Alternatives to Gymnasium and Grafted Etrogim – #286 | Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit | Beit Midrash

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Igrot Hare’aya

קטגוריה משנית

Recipient and Background : The offices of the Mizrachi Center in Frankfurt. This is a response to their letter with questions.

Body : [First I will respond] regarding the gymnasium (Gymnasium Herzliya, an influential irreligious high school in what became Tel Aviv). I do not see benefit from opposing it publicly, as long as it will be only negative opposition. In other words, we would first need to be able to present to the community a school that is equivalent to the gymnasium, so that the only difference between the schools will be that they break the covenant with Hashem and our school will hold with great strength the banner of the light of Hashem and His Torah. The Tachkemoni school, although I, thank G-d, have great regard for it and its leaders, still cannot compete with the gymnasium in several cultural topics. Therefore, we have to be somewhat patient and work unceasingly for the school’s improvement, as we have begun to do, until it is able to provide all that those who choose the gymnasium yearn for. Then we can boldly proclaim that there is no difference between Tachkemoni or our gymnasium and between their gymnasium, other than that the latter uproots our nation’s tree of life, i.e., belief, from the hearts of its students, whereas the former crowns itself in the honor of belief. Then our campaign’s words will be heard. We must immediately prepare our strength for this holy battle, because there is endless benefit from each moment we can do this earlier.
The matter of etrogim is very complicated as I explained in "Etz Hadar." If we make a general advertisement for the etrogim of Eretz Yisrael without distinction, it will not promote the proper fulfillment of the mitzva because there are very many (actually a great majority of the market from Eretz Yisrael), grafted etrogim from non-Jewish orchards in Eretz Yisrael. Kosher etrogim are available only from a small number of our brothers from the moshavot, which are under rabbinical supervision to ensure they are free from grafting. If it would be possible to publicize that not any etrog from Eretz Yisrael is desirable but only the supervised ones from our brothers from the moshavot, then we would attain the goal of strengthening the purity of the mitzva at a time that there is concern that it will unfortunately be lacking because of the many grafted etrogim.
Furthermore, it does not suffice to publicize [that not all etrogim from Eretz Yisrael are kosher] but to also tell all that the consensus of leading rabbis has always been that it is better to spend a lot of money for an etrog that does not look beautiful externally but is unquestionably not grafted than to buy a beautiful grafted etrog. If this truth is publicized, then the matter of kosher etrogim will be strengthened along with the development of the Jewish community of Eretz Yisrael, as Jews will plant etrog orchards when they see that people will buy their produce.
This ongoing work needs constant activity. I have already seen a public advertisement to encourage people to plant kosher etrog orchards and also let our brethren in the Diaspora know the truth about this dear mitzva, which has been slipping from Jewish hands due to the laxness in encouraging Jews to plant their fields with etrogim. I have just held up on publicizing this encouragement because this year is Shemitta, and it is definitely wrong to encourage a project that includes a lot of agricultural work.

Igrot Hare’aya (176)

Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit

185 - Possibilities of Creating Religious Moshavot – #284 – part II

186 - Alternatives to Gymnasium and Grafted Etrogim – #286

187 - A Public Letter on Observance of Shemitta – #287 – part I

As far as buying supervised etrogim during this Shemitta year, certainly the etrogim are not worse than wine and other produce of the Holy Land, regarding which we are compelled to rely on the leniency of selling the land, thus relying on the opinion that Shemitta does not apply to that which is owned by non-Jews. On the other hand, I will not take steps to expand marketing during the Shemitta year. It is more proper to begin with administrative work, which will come to fruition in future years. We are interested in things that are of value in the longer scheme of eternity, not within hours or years.

Igrot Hare’aya