At the beginning of the year, we placed a white, decorative box that we bought at IKEA on the kitchen counter. Inside the box, we put a plastic bag, and the kids even hung a sign. They didn’t write ”Shemita Bin,“ because someone told us that wasn’t respectful enough, but instead they illustrated the words ”Seventh Holiness“ in colored markers and even drew a banana next to them.
The bin had a festive name, expecting leftover vegetables from the seventh holy day, and they did arrive from time to time. True, it's more convenient to buy at Rami Levy and Osher Ad, but we searched and found an Otzar Beit Din store, and tried to get tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and more from there.
But alongside the real excitement of eating these vegetables, there were a few other issues: the hassle (”Are the tomatoes on the seventh day of the week holy or not? Come on, hurry up, does anyone know?“), the reminders to the children (”No, don’t spit, don’t throw them on the floor, honey, and why didn’t you finish the cucumber? Okay, I’ll finish it“) and most of all, my forgetfulness, as the father of the family, to take care of this bin. According to the halacha, the holy leftovers on the seventh day of the week holy must be placed in the special bin until they are no longer fit for human consumption. In other words, you have to consciously let them rot a little, and only then throw them away. But you’ll find the exact moment when the fruits rot a little. I personally only remembered them when they had already rotted a lot. A lot. Each time I forgot about this bin, and then a minute before Shabbat I remembered to empty it, when a terrible stench of rotten vegetables was already rising from it (perhaps because that’s really what was inside, rotten vegetables). ”Enough with all this mess. Enough!“ I found myself shouting to my wife one Saturday evening, between sunsets, ”This is one big headache. From now on, just bring normal vegetables!“.
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And why am I describing to you all the biological processes that take place on our marble? Well, last week, on Tu B'Shvat, an event was held in the Jerusalem Botanical Garden to salute farmers who observe the Sabbath, under the title "A Torah Unity Event." The initiator is Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon of Malon Shvut. In recent years, I have heard about so many activities from Rabbi Rimon's seminary that I sometimes think there are several Rabbi Yosef-Zvi Rimonim. How is one person enough for so much? Classes, books, social initiatives. He has already won the President's House Award for 'Tassuktif,' an employment project he established for the people of Gush Katif after the expulsion. This year, he opened a unique Shmita park inside the Botanical Garden, and decided to unite the national-religious public and the ultra-Orthodox public there these days. Precisely in this partisan and divided period, a situation was taking place there in a different spirit.
”I once met a Jew who defined himself as traditional, and yet said he was not willing to leave his city of residence, Bnei Brak, despite his children’s requests,“ began Rabbi Moshe Mendelsohn, the rabbi of the Kommiut settlement. ”That Jew justified his refusal by saying that in Bnei Brak he doesn’t need a calendar to know what the date is. He said that when he goes out into the street and sees planks being collected, he feels like Lag BaOmer. When people are spiritually stressed, the atmosphere is that of the Ten Days of Repentance. When they study Torah all night, it’s a sign that it’s Shavuot. He didn’t want to give up this natural Jewish atmosphere. And the words of that Jew should be applied to these days: When you meet farmers who observe the Sabbath like you – the whole reality screams Shmita. That’s what this year is about. The Sages state that the people of Israel were exiled from the land because of the sin of the shemitah. What is the reason for this? The Holy One, blessed be He, chose the land of Israel as His own and did not give it to others, and once every seven years He observes Shabbat. The destruction of the house comes because we disturbed Him in the midst of His Shabbat. Now, blessed be He, we have returned here from exile. During the days of Aliyah to the land, we sought permits, but today we are making more and more progress. Today there is a Beit Din treasury. What a tremendous experience this is for farmers, and how important it is to strengthen them in the seventh year.“.
Well, let's talk for a moment: The national-religious public mostly eats a sale permit. The ultra-Orthodox public mostly eats foreign crops. And the farmers who go on Shemita to begin with, and with great efforts maintain an Otzar Beit Din – simply fall between the chairs. That is, between the tables. And what is amazing is that both publics (the national-religious and the ultra-Orthodox) know how to fight with dedication for their values when they want to. They know how to dedicate every moment of life to noble ideas. So a little messing with banana peels, is that what is suddenly discouraging everyone? After Rabbi Mendelsohn, Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, the rabbi of Rehovot, spoke, stating that ”the most correct path there is today is the path of an Otzar Beit Din,“ and recounted how Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky had recently encouraged him to do so. ”You have to desire this holiness and not run away from it,“ he said. Rabbi Shmuel Seidman of Gush Etzion also blessed the farmers, as did the Rebbe of Kalive. The Rebbe, a famous Holocaust survivor, sang “Shema Yisrael“ with the farmers (”Seventy years ago in Auschwitz I promised God that wherever I go I will say “Shema Yisrael” with Jews“), and after the joint singing ended, he told them: ’There is nothing greater than what you are doing this year.‘.
The series of speeches was concluded by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, with an original insight that has stayed with me to this day. ”I always thought that the Otzar Beit Din had three advantages,“ he said, ”but it turns out that there are four. The Otzar Beit Din also allows for the observance of Shemitah as it should be, also allows Jewish farmers in Israel to continue to flourish, and also entitles us to the seventh holy day. Normally, there is only holy food in or around the Temple, while the seventh holy day is the only holy food that is found everywhere in the land, and is eaten everywhere by everyone. A holy food that spreads and comes to our homes. This is truly one of the signs of redemption, and this is very moving. Think about it, Maimonides and Rashi wrote so much about the Shemitah, but none of them were privileged to eat a single apple on the seventh holy day – which we were privileged to do. So far, there are three wonderful things about the Otzar Beit Din, but there is also a fourth advantage: the Otzar Beit Din is the way to create unity in Israel. Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook agreed with this, as did the Chazon Yisrael, Rabbi Elyashiv zt“l, and Rabbi Kanievsky shlit“a. How wonderful and not obvious to unite Haredim and Religious Zionists around the same elegant halakhic system.“.
Okay, I thought to myself, I was convinced, I will let all my fields fall and strictly observe Shmita on all the agricultural land I own. I too will be one of the “heroes of power who do their word.“ But wait, I actually don’t have any agricultural land. A maximum of three geranium planters. So maybe from now on I will just agree to put a few rotten and sacred vegetables in the small, somewhat shameful bin on the counter. ”I am repenting,“ I announced to my wife this week, ”from now on – as few normal vegetables as possible!“.
And also: three election comments
• I read that the Zionist Camp party has internal criticism of the campaign. While Bibi is cool, he dresses up as a kindergarten teacher and a babysitter and plays it in entertaining videos, where they just take pictures against the background of the flag and convey seriousness and seriousness. Personally, I would not recommend that Tzipi and Bozhi go for the light and loud pose. On the contrary. Everyone in these elections is trying to be what they are not. Netanyahu, who is considered conservative and official, is trying to prove that he is different. Bozhi should not dress up as a babysitter because the joke will be on him. He should try to dress up as a serious candidate for prime minister.
• Everyone talks about Ohana, no one talks about justice. And justice means talking about Yehudit Shilat. Remember? Along with Ohana's armor, which in the end didn't happen, there was also intervention and a change in the will of the voter. There are parties where primaries are held, and there are parties where the party leader puts together the list alone. Legitimate. But Bennett made an exit here that allows him to enjoy the best of all worlds: both to conduct internal elections, to create a feeling that democracy is celebrating and just say, my brothers and sisters, who do you want to represent you in the Knesset - and also to create a situation in the end where these elections don't have much meaning (not only did no new candidate enter because of the system, but also the voter's desire to see Shilat as the third woman on the list was completely trampled on. Bennett simply pushed candidate Anat Roth up and pushed Shilat out, just because he could). Now everyone remembers to complain about the problematic constitution that was approved by the party's center. A quick Google search led me to one of the criticisms of the constitution. It’s not an original text, many are repeating it these days, but at the time it was written, it was so innovative and even rustic that it completely irritated the mainstream: ”This constitution is not democratic. It leaves too much power in the hands of the chairman, and turns us into a one-man party. It doesn’t give power to the grassroots and it could lead us to a dictatorship and introduce people into our party who are completely opposed to its values.“ Who is the speaker, that is, the prophet? MK Yoni Shtavun, five months ago.
• One of the most senior journalists in Israel, Israel Prize laureate Nahum Barnea, stated on Monday morning this week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs hospitalization. Here is the exact transcript: ”This guy needs hospitalization, his claim is completely crazy, it’s a form of paranoia.“ End of quote. Now let’s try to imagine what would have happened if, say, some Bezalel Smotrich had said on the eve of the disengagement that the Israeli Prime Minister needed hospitalization? They would have already called for an Shin Bet investigation.
• The column is published in the newspaper 'Bisheva''
