a non-Jew are still violating the Halakha, but to a lesser degree than if it were legally their prop- erty. As a shmitta year ap- proaches, the rabbinate sol- icits from landowners throughout the country the right to act as their agent in arranging this temporary, symbolic transfer. The "independent Or- thodox" oppose both the technique and the rationale of the "religious establish- ment" policy. They main- tain that the risks of hard- ship cited by the rabbinate, and actually occuring in the early years of the state, could be avoided were all Jews to observe the shmitta. These traditionalists make their own arrangements on the local level. In Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and several other com- munities, special commit- tees assume responsibility for ensuring supplies of fresh, kosher produce to the consumer. They rely on several sources. Among them, Arab-grown fruits and vegetables have been especially important since the Six-Day War made West Bank crops available to the Israeli market. Another source exploits the fact that under certain circumstances vegetables from Jewish fields may be eaten, provided they have been "hefkered," made available to all Jews to take what they need. Farmers are employed by the bet din (rabbinical court) to guard their fields against plun- derers, and even to reap on behalf of those who can't come to take for themselves. In town, shopowners who are' otherwise forbidden to sell the seventh-year pro- duce are employed by the bet din to distribute the hefkered food to the public. Thus, when one buys in a supervised shop, the price is not for the goods but for the bet din's expenses in em- ploying the farmers and storekeepers. For this rea- son, shmitta produce is sometimes more expensive than its nonkosher competi- tion. The Torah restrictions do not apply to food from out- side the land of Israel. This applies not only to foreign countries but to por- tions of modern Israel fal- ling outside the biblical borders upon which the Halakha is based. A number of Negev settle- ments are among the areas exempt from the shmitta laws, and their cops may be freely eaten. In addition to these sources, experiments under way at research institutions and kibutzim are exploring methods, such as hydroponic ar- dening, that may enable crops to grow without soil. Should these techni- cal innovations prove successful, a large supply of fresh produce would be available in the shmitta year. Meanwhile, this year has seen no shortages in the stores displaying the guarantee of the local supervisory • committee. Full observance depends on the cooperation of mer- chants willing to comply with the religious authorities. In areas with a large Orthodox population, such as Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, proprietors won't risk losing the business of their regular religious custom- ers. Incidentally, to use an "unscientific" method for finding whether a year is shmitta or not, divide the Hebrew year by 7 and if there's no remainder, its a shmitta year. Friday, October 3, 1980 13 Begin Criticized PARIS (ZINS) — Prime Minister Menahem Begin and Foreign Minister Yit- zhak Shamir were char- acterized as "dogmatic and militant politicians" by Jean de Lipkowski, a spokesman for the French DeGaullist party. De Lipkowski, a former vice foreign minister in the Pompidou regime, had re- turned from an official visit to Israel and said in a radio interview that there are very dim hopes that Begin's government will come up with a realistic plan to solve the long standing Arab- Israeli dispute. According to de Lipkowski, Shimon Peres is the most likely per- son to achieve that objec- tive. Quickly, Safely, Permanently in just 6 weeks No Shots No Drugs No Contracts Individual Daily Counseling • because it's harder to lose weight alone . Southfield 642-5665 Craubreek Cote 30233 Southfield Rd SUITE 102 : E4 1 RE rtM01:1} OBAC.00 CO ULTRA TASTE! ONLY ONE ULTRA LOW TAR HAS IT. v The heart is a small thing, but desireth great matters. It is not sufficient for a kite's dinner, yet the whole world is not sufficient for it. —Quarles Warning . The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous toYour Health. 6 m9 lar". 0.6 mg. mconoe av per cigateite by FTC method.