Shemittah 5782

A Practical Overview of the Laws of Shemittah for the Upcoming Year

By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber

Introduction

“Shemittah” means unattended¹ and is the commonly used word to refer to the Sabbatical year in which the Jewish people cease from performing agricultural activities in Eretz Yisroel. While many of the laws of Shemittah are directed at the agricultural community in Eretz Yisroel, the impact of Shemittah on its produce is felt by kosher consumers worldwide.

The laws of Shemittah are broad and intricate and cannot be covered properly in a short article. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of some halachos, focusing on those most practical to kosher consumers outside Eretz Yisroel, including those kosher consumers who wish to travel to Eretz Yisroel during the time that the laws of Shemittah are relevant.

Shemittah Year 5782?

Fascinatingly, there is a disagreement amongst the Rishonim as to whether this year, 5782, is a Shemittah year. The dissenting opinion² claims that Shemittah was last year – 5781! As we know from practice, historical precedent follows the mainstream opinion³ which calculates the Shemittah year to be 5782. This practice is strongly supported by all contemporary halachic authorities.⁴

Classifying Shemittah Produce

Agricultural prohibitions begin as early as forty-four days prior to Rosh Hashana⁵ and extend until Rosh Hashana 5783.⁶ However, as we shall soon see, some produce is to be classified as Shemittah produce even though it is not harvested until the following year, known as Motzai Shevi’is.

Produce that starts growing after the start of Shemittah and is harvested during Shemittah is clearly classified as Shemittah produce. But what is the status of produce that is planted prior to Shemittah and picked during Shemittah? Likewise, what is the status of produce that begins growing (on its own) during Shemittah but is harvested after the conclusion of the Shemittah year? The answer depends on the type of produce in question, as there is a defining difference between vegetables, grains/legumes and most fruit⁷ as follows:

• Vegetables are classified as Shemittah produce if they are picked (לקיטה)after Rosh Hashana of the Shemittah year even if they have grown prior to Rosh Hashana.⁸
• Grains and legumes are classified as Shemittah produce if they reach 1/3^rd of their growth (שליש גידולו) during the year of Shemittah.
• Fruit are classified as Shemittah produce if they experience blossoming (חנטה) – which is halachically defined as the point when the fruit reaches edibility⁹ – during the year of Shemittah.

It follows that vegetables are classified as Shemittah produce immediately after Rosh Hashana while grains, legumes and fruit are not classified as Shemittah produce until well into the Shemittah year. After the conclusion of Shemittah, vegetables are the first to lose their Shemittah status¹⁰ while grains, legumes and fruit retain their status for much of the duration of the following year and beyond.¹¹ For example, mangoes will be classified as Shemittah produce until the summer of 5783 while dates will be classified as Shemittah produce until the very end of 5783.¹² Grapes which are made into wine are another example of produce whose Shemittah status stretches well beyond the year of Shemittah. Grapes will typically bloom during the spring months and are harvested from August until October. It follows that Shemittah grapes are ripe and harvested only at the end of the year and the beginning of Motzai Shemittah. This means Shemittah wines, which may take up to three years to manufacture, only come to market midway through the seven-year Shemittah cycle!

Halachos Applicable to Shemittah Produce

The Torah states that during Shemittah the land of Eretz Yisroel must rest and agricultural activities, including plowing, planting, pruning, watering and cultivating produce, are prohibited.¹³ The land must be declared hefker – ownerless. Crops that grow are also rendered ownerless¹⁴ and may not be guarded.¹⁵

Shemittah produce is imbued with a special holiness called kedushas shevi’is.¹⁶ Kedushas shevi’is doesn’t prohibit Shemittah produce from consumption or benefit, rather, it necessitates that produce be treated with special care and is governed by intricate halachos.

It is generally prohibited to do business with Shemittah produce, and consumers purchasing such produce are subject to many restrictions (issur sechora).¹⁷ Money that is used for purchasing Shemittah produce is called d’mai shevi’is and itself becomes imbued with kedushas shevi’is. As a result, this money is subject to many restrictions, and if, for example, it is used to purchase produce, that produce will becomeimbued with kedushas shevi’is even if its country of origin is not Eretz Yisroel. The purchased produce then becomes subject to the same restrictions as the original Shemittah produce!¹⁸ Kosher consumers should not purchase Shemittah produce with cash, since that would essentially be giving d’mai shevi’is to a retailer or wholesaler who might not understand how to maintain its kedusha properly.¹⁹ However, if credit is granted or a credit card is used then the money that is eventually paid does not become imbued with kedushas shevi’is.²⁰

Produce must be treated with special care²¹ and not wasted.²² One may not throw away or even waste any edible part of Shemittah produce.²³ Leftover scraps or produce that are not intended for consumption must be left to rot.²⁴ This can be done by placing it in a “green bin” of sorts. Once produce is rotten, it may then be placed in a plastic bag and thrown away. Care should be taken to ensure that edible scraps are not placed together with rotting scraps, since this will amount to causing Shemittah produce to spoil which is prohibited.²⁵

Chazal found that some people were violating Shemittah by planting vegetables, grains, legumes and spices during the Shemittah year while claiming that such produce had grown on its own. As a response, Chazal enacted a prohibition against consumption of all such produce during Shemittah rendering the potential scheme pointless. This enactment is referred to as Sefichin.²⁶ Sefichin does not apply to fruits, since they are not planted annually, as they grow on their own. Accordingly, fruits of Shemittah are permitted for consumption provided that the rules of kedushas shevi’is are followed.

All Shemittah produce, including fruit, are eventually subject to the laws of biur – a requirement for all who have more than three meals worth (per family member) of a particular species in their possession to renounce ownership at a certain date – the zman biur.²⁷ This zman biur represents the time when the particular species is no longer growing in the fields. Biur is performed by removing Shemittah fruits from the house and declaring them ownerless in front of three people.²⁸ If someone does not conduct the biur properly then fruit can become prohibited for consumption.²⁹ After conducting the biur properly, anyone, including the original owner, can reacquire the Shemittah fruit and eat them once again, provided that kedushas shevi’is is maintained.³⁰

Yevul Nochri

Yevul Nochri literally means produce of a gentile and refers to produce of the land in Eretz Yisroel that is owned by a gentile. The status of such produce is the subject of earnest debate. Some say that the land does not lose its holiness regardless of its ownership. Others maintain that the laws of Shemittah do not apply to the land of a gentile, and therefore its produce is not subject to the laws of Shemittah.³¹ The custom of the rabbis of Yerushalayim is to follow the lenient opinion while others follow the directive of the Chazon Ish and are strict. Much of the produce that is sold in the kosher restaurants and establishments of Yerushalayim is from Yevual Nochri. The controversial Heter Mechira that was developed by the Israeli Rabbinate in the Shemittah year of 5649, whose general topic is beyond the scope of this short article, is predicated on the lenient approach towards Yevul Nochri.

Otzar Bais Din

Otzar Bais Din means the storehouse of Bais Din and refers to a mechanism that is used to supply Shemittah fruit from land belonging to those who are careful to follow the laws of Shemittah properly. The procedure is that the landowner, instead of simply declaring his land ownerless, transfers it to a Bais Din for public management. This means that the land comes under the jurisdiction of Bais Din. It is ownerless and is reserved for the needs of those who can benefit from it. Bais Din appoints its agents to harvest the produce of the land and can pay them a salary. Bais Din may appoint the landowner himself to harvest the field, which gives him an opportunity to earn a livelihood during the Shemittah year. The employees of Bais Din ship produce to the city, charging purchasers a fee for transportation and tircha. Such payment is permissible, since it is not payment for the produce but rather for all efforts that were expended. It is important to realize that the use of the Otzar Bais Din mechanism does not exempt produce from the laws of Shemittah and kedushas shevi’is. Additionally, the prohibition of Sefichin applies equally to Otzar Bais Din produce. Since the Otzar Bais Din heter can easily be abused, only a reputable Otzar Bais Din should be relied upon.³²

Kosher Consumers in Eretz Yisroel

It is always important to take special care when eating out or shopping for food, and it is especially important when doing so if you are a kosher consumer in Eretz Yisroel during Shemittah. When grocery shopping, one must take care to ensure that the shop does not sell produce that contravenes the halachos of Shemittah and that it is under reliable kosher supervision. Even purchasing flowers for Shabbos and Yom Tov can get complicated as flowers can be imbued with kedushas shevi’is.³³ If one is not careful, he may end up with Sefichin or he might transgress the issur sechora with produce that has kedushas shevi’is. He might also throw out extra produce and violate the prohibition against wasting produce of Shemittah.

Shemittah Produce in the GTA

During the last Shemittah cycle, the GTA produce market was overwhelmed with a variety of Shemittah produce that surfaced at the Toronto Food Terminal, the central locale for imported produce to the Greater Toronto Area. Examples of such produce included Sefichin such as coloured peppers, a variety of tomatoes, baby cucumbers, flower zucchini, chives and fresh herbs, which came to market soon after Rosh Hashana and were prohibited for consumption, and gooseberries, pomegranates, kumquats, mangoes, dates and persimmons which arrived much later in the year. It appears that most of this produce comes from farms that do not adhere to the laws of Shemittah and use the export market to compensate for a weak demand in Eretz Yisroel.

It is important that we keep our eyes open when we shop. Often, Israeli produce can be recognized by an identifying sticker indicating the country of origin on its surface. Canadian labelling law requires that a supermarket display the country of origin through appropriate signage. Although signage is not always accurate, it can serve to identify Israeli produce and should always be checked.

Kosher Supervised Produce

One of the difficult tasks for a community kashrus agency is to ensure that certified establishments do not procure produce of Eretz Yisroel during the time that Shemittah is relevant. This applies to caterers, restaurants and fresh produce markets. During the six-year cycle, produce from Eretz Yisroel, which are subject to the laws of orlah, terumos and maaseros, can be purchased provided that special care is taken to ensure that halachos are followed properly. However, during Shemittah absolutely no produce from Eretz Yisroel may be purchased whether they are vegetables prohibited by the issur Sefichin or fruits imbued with kedushas shevi’is. This is because the kedushas shevi’is cannot be realistically maintained in a commercial environment or even at the home of a kosher consumer in Chutz La’aretz who may not be knowledgeable in the intricacies of its laws. Furthermore, the act of exporting produce imbued with kedushas shevi’is is prohibited for two reasons. Firstly, Shemittah produce should not be given to a gentile for consumption.³⁴ Secondly, sending such produce out of Eretz Yisroel is itself degrading and problematic.³⁵ Accordingly, demand for such Shemittah exports should not be sustained by local kosher consumers.³⁶ Fruit and vegetable markets that are under COR supervision are Shemittah free markets and are recommended.

Arba Minim

One area of Shemittah which will be relevant to Jewish people all over the world is Arba Minim from Eretz Yisroel. Since it is literally impossible for Arba Minim to be harvested³⁷ after Rosh Hashana and available for use in Chutz La’aretz two weeks later for Sukkos 5782, the issue will only be of concern next year, for Sukkos 5783.

The general custom is to exempt lulavim and hadassim from the laws of Shemittah so our discussion focuses exclusively on esrogim.³⁸ While there are those who prefer not to use Shemittah esrogim since incessant handling of the esrog may cause it to brown,³⁹ most agree that it is actually preferable to use Shemittah esrogim⁴⁰ and that one need not worry about spoilage that is caused through handling⁴¹ as long as the handling is necessary for the mitzvah.⁴² It is always important to purchase only an esrog that has a reliable hechsher to ensure that it is a pure species and not grafted with a lemon.⁴³ During Shemittah, the need to ensure reliable hashgacha is compounded, since it is important to ensure that the esrog came from an orchard that belonged to a farmer who kept the laws of Shemittah properly. This is because there is a question as to whether the mitzvah can be fulfilled with an esrog that was cultivated improperly during Shemittah.⁴⁴

There are several halachic constraints that esrog dealers must address if they are to provide Shemittah esrogim for Sukkos. As mentioned above, it is questionable whether Shemittah fruit may be exported from Eretz Yisroel in the first place.⁴⁵ Assuming that the exporter follows the ruling that permits this for the sake of the mitzvah of Arba Minim,⁴⁶ a dealer is still prohibited from doing business with an esrog. Furthermore, in many cases, selling to a consumer is complicated as money used for their purchase is d’mai shevi’is. Due to these constraints, esrog dealers have almost no choice but to use the avenue of Otzar Bais Din. Many esrog growers have given their lands over to the Otzar Bais Din for the duration of the Shemittah year for the public need. Everyone on the supply chain, including exporters, importers and dealers are essentially employees of the Otzar Bais Din and may charge a fee that will cover the costs of harvest, transportation and schar tircha. They are not permitted to charge based on the quality and beauty of an individual esrog. It is for this reason that it is common to find esrogim of Otzar Bais Din distributed in closed boxes sealed with the tape of the hechsher attesting to its Otzar Bais Din status.

A second option for the dealer to steer clear of problems is to use the hav’la’ah mechanism which allows him to offer the esrog free of charge with the purchase of the other minim.⁴⁷ Using hav’la’ah to get around the issue of doing business with Shemittah esrogim is the subject of earnest debate and is discouraged by many Poskim.⁴⁸ It is important to realize that the use of either of these mechanisms does not remove its status of kedushas shevi’is.

Shemittah Esrogim after Sukkos

• Shemittah esrogim may not be thrown out while they remain edible, and it is forbidden to cause them to spoil or rot in any way.⁴⁹
• While some people like to pierce their esrogim with cloves to use for besomim on Yom Kippur or for havdalah, this is not permitted for Shemittah esrogim.⁵⁰
• There is an old segula to give the esrog to a pregnant woman after using it for a mitzvah for the last time. She would remove the pitom from the esrog by biting it off as a segula to alleviate the hardships of childbirth.⁵¹ A pregnant woman may not bite the pitom off a Shemittah esrog. Instead, care should be taken to bite only the shoshanta (flower on top of the pitom) or to remove the pitom by hand.⁵²
• It is permitted to make esrog jam from Shemittah esrogim.⁵³ Care must be taken to finish the jam before the time of biur which, according to some opinions, is Chanuka.⁵⁴ The halachos of biur apply only if the jam is made with more than one esrog.⁵⁵ If biur is not performed properly then the jam may not be consumed.⁵⁶
• Some are stringent to send their Shemittah esrog back to Eretz Yisroel after Sukkos to adhere to the opinion that Shemittah produce should not be consumed in Chutz La’aretz.⁵⁷
• An esrog should not be taken out of Eretz Yisroel after Yom Tov to consume in Chutz La’aretz.⁵⁸
• A Shemittah esrog should not be given to a gentile to eat.⁵⁹

If a person has only one Shemittah esrog, he should keep it until it spoils and then place it in a plastic bag and throw it out.⁶⁰ If a person has two or more esrogim, then he must relinquish ownership of the esrogim prior to the time of biur.⁶¹

Vintage 2022 in the GTA

The possibility exists that Israeli wine “Vintage 2022” will appear on the market several years after the completion of the Shemittah year. Throughout the last six-year cycle, on several occasions, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) imported Israeli Vintage 2015 wine which was under the hechsher of an Otzar Bais Din in Israel. This was strongly discouraged since Otzar Bais Din produce has kedushas shevi’is, and it is forbidden to export Shemittah produce.⁶² Furthermore, Shemittah wine must be treated with care and not wasted at all. For example, when using Shemittah wine for havdalah, one must be careful not to allow the cup to spill over and one should not extinguish the flame into spilled wine, as is commonly the custom.⁶³ While those living in Eretz Yisroel are accustomed to eating Shemittah produce in this manner, we, in Chutz La’aretz, are not, and we might mindlessly treat the Shemittah wine inappropriately.

For the first time in many of our lifetimes, during the past year and a half, we have not been able to freely visit Eretz Yisroel and our continued existence in a drawn out galus has become punctuated. The Torah clearly states that a cause of the galus was our nation’s inability to keep Shemittah properly.⁶⁴ In the merit of keeping Shemittah properly, may we finally return to our home in Yerushalayim, with the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash, speedily, in our days.

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