B"H
Hello Everyone and Shavuah Tov,
Here is a story I have to tell you - my own experience this past Friday, 5 AM, as I was joyfully returning to ERETZ YISRAEL after having attended a beautiful family wedding in Antwerp, Belgium.
My trip to and from Antwerp was not without mishaps. On the way there, I was lucky to find my nephew by marriage on the plane, going to the same Simcha. To elaborate, and because this is relevant to the story, this wonderful nephew of mine is a scion of a world famous rabbinical dynasty, and as such walks around looking very noticeably Jewish and Haredi, complete with black hat, black suit, black coat, white shirt, Tsitsit, the works; there is no mistaking him for anything else than what he is, a Torahdige Jew. While I, on the other hand, have been told that I could pass for a GERMAN! ( not exactly a compliment, mind you!).
So when I travel on my own, nobody ever harasses me. But this time, since we were traveling together, I got a chance to experience life as it is felt day to day by the Haredi world, men and women alike.
First of all, at the airport gate in Budapest, some very nasty "Nazinéni" decided to bump us off our connecting flight, even though there was plenty of time to catch it. At the desk, another charming Arrow Cross granddaughter rudely refused to help us, even though we pleaded that we had to arrive on time for a Chuppa. Not until I loudly confronted the crew about their antisemitism did one other, less bigoted, Hungarian staffer decide to make arrangements for our trip; until we finally departed, notwithstanding a trip many hours longer and more convoluted than planned.
As we were traveling back to Eretz Yisrael the next evening on the same flight, again we shared experiences. This time the highlight was on our return to our beloved Holy Land. HOLY LAND, TREIFE MEDINE! Or should I say, MEDINAS HAKOIFRIM?
I have to mention that while in Belgium, I decided to buy some vegetables to take home with me. The reason is, because of Shemittah, I only buy Otsar Haaretz and Matsa Menutak produce, as I don't want to buy either Arab produce, or Heter Mechirah, which to me seems to be one big fraud - trying to defraud Hakadosh Baruch Huh doesn't work! Most Haredi Rabbonim agree with this , and forbid Heter Mechirah produce, while permitting Arab produce. I , on the other hand, have no intention of giving parnassah to the murderers, so I am left with Otzar Haaretz and Matsa Menutak, which has its detractors as well, but is the best solution I can think of. And unfortunately, the selection of vegetables is not the most varied in the world.
So my plan was, while in Belgium, I would stock up on some nice vegetables not to be found here. Apparently a lot of Haredi families do the same thing, for the same reasons. While at the Chuppa, the mother of my nephew, who also lives in Jerusalem, mentioned to me that some other member of her family had had her produce confiscated at the border by the Israeli authorities. Well, since I felt I certainly was in my Torah right to bring the vegetables to Israel, I decided to buy some anyway, and hopefully they would pass!
As I passed though customs, as usual , I was let through without any problems ( German looking, non Haredi woman, remember?). My dear nephew, however, was another story. As a very noticeable Haredi, he immediately attracted NEGATIVE attention from the guys at the door, who called him aside and started going through his luggage.
I didn't want to abandon him during his trial, I felt that was a betrayal of a Jew victimized for his religion, so I waited for him patiently at the gate, very clearly showing my association with him.
Before I knew it, one of the men called me aside:""Geveret, gam lach yeish yerakot?"" Lady, did you also bring vegetables? I didn't deny it. Immediately, he confiscated the gorgeous parsnips I had brought from Belgium, the endives, the leeks - all delicious components of my coming Shabbat meal.
I then saw the round, fat, enormous celery root they had taken from Sh.-H, my nephew.
PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT THE CONTENT OF THE DISCUSSION WAS, SO YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT MY POINT IS, AND WHY I AM TELLING YOU THIS STORY. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.
I protested loudly, using the following arguments:
The first one had to do with the Shemittah itself :
I explained that I don't hold by Heter Mechira, and that I don't want to buy from the Arabs, therefore there is not much choice in my diet. The response I got was overwhelming. One of the two men, an obviously Chiloni ( secular ) man, started ranting that :
he is from the Ministry of Agriculture,
- that he knows ALL about Shemittah, as he studied it as a child ( I retorded:"" What good is your knowledge if you obviously don't observe the laws."' ),
- that he learnt ( at the time of the TZENA, he admitted himself) that Heter Mechira is permitted, how dare I not accept it ( to which I retorted that what was, is not anymore, an argument he didn't want to hear), declaring that
- I am a terrible sinner, because I am using religion for my own purposes!
- And that Judaism is a very difficult religion, the most difficult religion of all. (What does that have to do with our discussion? Is it just a convenient way to change the subject so he doesn't have to listen to me?)
My second argument had to do with the fact that Israeli agriculture was BUILT on imports from all different countries, for example what with Australian eucalyptuses?
To which, right away, he had his line ready:
- Do you know what happens if you bring produce to Australia? They charge you 400 AU $ and send you home.
(I have no way of confirming his statements, since I have never visited there, but meanwhile he masterfully avoided my point, that THEY TOO brought all kinds of plants to Israel, when it was convenient to them).
The other man attacked me verbally as well:
- That in America they fine you $400 if they find something (Actually, it is not true. I was stopped once for having some food, all I got was a warning, no fine.).
To which I replied that when you arrive in the US, they distribute a form to EVERYBODY, on which it is very clearly spelled out that it is forbidden to bring fruits and vegetables to the US, whereas upon arriving in Israel, Israelis are not told not to bring produce, and therefore ,not being warned, it is no crime to bring some.
- That it is damaging to the Israeli agriculture to bring produce, as it can bring insects ( Oh really? So the exact same iris bulbs I buy at the greenhouse in Jerusalem for double the price have less bugs than the ones I buy in Europe, a first world country? Give me a break! Now maybe it is damaging to the Israeli farmers' pocketbooks,the ones that don't keep Shemittah, that I won't deny!)
By the way. they took both our passports, and we had to sign official forms.. As I was stalling, still debating, the second man simply wrote: "refuses to sign"" on the form instead of my signature.
My nephew then told me that since the Shemittah year, they have been cracking down on people, whereas in the past, they never did. That these enforcements seem to have been made specially for this Shemittah year, and specially on Haredi people. And not only that, but that since the beginning of the Shemittah year, and because the government knows that Haredim will not eat the Heter Mechira produce, they have increased the TAX on agricultural imports, making it much harder for people to buy the imports.
WHAT ARE MY CONCLUSIONS FROM THIS UPSETTING EXCHANGE?
1. The government is SINNING against the whole concept of Shemittah: whereas farmers are NOT ALLOWED TO CHARGE FOR THEIR PRODUCE OF THE SEVENTH YEAR, this Torah-less government enriches itself at the expense of the poor Haredim by OVERTAXING imported produce davka during the Shemittah year.
2. They are also sinning by either DESTROYING THE BEAUTIFUL PRODUCE BROUGHT FROM CHUTZ LAARETZ - BAAL TASHCHIT - ,
OR BY STEALING IT FOR THEIR OWN KITCHENS ( I wouldn't be surprised!).
3. By their policies of overcharging on imports when they know that the Charedi community is struggling financially, they are acting no differently than the Labor Zionist government of the fifties that cut the Peot of the Yemenite and Moroccan children. They are desperately trying to force the Charedi community to break the Torah.
4. They are trying so hard to be a nation like all the others, they want to institute LAWS< DAFKA DURING SHEMITTAH< THAT MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO OBSERVE SHEMITTAH. Instead of being compassionate and lenient with people, BECAUSE of the Shemittah year, and helping people observe the Mitzva as best they can, they do everything they can to make people stumble, on that Mitzva too. It is part of the total effort of the SECULAR GOVERNMENT TO DEJUDAIZE ISRAEL.
5. With their pompous attitude, they are so ridiculous!
6. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS WHOLE EMPHASIS ON ACCEPTING THE HETER MECHIRA, ON THE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND THEIR PERSECUTION OF INDIVIDUALS AND RABBIS WHO DON'T , IS BASED ON TWO FACTORS:
1. THEY WANT TO BREAK THE OBSERVANCE OF MITZVOT ( to be a secular country) , AND
2. IT IS PROTECTIONISM, PURE AND SIMPLE. IT HAS TO DO WITH MONEY, TAXES, IMPORTS, INCOME.
WHAT FINANCIAL BENEFIT DO THE GOVERNMENT AND THEIR MINIONS OBTAIN BY COMPELLING POOR PEOPLE TO BUY HETER MECHIRA? WHAT PERSONAL TIES DO THEY HAVE TO THE FARMING INDUSTRY?
WE KNOW THAT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE GUSH KATIF FARMS BENEFITTED MANY FARMERS IMMENSELY. THERE WAS INFORMATION THAT YONATAN BASI HIMSELF GAINED FINANCIALLY FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF GUSH KATIF, BECAUSE OF HIS FINANCIAL TIES WITH OTHER PRODUCERS.
IT IS THE OLD STORY OF COMPETITION, WANTING TO KEEP THE BUSINESS FOR THEMSELVES.
IN THIS LIGHT, I CAN SEE A MOTIVE FOR THE MURDER TWO WEEKS AGO OF RAV YEHUDA AMICHAI'S SON. I AM NOT AN INVESTIGATOR, BUT I KNOW THAT ONE BASIC RULE OF POLICE INVESTIGATION IS: LOOK FOR A MOTIVE. WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT? THAT PERSON IS THE LIKELY CULPRIT ( food for thought, for those of you who are convinced that the PLO alone, without any help from the Israelis, committed the crime).
FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!
DON'T FORGET THAT MACHON HATORAH VEHAARETZ IS IN DIRECT FINANCIAL COMPETITION WITH THE FARMERS WHO PRODUCE THE HETER MECHIRA PRODUCE; LABOR GOVERNMENT FARMS, KIBBUTZIM, MOSHAVIM, SECULAR GROUPS. LEFTISTS. WHEREAS OTZAR HAARETZ IS OVERWHELMINGLY USED BY RELIGIOUS, RIGHT -WING PEOPLE.
DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU FIND THE GOVERNMENT STARTING TO CRACK DOWN ON OTZAR HAARETZ, TRYING TO SHUT THEM DOWN. WE ARE TALKING MONEY HERE! MONEY AND POLITICS. PLAIN, DIRTY MONEY AND POLITICS!
Until next time
DS
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