Halachos/Laws Eretz Yisrael The Laws of Shemitah Part 2 | The Laws of Shemitah Part 2 |
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Selling Produce with Shemitah Sanctity
S hvi'is produce that is permitted to be eaten but has sanctity (kedusha) may not be sold in its usual way. That is, it may not be displayed in one's regular stall or place in the market, or in its usual (large) quantities. Nor may it be sold by precise measure, weight, or count, or in its customary packaging unit. Quantities, however, may be roughly estimated.
24. When shvi'is produce is sold, the produce retains its sanctity and the purchase meoney also becomes holy. Money having shvi'is kedusha must be put aside and used only to purchase something edible (not necessarily produce), which, in turn, must be treated with sanctity. After this second purchase, however, the money loses its sanctity. 25. If the shvi'is money is exchanged for other money (e.g. 20 shekel bills for change or vice versa), the original money loses sanctity, and the "new" money becomes sanctified in its stead, ad infinitum. Therefore, green grocers or fuit stand owners, whose cash box holds sanctified bills and coins, exchange their money to remove its holiness. They set aside a special coin for exchanging shvi'is money and say every day: "And money or other exchange for shvi'is fruits that is now in my possession is exchanged for the value of a prutah in this coin." After the coin has been used as many times as the number of prutos it is worth, they use the coin to buy food, which eis eaten in accordance with shvi'is sanctity. (A prutah has the value of 0.025 grams of pure silver, today worth about one US cent or somewhat less than NIS 0.05 and which fluctuates with the commodity market.) 26. According to most authorities, shvi'is sanctity only falls on currency and not on checks written to pay for produce (as these are considered a form of IOU or credit purchase). See #27. 27. When you buy shvi'is produce on credit, the money you pay later has no sanctity. See also #26. 28. Money that becomes sanctified may not be given to a person who will not use it in accordance with its kedushah. Therefore, when buying from an unknown seller, it is preferable that produce with kedushas shvi'is is bought by check or with a credit card, or together with produce having no kedushah (where one can consider the purchase money as being given for the non holy items and the shvi'is products as being "thrown in" with the deal (Hebrew: havlo'ah)). Some, however, buy shvi'is products normally, irrespective of the seller; where there is no alternative, this opinion may be relied upon. Treating Produce with Shemitah Sanctity29. Shvi'is produce may not be destroyed, and may therefore not be altered from its natural form unless that is the manner in which it is usually used. Thus, produce eaten raw may not be cooked, and vice versa. Produce eaten either raw or cooked is permitted to be consumed either way. 30. Shv'is produce may not be pureed or shredded. But fruits and vegetables normally purred or shredded (tomatoes, carrots, apples, potatoes, bananas, etc.), may be so prepared. Similarly, fruits normally not pressed may not be squeezed for juice. But those normally squeezed (grapes, olives, oranges, grapefruits, etc.) may be so treated. 31. Peeling may be carried out normally. 32. Children should be watched to ensure that they do not abuse or waste shvi'is produce. 33. Leftover food (beyond the residues normally remaining on the dishes, which are washed away as usual) may not be thrown away in a manner that directly destroys or spoils it -- i.e., throwing it directly in to the garbage pail or disposal unit. Leftovers should be wrapped in paper (or in a plastic bag) and placed with the garbage so that they are not spoiled or destroyed directly but allowed to rot. When the food has rotted and is no longer fit for human or animal use, it may be thrown away as usual. 34. Edible skins and pits or inedible shells and pits to which edible food is attached may not be destroyed, but must be treated as described in #33. Some authorities treat orange peels (which are in fact edible) leniently as they are normally thrown away. 35. Food flavored by shvi'is produce must be treated with kedusha. 36. Edible shvi'is food is not fed to animals or birds, nor may we give it to non-Jews, except for hired workers.
Biur: Removing Products with Shemitah Sanctity from the house38. Shvi'is produce of a particular species must be removed from the house when that crop is no longer available in the fields. The produce is taken in to the street and declared ownerless (hefker) before three people (even if they are friends who will not take it); you may then repossess it. 39. Be sure to fulfill the mitzvah of bi'ur on time with respect to canned products, juices, and dried fruits. 40. Sanctified money must also be removed at time of bi'ur. 41. Whatever must undergo bi'ur, but was not removed at the right time, may not be eaten and must be destroyed. Therefore, people who buy shvi'is produce from a Jew who does not observe shvi'is may not do so after bi'ur time. 42. According to Jerusalem custom, the laws of bi'ur do not apply to produce of gentiles. According to the Chazon Ish, they do apply. Nevertheless, even according to the latter opinion, if the produce was in the gentile's possession at the bi'ur time, it does not become automatically prohibited. The Jew is required to fulfill the mitzvah of bi'ur as soon as he acquires it. If he fails to do this immediately, it then becomes forbidden. The relevant dates when produce of various Shemitah fruits and vegetables begin to appear in the markets in Eretz Yisroel and the dates by which bi'ur must be performed are issued by the various Rabbinical courts. You may also contact the Religious Consumers Association, PO Box 69, Bnei Brak. This article is printed on the Yad L'Achim Wall Calendar Tammuz 5767. Subscriptions may be obtained at Yad L'Achim, 579 Fifth Avenue, Room 1420, New York, NY 10017. Tel # 800 709-2005 For UK and Europe contact the Manchester office at Yad L'Achim, 114 Leicester Road, Salford M7 4GF, Manchester, England, Tel (0161) 740-9993 
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Because the coming year 5768 is a Shemitah year, in which the Torah commands us to let the Land of Israel lie fallow, we present here the second and last installment of a 2-part review of some of the laws applying to this special year.
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37. Shvi'is produce may not be exported from Eretz Yisro'el. Some permit the exporting of an esrog, provided that the purchase is told to treat it with kedushah (Esrog is an exception to the general rule regarding sfruits in the Shmitah year. Because esrog trees are irrigated like vegetables, if the fruit is picked after Rosh Hashana, 5768, it must be treated with sanctity (see #18). However, most of the esrogim sold abroad in 5767-68 have no kedushah. Those from ERetz Yisroel to be sold in Tishrei 5769 will all have kedushah.
Jewish Wisdom
If a commandment comes your way, don't delay. -- Mechilta Bo
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