All sectors of the chareidi community were deeply shocked by
the shameful remarks made this past Sunday (26 Av) by the
Rishon Letzion, Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, in an
interview with the media. His remarks were directed against
maranan verabonon the gedolei Yisroel, in
connection with the dispute over the so-called hetter
mechirah. The Rishon Letzion is making an all-out effort
to thwart attempts to institute shemiras shmitta
kehilchoso for the broad community. He is making these
efforts despite the fact that the gedolei Yisroel have
determined that we must not rely on this hetter at
all, and that relying on it is even a chilul
Hashem.
Last week, it was announced that a far-reaching measure taken
by the Jerusalem Rabbinate Mitzvos Hateluyos Ba'aretz
Department will restrict the reliance of all vegetable store
owners in Yerushalayim supervised by it on the dubious
heter mechirah. The measure is designed to enable the
marketing of agricultural produce free of the problem of
sefichin during Shmitta to the entire Jewish
community.
HaRav Shlomo Shmulevitz, Department director, sent a letter
to all vegetable store owners (that is, including non-
mehadrin), saying that from 3 Tishrei 5761 and onwards,
all retailers marketing produce, even with the "heter
mechirah," will not be able to sell produce to which the
prohibition of sefichin applies. In effect, this makes
it impossible for them to sell any produce whose only basis
for being permissible is the hetter mechirah.
Retailers received charts with the dates when it becomes
necessary to purchase each particular vegetable without
chashash of sefichin. After those dates they
can market produce only: a) from non-Jewish farmers (from
Israeli areas, or from Gaza and Jericho); b) from Jewish
farmers in the Negev, starting from Neot Hakikar and further
south, although some of these places do not observe
shemitta lemehadrin; c) from Jewish farmers who grow
vegetables in arrangements where the plants grow detached
from the land; d) produce from abroad.
This rule will drastically limit the scope of reliance upon
the heter mechirah in Yerushalayim. The clientele of
the stores involved is not chareidi; the goal is to prevent
the sale of sefichin to the general community.
Department personnel said: "The heter mechirah has
absolutely no validity. During the last shemitta,
national religious circles waged war against the Department
for its position against sefichin in not having taken
terumos and ma'asros from those vegetables. But
the current decision to close the retail market to
sefichin vegetables entirely is even more resolute. It
is hoped that we will be able to stand firm against all those
who are already trying to prevent implementation of this
decision."
This positive step is being implemented for the first time in
Israel by the Jerusalem Rabbinate, the first rabbinate in the
country to take such a measure. Rechovot has reportedly also
adopted similar measures.
HaRav Yosef Efrati, Department Rav, established halachic
guidelines for these procedures, and has been aided by Rabbi
Yehoshua Pollack, chairman of the Religious Council. All
rulings were made in accordance with the instructions and
halachic rulings of the pillar of halachic authority, Maran
HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv shlita.
In remarks to Yated Ne'eman on Friday, Rabbi Bakshi-
Doron claimed, among other things: "The decision of the
Yerushalayim Religious Council not to approve the bringing in
of produce was made of its own accord, and has no connection
to the Chief Rabbinate. The issue in Jerusalem . . . is not
over the hetter mechirah, but rather that agricultural
produce in Jerusalem must be purchased only from [certain]
shmitta-observing merchants who have a monopoly and a
cartel, and the supervision is commercial and has nothing to
do with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel."
The Rishon Letzion even falsely used the name of HaRav Shlomo
Zalman Auerbach, zt"l, saying that HaRav Auerbach said that
the hetter mechirah should remain in use for the
general public. On Sunday (26 Av), HaRav Shmuel Auerbach said
in a written statement published in Yated Ne'eman: "We
must protest the false attribution of such a statement to my
father in the wrong fight being waged against those who
support shemiras shmitta kehilchoso."
Rabbi Bakshi-Doron said: "To write that the hetter
mechirah is chucha ve'itlula is an affront to all
of the chief rabbis until today, including the two chief
rabbis who presided in Jerusalem during the past
shmitta."
The Rishon Letzion added: "The prohibition of rechilus
and of machlokes [is far worse] and in an era when
religious and non-religious relations are so strained, it is
impossible to force shmitta upon the public. It can be
done in Jerusalem, where no one will oppose such a measure.
[However] in our times we have to measure our steps prudently
and wisely, and to be more concerned about preventing
chilul Hashem then about sefichin, which is
only a prohibition miderabonon."
These remarks caused deep shock in all sectors of the
chareidi community. Many were deeply perturbed by the words
of the Rishon Letzion, who divulged his attitude toward the
halachic rulings of the gedolei haposkim.
In the wake of the storm which erupted this past Sunday, the
Rishon Letzion was supported and encouraged by rabbis from
the national religious circles, which support the discredited
hetter mechirah.
A firm call to the Rishon Letzion to resign from his position
has also been issued from the chareidi community.
Even before the echoes of the interview which the Rishon
Letzion gave Sunday morning had subsided, the Rishon Letzion
also sent a letter to HaRav Yosef Efrati, the head of the
Produce Department in the Chief Rabbinate, in which he
informed him of the severing of all connection between the
Chief Rabbinate and the Institute for Agricultural Research
According to the Torah which HaRav Efrati heads.
Up to now, the Institute supervised tevel and
orlah throughout the country, and has prevented many
Jews from violating these serious prohibitions. Rabbonim and
public figures were very shocked by the manner in which the
Rishon Letzion undermined the supervision of orlah and
tevel as means of revenge in the struggle on the issue
of shemiras shmitta kehilchoso that is led by HaRav
Efrati.
