"The heter mechirah is not worth anything, in every aspect,
and those who rely on it are misguided and have nothing upon
which to rely." These were the words of HaRav Chaim
Kanievsky in a rare interview in his home with the Musaf
Shabbos Kodesh of Yated Ne'eman staff regarding the laws of
Shmittah which will appear in this upcoming Erev Shabbos
edition. The talk revolved around the publication of the new
work, Siach Hashmittah, a treasury of all the
halachic decisions on Shmittah culled from his words,
letters and practices, and his major work, Derech
Emunah.
At the onset of this interview, he said, "Chazal stated that
Moshiach (Ben David) will come following the Seventh year.
The Chazon Ish often said that this is contingent upon Jews
studying and knowing thoroughly its laws, for if not, it
cannot be said that the Shmittah had even come since nothing
was done for its sake."
As for the possibility of observing the mitzvah of Shmittah
in practice for those who live in Eretz Yisrael but do not
own any land, HaRav Chaim said, "Whoever lives in an
apartment with a yard where he can plant things but refrains
from doing so, is observing the commandment of leaving the
land fallow. And if he doesn't have a patch of ground, he
can fulfill the mitzvah of Shmittah in his home as well, for
he can have plants in perforated flower pots and keep the
relevant laws accordingly."
In the course of the discussion, he related to the Keren
Hashevi'is organization which assists many Shmittah-
observing farmers. He said that whoever donates to this fund
also has a share in the farmers' fulfillment, like a
Yissochor— Zevulun relationship. He was asked if this
was a partnership rather than merely a donation to the
needy, the farmer in this case. He replied that by
supporting the Keren, one is performing two things: "Whoever
donates merits helping the farmers and also gains a
partnership share in the mitzvah of shevi'is." As for
priorities in tzedokoh, he added that "during Shmittah, they
have preference and one can give them ma'aser funds."
