The Kefiya Rabbis are attacked in Jordan

[edu]

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2014/11/why-are-these-rabbis-wearing-keffiyehs.html#.VYE6KvmqpBc

Every seven years, the Torah commands that land that belongs to Jews in Israel not be sowed or harvested. This mitzvah is known as shmitah. When modern religious Zionists started farming, they came up with a legal fiction/loophole of selling the land to a non-Jew to be able to continue to work the land and sell the produce.

This year is a shmittah year.

In more recent decades, many haredi Jews decided they didn't want to use this loophole any more, so they essentially do not farm - or buy - produce of Israel during this year.

These rabbis struck agreements with dozens of Jordanian farmers to buy produce from them this year. They have been going there every month or so to inspect the crops. But the Jordanian authorities as well as Israeli police told them, for their own safety, not to walk around the kingdom looking like rabbis, especially with the Muslim Brotherhood being active in the kingdom. Wearing the keffiyeh makes them look a bit like village elders, so it is a reasonable disguise.

Arab newspapers  around Rosh Hashanah, but Israel's Kikar HaShabbat had a story on it this week that was picked up by more Arab media.

One comment on the article above. There are Haredi Jews that were always against the solution of selling the land to non-Jews for the Shmitta year. It isn't a recent thing.
In normal situations it is a violation of the Torah selling the land of Israel to a non-Jew.

I hold the above Haredi solution for shmitta is a big violation of halacha.
A Jew is not supposed to dress up in clothing uniquely identified with a Gentile nation for economic reasons. I consider it economic because they could have found other solutions for the vegetables they wanted. Nothing was forcing them to trade with Jordan.
Also Jordan is a Hamas supporting enemy. Why endanger the life of Kashrut supervisors and aid the economy of the enemy?
In any case the following Hebrew article said:
Some of these supervisors were attacked as part of a labor dispute in Jordan to put pressure on one of the sides
http://www.93fm.co.il/radio/205921/

[Yerusha]

This year the Israeli Rabbinate sold the Land to a Ger Toshav rather than to a Goy!





Quasi Kahanist R.Eliezer Melamed's defence of the Heter Mechira as currently being preferable to all other Halachic options!:


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/17080#.VYFPzpsw_n4

Heter Mechira

Rav Eliyahu believed that we have to use the heter mechira, otherwise, we encounter even larger halakhic difficulties.

 And even if one wants to make use of the solution of Otzar Beit Din, he must combine it with the heter mechira, as he explained at length in his book ‘Ma’amar Mordechai,’ chapter 21.

Concerning the status of the Southern Arava and Eilat in the shmitta year, he ruled that they are included in the borders of ‘olei Mitzrayim’, and consequently, the fruits that grow there have the sanctity of kedushat shevi’it, and that it is forbidden to work there in the fields without the heter mechira.

Regarding Those who Attack the Heter Mechira

In a number of recent articles I clarified the halakhic fundamentals of heter mechira.

There were some readers who attacked me on how I presented the issue. They are accustomed to the heter mechira being written about from an apologetic and self-justifying angle, whereas I place it on the high road, while raising serious questions regarding the opinions of those who dissent, who gathered all the machmir (stringent) opinions in order to prohibit the heter. Not only that, but many of them boycott the heter mechira fruits, in stark contrast to the rules of halakha, because only if they consider the opinions of those who permit the heter null and void, can it be said that the fruits are forbidden. But anyone who considers the opinion of those who permit the heter as being legitimate, has no halakhic foundation to prohibit eating fruits from the heter mechira.

Indeed, one of the most prominent features on the way this issue is presented is that those who permit the heter were inclined to conduct themselves with modesty and piety, and out of respect for stringent opinion, presenting the two opinions as equal (see, for example, in the book of Rabbi Tikochinsky ‘Sefer HaShmitta’, and Rabbi Zevin’s ‘L’Or HaHalakha’). In this way, they followed in the footsteps of Rav Kook ztz”l, who conducted himself personally with excessive piety. Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu ztz”l also acted in this same manner, and would interpret the verse “b’charish u’ve’katzir tishbot” (‘even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest’) with a play on words: one should remain silent (‘charish‘ also means to be silent) on debates concerning shmitta, but if one must speak, do it briefly (‘katzir‘, in Hebrew can also mean ‘to make short’).

On the other hand, however, many of the machmirim, especially in recent times, tended to disqualify the position of rabbis who permitted using the heter mechira and humiliate them, even labeling them in extremely harsh terms such as heretics, destroyer’s of the Torah, etc., thus severely undermining the rules of proper debate among Torah scholars. And since the words of those who permit the heter are based on the foundations of Torah and the mitzvoth of yishuv ha’aretz (settling the Land), the machmirim, in their crusade, dragged themselves into disrespecting the honor of the Torah and the Gedolei Ha’dor (eminent Torah scholars), and the sanctity of settling the Land.

And since truth must seek redress for its insult, we are obligated to clarify the issue properly, without overly paying homage to the machmirim, rather, to criticize them honestly about not having treated this issue as was customary in Judaism for generations.

Thank You, Rabbi Yehoshua Ben-Meir shlita

In this matter we must give a big “thank you” to Rabbi Yehoshua Ben-Meir shlita, head of the halakha and research institute of Yeshiva Shvut Israel.

For years he has been awakening the public, both in his writings and lectures, to understand the necessity and importance of the heter mechira, and frequently protests against those who disagree to include it within the Mehadrin hechsher.

Truthfully speaking, I was also somewhat influenced by the harsh propaganda against the heter mechira. Of course I knew that it was valid and well-founded, for indeed, the Gedloei Yisrael determined it, led by Maran HaRav Kook ztz”l. Nevertheless, I thought it was bediavad (acceptable after the fact). It should be noted that this also can be understood from the words of Rav Kook, who often emits a ‘sigh’ in his halakhic answers and letters concerning the need for the heter. However, he did this out of his piety and holiness, for he tended personally to be machmir and l’ha’dare (enhance) any mitzvah possible. Therefore, only when the heter was strongly attacked, did he respond and explain that it is very well-founded, and that in truth, it could have been far more lenient.

Now, after having studied the issue in depth, I realize that today, the heter is l’chatchila (best from the outset), and to a large extent, leans towards being a chumra (exceeding the bare requirement of halakha). In any case, all other halakhic approaches are inferior, because they harm the mitzvoth of yishuv ha’aretz, the livelihood of farmers, and other mitzvoth and halakhot. A great deal of honor goes to Rabbi Yehoshua Ben-Meir, who encouraged and reinforces this matter.

Part II: The Honor of the Torah and the Nation in the IDF

Unfortunately, IDF commanders failed in their handling of the painful affair of the soldier who ate pork publicly, while offering it to his friends.

It is sad that they do not realize the affront their position reveals .

This of course adds to the Military Rabbinate’s decline in status, and its exclusion from the public sphere of the IDF, to dealing solely with religious soldiers and the practical details of Jewish law (that decision has been rescinded after protest, ed.)

This is an opportunity to commend the former Chief Military Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Weiss, who, out of a sense of responsibility, having been a past IDF Chief Rabbi, led a media campaign in which he criticized the army commanders, and explained on various radio and television stations, with logic and emotion, the gravity of the act and the obligation to guard the Jewish identity of the army.

Let’s hope the elected officials who took a moral stand on this issue will know how to act properly to correct the situation and return Jewish values to the public sphere of the army, and also demand an apology from the commanders who cancelled the soldier’s punishment without his apologizing publicly for the insult he caused the honor of Israel and its Torah.

And if he does not apologize, they should demand that his original sentence be reinstated. Hopefully, there will be some journalists with a sense of Jewish pride to monitor the story, who can inform us of how the matter is handled.

[mord]

Those Jordanian Police must be thinking these guys are the nuttiest guys i have ever seen