The Institute for Agricultural Research According to the
Torah, with the assistance of the Religious Council of
Jerusalem, recently issued a chart depicting the incidence of
orloh in the summer fruits of 5759. A study of this
chart reveals disconcerting findings which warn against a
sharp rise -- sometimes as high as 35% -- in the incidence of
orloh in this summer's fruits.
Transgressions of the laws of orloh are more likely to
be found in summer than in winter fruits for a number of
reasons. Most citrus fruits, as well as the apples and the
pears which constitute the fruits most prevalent during
winter, do not yield large quantities of produce during their
third year, the critical year for orloh fruits. On the
other hand, due to improved growing methods, by the third
year and sometimes even by the second, many varieties of
trees or vines are now beginning to yield fruit. This is
especially so regarding grapes.
An additional reason for the differences between winter
fruits and summer fruits stems from the intensive efforts
made by the Department for Land Related Laws -- Mitzvos
Hateluyos Bo'oretz -- in the Chief Rabbinate of Israel,
which is guided by the Institute for Agricultural Research
According to the Torah, headed by HaRav Yosef Efrati. This
department has instituted strict procedures which insure that
no fruit which has not been examined in the field by
certified agronomists may enter citrus, apple and pear
packing houses under the supervision of the Rabbinate -- and
this includes nearly all packing houses in the country.
Coupled with the fact that nearly all winter fruits marketed
in Israel pass through packing houses where they are polished
and packaged, leads to the conclusion that there is a low
incidence of orloh in winter fruits.
However, the situation is totally different in summer fruits.
The majority of summer fruits (grapes, peaches, plums, etc.)
do not pass through packing houses, but are packed in the
orchard itself. They are then sent straight to wholesalers or
even to retail stores. In such cases, when the final station
for the consumer -- the retail store -- is not under the
supervision of a responsible rabbinate, the likelihood that
the fruit purchased there bears a chashash of
orloh is far greater.
The Beis Medrash for Halocho in the Settlements and the
Institute for Agriculture Research According to the Torah are
currently the foremost authorities on orloh and
constitute a reliable force in the continuous efforts to
supervise orchards and markets as well as in the marketing of
orloh-free fruits by means of stringent procedures.
This is in addition to guidance and assistance offered to
various kashrus supervision bodies, and to the information
they provide the public at large on the incidence the
importance of increasing of the awareness of the prohibition
of orloh.
To reduce the amount of orloh fruits in the orchards,
an arrangement called "plant nurseries under supervision" has
been instituted. In modern agriculture, plants are first
raised in nurseries and later transplanted to the fields,
once they are fairly mature. According to the halacha,
the count for orloh begins again when they are
transplanted, unless special steps are taken to ensure that
the count it not reset.
Two years ago, Institute heads made an arrangement with
owners of nurseries and orchards who agreed to abide by a
series of halachic guidelines concerning their
seedlings. This would enable them to keep a record of the
seedlings' growth years with reference to orloh while
they are still in the nursery, and then to supervise the
transfer to the orchards and their planting. This would
insure that their age would not to be questioned, and would
not have to be reset at the time of planting in the fields.
Nursery and orchard owners have displayed interest in this
arrangement and the department of "supervised nurseries" has
been growing. 70% of all citrus seedlings are currently under
supervision.
Strict vigilance in the area of halocho observance,
the uniting of all bodies involved in this issue, as well as
the development of mutual trust and viable means of
communication between the supervisors in the area and the
agrarians, constitute the secret of success in this matter.
Currently, agrarians at a number of nonobservant settlements
have begun to follow the example of the religious
settlements, and have decided categorically not to market
orloh fruits.
Recently, the Lachish settlement (which is not religious)
decided not to market any orloh produce. As result of
this decision, approximately 1200 tons (!) of orloh
grapes were destroyed: a phenomenal amount by any measure.
The brand name of this settlement's produce is Tali.
These new measures generate optimism regarding the prospects
of a drastic decrease in the incidence of orloh in
Eretz Yisroel within the coming years.
"We Can't Jeopardize all of the Growers Because of the
Illogical Inflexibility of a Few"
The following are excerpts from a circular sent to farmers in
the Lachish region by the area's marketing center:
"Regarding the issue of kashrus, there is no change in
the marketing policy. We cannot market orloh fruits or
fruits from growers who were not approved by the
Rabbinate.
"At deliberations held on this issue along with the
marketers, in which we summarized the 1998 season, we tried
to define the marketing potential of orloh fruits. We
surveyed all possible sales outlets in the country, including
the territories -- the Arab sector as well as unconventional
markets -- and have reached the conclusion that there is no
marketing channel for this fruit. This was proven during the
recent season by some abortive attempts to market orloh
produce. One must recall that the finding of orloh
produce of one variety of fruit also renders the farmer's
remaining fruits unkosher as well. [Editor's Note: Due to the
administrative and managerial difficulties in supervising the
growing and marketing of fruit, this administrative rule has
been adopted by all supervising bodies in the field of
orloh.]
"In addition, the presence of orloh fruit jeopardizes
all other farmers marketing this fruit along with us, even in
a separate system. This was proven in the season of 1997,
when we suffered heavy financial losses. We cannot place
ourselves in jeopardy or endanger the growers at large due to
the illogical, uneconomical obstinacy of a few. In the 1998
growing season it was proven beyond a doubt that the
observance of kashrus is lucrative. One must simply
regard this as akin to an investment in advertising or sales
promotion and detach oneself from emotional connotations or
fears of religious coercion. It's a simple business
matter.
"This is the decision of the growers at the regional meeting.
I assume that if we had decided to convert all of the
vineyards in Lachish to "biological" or "organic" ones, we
would not consider the dictates of the biological-organic
organization to be coercive, but rather business parameters
that we have chosen to adopt out of financial concerns. I
have distributed to everyone a list enumerating all of the
vineyards registered as orloh (the plantings of 1997).
Whoever has yet to respond, or whoever wishes to comment
about a plot not cited on the report, may do so."
