Israeli Zionist Rabbis Threaten Split Over Sabbatical Farming Rules

In Israel, disagreements among Orthodox rabbis on whether to recognize a legal loophole that permits Jewish farmers to continue to grow crops on their land during the current Sabbatical year threatens to split the official Chief Rabbinate. Yesterday's Jerusalem Post reports that Tzohar, a group of religious Zionist rabbis, has rebelled against the strict interpretation adopted by the Chief Rabbinate and has announced it will set up an alternative supervisory organization to certify foods grown in Israel by Jewish farmers who have technically "sold" their fields to non-Jews for the Sabbatical year. Many authorities recognize this as a way to get around the religious requirement that Jewish fields in Israel must lie fallow for the year. Recognizing the loophole-- known as heter mechira-- is necessary to prevent many farmers from financial ruin. However, Rabbi Moshe Rauchverger, a member of the Chief Rabbinate's governing council, said that Tzohar's move threatened to break the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly on furnishing religious services. He said, "If Tzohar starts providing kosher supervision, what is to stop Reform and Conservative from doing the same?" (See prior related posting.)