Hello Everyone,
Having reviewed Rav Kook’s attitude towards the renewal of Jewish life in the Land of Israel we can begin to study his “Heter Mechirah”- the suspension of the laws of Shmittah by selling agricultural land to a non-Jew.
The suspension of the laws of Shmittah is based on two premises:
a) the mitzvah of Shmittah in our time is a Rabbinic mitzvah. At some time in our history for some reason the Torah-level obligation to observe Shmittah came to an end.
b) the purchase of land in Israel by a non-Jew abrogates the sanctity of that parcel of land. The mitzvah of Shmittah (such as the other agricultural mitzvot which are known as “mitzvot dependent on the Land) is itself derived from the sanctity of the Land. The fundamental question is whether this sanctity is terminated when the land is no longer owned by a Jew.
Today we will begin to study the various texts from the Talmud which address these premises.