#Shmita

[psychologeek]

Everytime I see those takes I think about Shmita.

I keep forgetting I wanted to ask indigenous ppl in other places if they have laws/rituals/traditions/etc. involving leaving the ground/letting it stay untouched?

(Shmita is a Jewish think. Every 7th year the land should be untouched, except for thing that might be necessary to keep it alive (like watering and stuff).

I'm too tired to fully explain it, but curious.

I read un North America there's the "3 sisters" thing, about planting 3 different plants in the same area.

I'm now curious about culture, agriculture, and religion.

[Image description: a tweet by Twitter user “Kai Heron” (@KaiHeron) that says: "Strengthen Indigenous land rights because they're good stewards of nature" has become a refrain among Western environmentalists. Land Back is vital for Indigenous self-determination and liberation, not because Indigenous peoples do the West a service by conserving nature. /end ID]

Tweet link

[k-star-holic]

'Fatter' Lee Jang-woo "Shmita Coming to an End in 2023"...Not for 10 Years

[morphinomenaljew]

Rare face sighting because I have to show this off.

TRUST THE G-DDAMN PROCESS

[najia-cooks]

[ID: Sweet potatoes with black, charred skin on a decorative plate. One has been opened to show bright orange flesh, sprinkled with sugar. End ID]

بطاطا حلوة مشوية / Batata hiluwa mashwiyya (Roasted sweet potatoes)

Sweet potatoes are considered a traditional and nostalgic food in Palestine—a gift from the land, a seasonal delicacy, a potentially profitable crop, "red gold." Every fall and winter, as they are grilled in taboon ovens throughout Gaza, their smell fills the air.

This recipe uses a method of preparation common in rural Palestine, which applies direct heat to char the potatoes; the black, crackly skin is then peeled off, leaving tender, steaming, sweet flesh with a roasted aroma. The peeled sweet potato is eaten on its own, or sprinkled with sugar.

The recent history of sweet potatoes in Gaza is a microcosm of Israel's economic control of the region during that time. Though they grow well in Gaza's soil, they are a risky commitment for its farmers, as the seeds or seedlings must be imported from Israel at considerable expense (about 40 shekels, or $10, per plantlet), and they need to be weeded every day and irrigated every other day. Water for irrigation is scarce in Gaza, as Israel drains and contaminates much of the supply.

Nevertheless, the crop would be a profitable one if Gazan farmers were allowed to export it. In the shmita year of 2014, for the first time since the Israeli military's deadly 51-day invasion two months prior, restrictions briefly eased to allow Gazans to export some agricultural products to Europe; the first shipment contained 30 tons of sweet potatoes. However, an estimated 90% of the sweet potato crop was at that time unsuitable for export, having been damaged by Israeli shrapnel. The Gazan Ministry of Agriculture estimated that damages of this kind cost the agricultural sector about 550 million USD during this year.

Gazan economist Maher al-Taba’a holds that Israel temporarily allowing export of a token amount of sweet potatoes “is nothing more than media propaganda which is meant to confuse international audiences" by giving the impression that the siege on Gaza was looser than it had been before the 2014 ceasefire agreement; meanwhile, the number of allowed exports had actually decreased since before the invasion occurred. Gazan farmers, in fact, were not even allowed to export produce to Palestinians in the West Bank until 2017.

The next shmita year (an agricultural sabbath during which ultra-Orthodox Jews allow their fields to lie fallow) began in September of 2021, around the same time as the beginning of the sweet potato harvest. In anticipation of the shmita year, and in keeping with the trickle of Gazan exports that had been allowed into Israel in the intervening years, many farmers had planted more than they otherwise would have. But Israel delayed accepting the imports, leading many farmers to throw away rotting produce, or to sell their produce in the local market for far lower prices than they had been expecting.

Israel's habit of closing off Gaza's exports arbitrarily and without notice recurred during the harvest season of 2022. When Israeli former MK Yaakov Litzman called on Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Oded Forer to import sweet potatoes from Gaza due to a shortage of the produce in Israel, Forer refused, citing Israeli soldiers whom Palestinian resistance fighters had taken hostage as rationale for his decision. Other officials were surprised at the linking of an agricultural matter to a political one.

Farmers had no choice but to enter the harvest season hoping that the decision would be reversed and that their time, labor, money, and scarce water resources would not go to waste. With these last-minute decisions that cause Gazan farmers to be unable to fulfill their contracts, Israel damages the future viability of Gazan exports to European markets.

Support Palestinian resistance by calling Elbit System’s (Israel’s primary weapons manufacturer) landlord and donating to Palestine Action’s bail fund.

Equipment:

A fire, wood-burning oven, gas stove, or broiler

A baking sheet

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes. Choose a variety with red or orange skin and orange flesh, such as garnet or jewel.

Sugar, cinnamon, date syrup, or tahina, to serve.

Instructions:

1. Wash sweet potatoes. Place them at the bottom of a taboon oven, or on a baking sheet or griddle laid over a cooking fire or gas burner. You may also place them on a baking sheet or cast-iron pan inside an oven with a broiler setting.

2. Turn the gas burner on medium-high, or the broiler on low. Heat the sweet potatoes, occasionally rotating them, until their skin is blistered and blackened in multiple places and they are tender all the way through.

3. Remove potatoes and allow them to cool slightly. Slice each potato open lengthwise, or peel away its skin, and eat the interior.

Roasted sweet potatoes may be eaten on their own, or sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon-sugar, or drizzled with date syrup, tahina, chocolate sauce, etc.

[shallandavar613]

Following the post earlier this week from @dropoutdottv , I feel it necessary to speak out against their statement and add my voice to the many other Jewish fans that have raised issue with them. Their recent stance that has come out about "platforming zionists" is extremely antisemitic and problematic. As has been mentioned a few times relating to this post, the term ‘Zionist’ is very often used as a slur for Israelis and/or Jews. Responding to accusations of “platforming zionists” with what essentially boils down to “we checked with every Jew to see what their political stance is on a country they may or may not have any connection to, and made sure that they were a Good JewTM who agrees with us” is…troubling to say the least. According to a survey done in June by the AJC, 85% of American Jews feel that it’s important to support Israel in the aftermath of October 7th, not to mention Jews worldwide. To claim that they are “granting grace” for people to grow and educate themselves, heavily implying that Zionism is an outdated belief that Jews should discard is, again, hugely problematic. Additionally, as a streaming platform, coming out and making a claim of genocide is outrageous, especially given the lack of evidence and support of this claim. On the other hand, Hamas and other Palestinian authorities have been open and forthright about their genocidal values, which has gone completely unmentioned. Also unmentioned is every attack Hamas, Hebollah, and Iran have made against Israel, which, if not for the Iron Dome and other protective systems, would have decimated Israeli civilians (as well as the attack which started this war in the first place, which did target civilians, many of whom are still held hostage by Hamas). The truth is, as a comedy show, trying to get involved in or make grandiose statements on any international politics is beyond absurd - a fact dropout seems to understand given its lack of commentary on any other international conflict or affair. This is an obviously complex issue and giving full support to one side of the conflict while outright saying that they would never host Zionists on the platform is just plain and simple antisemitism. Making the situation worse, the wording of the post is highly inflammatory and exacerbates the conflict and current situation by encouraging those who initiated the conflict in the first place to continue trying to exterminate all Zionists rather than lay down their arms and negotiate for peace. Not only is Dropout encouraging this, they are actively supporting organizations that have ties to terrorist groups, such as the UNRWA, which has had multiple members investigated for actively participating in the October 7th massacre, as well as for keeping civilian hostages in their homes. And to tie it all up, there’s the claim of occupation. This is a blatant denial of history, as Jews, historically, have our roots tied to the ancient kingdom of Judea, located in modern day Israel. The Jewish calendar, as well as Jewish law, revolves around the farming seasons of Israel. So much so, that there are some laws that one is only allowed to keep within Israel (see shmita). To now cry “occupation” is to deny Jews the right to live peacefully in a land that we have always had a presence in, even throughout the long years of the Diaspora.

So dropout, I ask you to reconsider your statement. Please, listen to what your Jewish fanbase is telling you. We just need you to listen.

[jewish-microwave-laser]

jews who reject the longing for yerushalayim and eretz yisrael and believe there is no need for a jewish community in that land, i have a question—

what is your relationship with davening? what do you think about when you recite the amidah's texts of longing for redemption to the holy land, or when you shift between asking for dew to asking for rain that occurs on the last day of sukkos, or when you debate shmita (the law to stop agriculture in eretz yisrael every seven years to let the land rest), or other similar things? how do you feel about our religious holidays being tied to the climate cycle of eretz yisrael? is there a tension that you feel, and if so, how have you navigated it?

please feel free to respond to this post or send me an ask or a dm, i'm very interested in what you have to say

[psychologeek]

Ppl saying "it's a Jewish tradition to keep going" =

Ppl saying "it's a black tradition to work in Fields"

(Guess what wasn't legal for those groups?)

Also, The Wandering Jew is an antisemic trope.

So much of Judaism and Jewish laws and culture is based on land and agriculture. We have this complicated calender and schedule about trees and land, from Shmita (1/7) to Ibur Shana (7/19) to Yovel (1/50) and 3 main holidays related to harvest, gather, Bikurim; we celebrate the first blooming trees of Israel - even ppl who's never been there, who never met anyone who's been there, celebrate it.

We have different prayers depends on the season of the year, and we start praying for rain 40 days after our main holidays - to ensure visitors would make it home safely. We know that 2,000 years ago ppl prayed that there won't be floods in the Sharon area, so "The Sharon's ppl homes wouldn't become their graves".

"ועל אנשי השרון היו מתפללים, שלא יהיו בתיהם קברותיהם"

(not an accurate cite)

I'm just.

Sometimes I really can't understand.

(And part of me wonder: why do I even bother?)

[girlactionfigure]

This Israeli farmer is lighting the menorah at the tomb of King David. 👑🕎

In Jewish tradition we learn that when you want to ask someone for a blessing, you shouldn’t go to a righteous person or a rabbi, RATHER, you should go to a farmer that keeps Shmita. 🧑‍🌾🌾

But why❓🤔

NOTE: Shmita is the Jewish law of observance to not farm or tend to the land of Israel in each cycle of 7 years. The numerical value of 7 in Judaism is nature, due to the world being created in 7 days. 🌎 It is also on the 7th day that G-d rested and set a time for the entire world to rest as well (Shabbat).💤 So too, the land of Israel is meant to rest as well to allow it to rejuvenate. 🌱

However, the farmers of Israel know that if they are to keep shmita, that they would not make any profits that year and ALSO for the year to come. 🤯 

This causes farmers to rescind their power and relinquish it, to put their complete trust in G-d. 

The number 8 in Judaism represents miracles because it “one ups” nature. ⬆️ The 8 nights of Chanukah reaffirm this, since the essence of Chanukah is all about miracles. ✨

So too with the farmers that keep shmita. They know that only the year after shmita, year 8, will they start to MAYBE reap the fruits of their labor. 🍇 

This highlights their fervent belief in miracles. 

So… When one receives a blessing from a farmer, they receive it from an individual that lives and breathes miracles. 💨 

How appropriate is it then that a farmer should light the public menorah at King David’s tomb? 👑

The farmers of Israel are now praying for miracles. We encourage you to help them by contributing to save a farm. 🇮🇱 

The agricultural ecosystem is in their hands and due to the impact of the war, their farms are crumbling. 

Israel’s economy depends on these farmers and the farmers depend on donations to help them get back on their feet. 🧑‍🌾

saveafarm

[todaysjewishholiday]

27 Menachem Av 5784 (30-31 August 2024)

Shabbat shalom! Sabado bueno! Gutt shabbos! It is once again Judaism’s holiest and most significant holiday. We welcome shabbat with candles and song and then end our time in this holy temporal sanctuary with a feast for the senses at havdalah: the taste of wine, smell of spices, sight and feel of the multiwicked candle’s flame, and sound of the blessings. May the day of rest help steady you. This particular shabbat is a Shabbat Mevarchim, which is the Shabbat on which we offer a blessing upon the coming month. This blessing is recited in many communities following the Shabbat mourning Torah reading and is as follows:

May the One who performed miracles for our ancestors and delivered them from slavery to freedom, speedily redeem us and gather our dispersed people from the four corners of the earth, uniting all of Israel, and let us say, Amen. (Amen). Rosh Chodesh Elul will be on the third and fourth day of week, which come to us for good. May the Holy One, blessed be HaShem, renew it [the month] for us and for all G-d’s people, the house of Israel, for life and peace (Amen), for gladness and for joy (Amen), for deliverance and for consolation, and let us say, Amen. (Amen)

The practice of blessing the coming month helps situate us in time and in the cycle of the seasons created by the turning of the earth and the interlocking orbital dance of sun, earth, and moon. It offers us an opportunity to look forward to and prepare our kavanah for the upcoming lunar cycle and its special observances and commemorations. And blessing gives us an opportunity for profound gratitude for the moment we find ourselves present in now and lets us collectively express our wish for future healing and joy. May the coming month of Elul be to you for good!

The parashat hashavua is Re’eh in Devarim, which offers an overview of some of the most foundational mitzvot of the Torah in preparation for the ritual of blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. The prohibition on idolatry, the principles of kashrus, the cycle of the shmita and yovel years, and the core pilgrimage festivals are all reviewed for the whole community. Moshe offers special attention to the duty of tzedekah — for those with surplus to share with those who don’t have enough. Moshe emphasizes that the halakhically enumerated tithes and debt cancellation aren’t enough:

For there will never cease to be those in need in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kindred in your land.

The haftarah is another passage of comfort to the exiled Israelites from Yeshayahu haNavi, assuring them of HaShem’s love and abundant generosity. Like the Torah portion, it emphasizes that G-d provides for all of our needs without expecting payment. The least we can do is take care of each other.

Just a few days remain in the month of Av. Then we will enter Elul, the preparatory month for the high holy days, during which it is said that our divine sovereign comes down from the heavenly throne and joins us in the field of our daily lives. With HaShem coming close to us it is easier in this season for us to draw close to HaShem, if we wish to do so. Elul is a time to consider what we’ve learned in the past year— what we’ve done right and where we’ve gone wrong— and to seek guidance as we move forward into a new Hebrew year and offer our accounting on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.

[daloy-politsey]

A proposal for Shmita in the age of collapse: Quit your job. Cut holes in fences. Forgive everyone everything—except the agents of “progress,” who squeeze the world into a grid and don’t care who or what they crush. Befriend your neighbors: human, plant, and animal. Trade the mechanical time of clocks for the living time of the sun, the moon, the seasons. Sabotage all that sabotages your life. Block the roads. Destroy work, by flood or by fire. Steal everything that should be free, which is to say: everything. Don’t get caught. Learn what you desire and seize it, even if at first the pleasure frightens you. Breathe deeply, love frontally, attack anything that tries to deny you that power. Start now. 

Shmita Means Total Destroy: A manifesto from the threatened Atlanta forest

[ofpd]

i'm trying to read the parsha and i really want to learn more about how shmita & yovel actually operate in both ancient and modern israel but idk how to find this out

[magnetothemagnificent]

When talking about kosher food, is there anything about how crops are raised that would make it not kosher? I kinda assumed that kosher also included like ethics of obtaining foods, but recently had to look it up again and there was nothing about anything other than animal products.

Kind of.

A few points:

-Produce grown in Israel during the Shmita year is subject to restrictions on if it is allowed to be eaten and how. Obviously not everyone in Israel is Jewish or is observant, so produce is still grown in Israel during Shmita. However, there are restrictions on if an observant Jew can eat that food or benefit from it.

-Produce grown in Israel cannot be eaten or benefitted from if it is the product of grafting between two species or of plants of different species grown in too close proximity to each other.

-All produce must be checked for bugs, with varying levels depending on the kind of produce it is. Produce that is more susceptible to containing bugs, such as leafy greens or berries, must be thoroughly washed multiple times and inspected before consumption.

-Some more stringent Jews are also careful about produce that is coated in wax when sold, and are careful to wash all the wax off.

-For Pesach, it's a whole different ball-game. Wheat used for matzah on Pesach must not have come in contact with water from the point of harvest. Produce must not have been packed with grains. Extra-stringent Jews will even avoid certain produce and peel all other produce on Pesach for fear of Chametz contamination. The Halakhot of Pesach are far more strict and far more complex than "regular" kashrut.

[krindor]

Another example is the shmita year (letting fields lay fallow one in every seven years).

Cereals drain nitrogen from soil, and legumes replenish them, and people in the Middle East had been rotating planting crops in a field between the two since at least 6000 bce.

However, leaving fields fallow for a time also helps them replenish, as later systems such as the European three-field system show (x)

Biblical law often works in broad strokes, so the suggestion of “don’t farm a field once every 7 years” became a national ban on farming once every 7 years, possibly also because the rabbis weren’t farmers.

listen to me very very closely: the biblical prohibition against mixing linen and wool is the most SENSIBLE THING IN THE WORLD, do not write it off as silly, unreasonable, or unnecessary. g-d didn’t tell us not to mix linen and wool for no reason, g-d told us not to mix linen and wool together because mixing them is an affront to textiles

[real-shul-stories]

caller: I have a question about shmita (gap year for harvests to let the fields rest). Is it the same year for everyone, or can I pick my own year?

me: it's. on a set cycle, so it's the same for everyone

her: ok. and do i have to let all my fields rest, or just part of them?

me: i think all of them?

her: huh. i think that's insane but ok

me, internally: do you have fields?????

[mmhaber]

Shmita in Kefar Chabad, Etrog orchard left untended.