Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio

We know from our parashah that people aren’t allowed to plant, prune, and harvest during the shemittah year (Vayikra 25:5). In Mishnah Shevi’it, almost all other farm work is forbidden, too, including tasks like removing stones or fertilizing soil.

Fruits and vegetables that grow during shemittah are considered to have קְדֻשַּׁת שְׁבִיעִית (kedushat shevi’it, holiness of the seventh year). This means they are only for eating, and should not be wasted. Also, we’re not supposed to buy or sell anything that has kedushat shevi’it (Mishnah Shevi’it 8:3, Yerushalmi Shevi’it 4:7).

This raises a lot of practical questions. What are people in Israel eating? What are farmers doing? Are the grocery stores open?

It’s complicated, and there are different approaches to modern-day shemittah. Here are a few:

Heter Mekhirah: Just like many of us sell our hametz before Pesah to someone who isn’t Jewish, some fields in Israel are sold to a non-Jewish person for shemittah. Once a non-Jew owns the land, whatever grows there can be bought and sold.

Otzar Beit Din: Sometimes a בֵּית דִּין (beit din, rabbinic court) pays farmers to bring produce to people. When you buy this produce, you’re paying the beit din for the cost of paying the farmer for the labor of bringing it to you—but not for the produce itself. This produce still has kedushat shevi’it, so it shouldn’t be wasted.

Produce not connected to the ground: Since the Torah specifically forbids crops that grow in a field, some halakhic authorities believe that hydroponics can be a good solution (R. Yehiel Mikhel Tucazinsky in Sefer Ha-Shemittah, vol 2)! This is a growing method that involves water instead of soil.

Because of these approaches, if you are in a grocery store in Israel this year, it doesn’t feel that different from every other year. But it’s still good to check whatever fruits and vegetables you are buying to find out if they are shemittah-friendly and whether they have kedushat shevi’it.

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