Shabbat Parashat Miketz 5784

Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: Preparation for Shemitta – #177 – part III

Date and Place:  1 Tevet 5669 (1908), Yafo 

Recipient: This is a public letter to the residents and farmers of the agricultural settlements of Eretz Yisrael.  

Body: [After presenting the halachic rationale behind the sale, now Rav Kook deals with the practicalities of carrying through the sale and the situation after the sale.]

In order to effectuate the sale of the fields, all who have a share in the ownership and rights of the land and its trees, will need to authorize their sale in a manner that works according to the Torah. Therefore, regarding the honorable and generous Baron Rothschild’s connection to land, we have already received the authorization of his head official, who is empowered to act in any matter [relating to the land]. With Hashem’s help, we will do this for all relevant communal powers who have rights in various fields and vegetation.

 However, in regard to privately owned lands, or fields [with involvement of the community and/or Baron Rothschild] in which individuals also have various rights, we need those individuals or their authorized representatives to sell their parts of the land to the non-Jew or authorize others to so on their behalf. Since such a sale is intricate in its use of halachic principles and details, not everyone can be trusted to do so properly. Therefore, we agreed that all the members of the agricultural settlements in the Holy Land should authorize in writing the members of our beit din to sell all of their fields and trees in the best manner we arrive at. As their agents, we will sell all of the properties in the halachically best manner for selling land in Eretz Yisrael to a non-Jew to remove the stumbling block of the violations of the laws of Shemitta. This is in line with the possibilities that exist within the Torah, which make sense to improve the situation.

Therefore, we are herein sending the authorization contract. We request of you to sign it and request of each moshava’s council to confirm, attest to the signatures of all, signing and stamping that all of their communities’ relevant members or their legal representatives have signed. In that way, we can certify and carry out the valid sale in the best way, removing all stumbling blocks and violations regarding working the land and using the produce, according to the approach that we must use in our times during the upcoming Shemitta year.

Realize that one can rely on the leniency based on sale of the land, which is being done on an ad hoc basis because of the tremendous need, only to keep the moshavot going. It allows the necessary agricultural work and selling the produce as done in normal years. However, regarding things that are not required for survival, e.g., planting gardens for beauty and planting things of little importance, which are not significant for the moshavot’s viability, one should not rely on the leniency, Heaven forbid, as it was given only concerning great need. We should make a remembrance of the Shemitta year to refrain from as much work as we can without eliminating our livelihoods, and certainly from luxuries.

Regarding specifics, there are four categories of strictly forbidden work based on Torah-level law – sowing, harvesting, pruning, and picking fruit. Even after the sale, only non-Jewish workers should do these. Regarding plowing, one always needs to ask a rabbi whether a Jew can do it; it depends on the level of need. If you will have any detailed questions about the halachot of how to act during Shemitta, please let us know, and we will provide, G-d willing, a serious answer, according to our understanding of Torah law.

Any well-off person whose spirit inspires him to fulfill the mitzva of Shemitta without uprooting any laws can present us with any question, which we will try to answer in detail as needed, according to the style and language he needs. I recommend that even such people sign an authorization of sale, for a few reasons.

Rav Kook ends the letter with beautiful wishes for Jewish flourishing in the Land and the fulfillment of all the mitzvot that are connected to the land.

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