Israel, shmittah year issues.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 12:04 pm

HELP! We really want to visit Israel this year, but DH is freaking out about this being a shmittah year. I don't understand it very well, so I can't be of much help.

DH is super machmir about it, and I'm working how people who live there are getting by. I don't mean in your home, but what about hotels and restaurants? Do you go in the kitchen and check every little thing? Do you trust how they bought their produce, from whom, what they do with the peels, etc?

If you have suggestions for a Pesach hotel that is super machmir, non gebrocts, mehadrin, I'd love to hear about that, too.

At wits end

It's so complicated!

amother

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 12:23 pm

Well we only eat in mehadrim places. We many times check the sign to make sure that it's not heter mechira- justin case.
But really- otherwise it's all the same.
We buy in mehadrim places as well.
It's actualy easier when you eat out because you dont have to think of throwing out the peals (sp?) and stuff like that.
Dont worry about it! Tell him to relax.
I dont know much about hotels though- sorry...
Good luck !

Iymnok

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 12:37 pm

The easiest way to avoid all problems is to only get chu"l. Fruits will not be an issue yet, they are still from the 6th year.
There are 4 options that the vegetables are:
Yibol chu"l- grown outside of Eretz Yisroel
Yibol nochri- grown by non Jews, usually Arabs
Otzer beis din- a system in which fields are left, the fruit it's harvested and brought to consumers, but the payment is not for the produce, rather for the effort to get it.(harvesters, drivers, packers etc.). It should be sold at a flat rate rather than being weighed.
Heter mechira -produce from fields owned by Jews and sold for the year to non Jews. Somewhat similar to the chometz sale.

If your DH is machmir, stay far from heter mechira.

There are also 2 views on what it's called kedusha shevi'is. Minhag
Yerushalayim, and Chazon Ish.
You'll have to figure out which you'll go by.

etky

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 12:53 pm

Iymnok wrote:

There's also yivul shishit for lots of veggies still.
Also matza menutak (detached growing beds) or gidulay mayim (hydroponically grown produce).
Also produce from areas within the boundaries of Olay Mitzrayim - sometimes called heter mechira lechumrah- which is a grey area in terms of kedushat shviit.
And otzar beit din is not a homogenous category either- there's Otzar Ha'aretz and at least one otzar beit din that is under haredi auspices.