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Israel – Israeli produce marketing company Otzar Ha’aretz announced today that it will not market produce grown by Arab farmers, and will from now on only sell only Jewish-grown products.
The company, which has been marketing fruits and vegetables to the ultra-Orthodox community during the shmita (sabbatical) year, announced that it will continue to operate once the year is over in effort to “support Jewish agriculture in Israel.”
According to Jewish law, every seventh year the earth must rest and no crops can be grown. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews use foreign-grown produce during this sabbatical year in order to avoid using crops grown by Jews.
Another solution, offered by Otzar Haaretz, is the Otzar Beit Din, a solution in which the Rabbinical Court appoints the farmers as its emissaries to grow produce. The produce retains its Shmitah sanctity, but can be sold by the Rabbinical Court for a fair price.
Other solutions include growing produce in hothouses on beds detached from the ground, storage of produce grown in the year prior to Shmitah, produce grown in the Aravah and more.
These are the main sources from which Otzar Ha’aretz supplies kosher produce during the Shmitah year.
In a statement issued Monday, Otzar Ha’aretz announced that though the shmita year will soon come to an end, the company plans to continue marketing produce to the ultra-Orthodox community as well as to members of the general public “who want high quality produce that the consumer can identify where it was grown.”
The Director of Otzar Ha’aretz Ika Ness explained the company’s decision, saying that “Jewish agriculture needs support and we, as Zionist people, view this as our mission.”
Marketing Director Dore Lichtenstein said that “it is every person right to know who stands behind the product they are buying, who made it and who imported it and whether it was made in Israel.”
Great idea!
However, I must point out that this is NOT an ultra-Orthodox endeavor, but a Dati Leumi endeavor that was set up in order to allow people to purchase jewish-grown produce during the Shemitta year that does not rely on the Heter Mechira.
Unfortunately, although it was a “Mehadrin” solution, in that it did not use the Heter and would have encouraged more Jewish farmers to sell through Otsar Beis Din rather than use the heter, it did not receive wide support from the ultra-orthodox establishment, which preferred to buy Arab-grown produce (so-called “Hamas Vegetables”).
This was unfortunate, because the more customers that would have signed up for Otsar Haaretz, the more farmers would have sold through Otsar Beis Din rather than sell their land through the Heter Mechira.
Hopefully, the Ultra Orthodox will support the Otsar Haaretz endeavor now that the Shemitta year is ending.
I don’t understand how the Otzar Beit din is a solution. How does appointing farmers as emissaries, especially if their Jewish, be a solution? Please someone explain?
Thanks.
SD
According to the Chazon Ish and bnei brak residents Otzar Bein Din is the mehudar way of observing shmittah.
Michal….these fruits and veggies grow on their own and they are collected for sale while the Jewish farmer receives only a base price with no profit. The produce is then kedushas shivis and must be taken care of within the halachic parameters.
How does otzar beth din help for vegetables,which are ossur as sfichin?
Otsar Besi Din is only one of the methods used by Otsar Haaretz to allow the purchase of Jewish Grown produce.
In addition, they use heterim of hydroponics, south of Beersheva, heterim of the Chazon Ish, etc.
When it comes to Shemitta, everyone relies on heterim. Some charedim rely on there being a hetter to support rotzchim when Jewish-owned solutions are available.
it’s only kosher, if their are no Arabs workink for them.
All the “Ultra Orthodox” and the Tznius screamers and the super mehadrin ultra extras should realize something important. You act like Gd picked you before all others and that only you have a direct link with Hashem. If you show some love and understanding to the not dati and the “a little bit dati,” and the regular dati, you might engender a bit more understanding. When you come on like soldiers with metal boots, you will generate hate, not understanding.
When they were kids it was, “We are better and more religious because we stayed up at the Pesach Seder until four thirty in the morning.” WHen they grow up, it becomes, we follow Otzar Beis Din, or, No, no, we follow the Young Israel, or, we go according to the Chazon Ish, or, we don’t rely on any heter mechira at all so we eat genuine dirt. Hey guys, chill out! Enough of “I’m better than you.” BGe a mench and respect all Jews. Hashem does.
SD Says: When it comes to Shemitta, everyone relies on heterim. Some charedim rely on there being a hetter to support rotzchim when Jewish-owned solutions are available.
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Please don’t smear a large amount of pepole, who you don’t even know who they are, never heard of them , nor will you see them either. And you already know what they purchase at their local grocery, and that they are wrong with what they do. With you sitting thousands of miles away…………..(BTW Go learn hilchos Shvi’is)
What confusion about the issues.
Otzar Beis Din was set-up by Rav Nissim Karelitz and other chareidi rabbonim to organize bringing the kedushas shvi’is produce of Jewish farmers to the frum public over 4 decades ago. I believe the solution was suggested by the Chazon Ish. Farmers are hired to do the labor in their fields but they receive no payment or profit for the fruits. The fruits are brought to chareidi population centers who know how to handle kedushas shvi’is fruits and are sold to them in boxes or in supermarkets supposedly for cost price.
All this time, the religious Zionists were blithely using the Heter Mechira to basically ignore the prohibitions of Shmitta and let farmers work the land, and farmers likewise signed the Heter Mechira contract just as blithely while ignoring its provisions (such as using non-Jewish labor to work the land). Shmitta was seen as a problematic and unpleasant mitzva that went against their value system of developing of the land. After the Disengagement, a number of religious Zionist rabbis remembered the Torah’s warning that if you don’t keep Shmitta, you will go into exile, and suddenly there was a new interest to keep Shmitta.
However, like all their Torah observance, it is determined not only by the halacha, but by their nationalistic ambitions. Therefore, they established Otzar Ha’aretz which markets kedushas shvi’is fruits instead of Heter Mechira fruits (showing they can be as stringent as the chareidi Otzar Beis Din) but with critical differences. One difference is that if kedushas shvi’is fruits run out, they will start marketing Heter Mechira fruits, which no chareidi kashrus organization would ever do but which they still approve of. What it boils down to is that they’ll try to keep Shmitta, but if the going gets rough, they’re back to using Heter Mechira.
The fact that Otzar Ha’aretz is continuing after Shmitta to market Jewish-owned produce based not on halacha but nationalistic reasons, again shows what their bottom line is.