Word: shemittah
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Under a Canopy. Shemittah, so Orthodox Jews believe, is a commandment from the Lord, although Biblical critics believe that the custom originated as a primitive means of crop rotation. "For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield," God ordered Moses in Exodus. "But the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow." Normally, Israel's substantial minority of Orthodox Jews transfer their property through the chief rabbinate to an accommodating Arab. Because of pressure from religious parties, the Israeli government ordered the rabbinate to sell all public lands as well...
Some Jews have found more ingenious solutions. One Orthodox kibbutz near Tel Aviv turns to hydroponic farming during Shemittah: seeds are planted in 90-ft.-long gravel-filled concrete plots, where they are chemically treated until the year is out. Although the method is expensive, the plants grow bigger than they do in ordinary soil. Another farm grows its crops in chemically-treated straw. Less scrupulous kibbutzim get around the prohibition against planting during Shemittah by covering their tractors with canopies; according to one tortuous rabbinical interpretation, planting is legal if it is done inside an enclosure. Horrified...
Five-Hour Day. At a recent conference on the subject, a surprising number of young rabbis spoke up to argue that Shemittah is so fraught with sham that the rules should be drastically modernized. One Orthodox farmer suggested that a corner of a field be left fallow as a symbolic reminder. Since the purpose of Shemittah is to allow more time for study and prayer, said another rabbi, the law could be fulfilled by limiting farm work to a five-hour...
Many Israelis hope that such pressure from modern-minded young Orthodox Jews will eventually bring some modifications of these Shemittah observances. "We really have no solution," admits one officer of the rabbinate."Maybe it's best to be quiet about it and wait for the Messiah to come and put things right...
...Another Shemittah rule, which applies to Jews everywhere, requires the cancellation of debts at the end of the sabbatical year. For centuries Jews have got around this by turning the debts owed them over to a religious court by means of a declaration called a prosbul (Greek for "before the council"). According to the rabbis, it is lawful for courts to collect debts even though individuals cannot...