Israel – KKL-JNF foresters have discovered that a number of palm trees planted along the banks of Nahal Harod, situated in the northern Jezreel Valley, have been severely mutilated.
It is believed that the palm trees were cut open so that their fronds could be used as part of the four species used during Succot.
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“Fifteen trees were cut in exactly the same way. We don’t have any proof or suspects, but we believe that there was an intent to steal the lulav branches from the trees. It happened very shortly before Succot. There’s no other reason we can think of that cuts like these would be made in such a systematic way,” Gill Atsmon, Keren Kayemet L’Israel – Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) regional director, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The four species comprise an etrog, or citron, willow branches and myrtle branches which are held together and waved in a special ceremony during Succot, along with the frond of a date palm.
Mutilated? How is it any different then when they cut them commercially? Probably Gezel if not Hefker, but mutilated?
According to chazal, anyone who seeks to perform a mitzvah with a stolen item not only forgoes any zchus for performing that mitzvah but also will suffer because of the chilul hashem such actions create. Here there was both a theft of public property and the environmental damage resulting from loss of foilage where it is badly needed.
What a shanda…such mutilation of a living tree should be severely punished.
I thought that only one who steals and uses it for a miztva, then it is a mitzva habo b’aveira, but one who buys a stolen lulav fulfils the mitzva. So, the Ganovim here are still ganovim, but if they sell them then they get the cash & the purchaser gets a mitzva. Win – win! (except for KKL-JNF).
How does #11 know he didn’t have permission to cut it down. The trees cut down on KKL land were probably cut down by arabs. They are the primary sellers of this type of schach.
lulov hagozul?
“A Lulev Gezeluh is not counted only on the first day.”
You need “Lochem” for the first day, but “mitzvah ha ba’ah b’aveira” may still be an issue for the rest of Yom Tom. Besides, the moron could have bought several lulavim for the cost of the clippers he used!
Ahmeratzim,
Buyer is yotzeh the mitzveh, It is yiush and shinu reshis.