Q&A: Turning a Religious Court into a Warehouse?
Turning a Religious Court into a Warehouse?
Question
I went to the grocery store at the start of the year 5782 [may it be a year of abundant livelihood, though maybe only for the operators?], and I was surprised that the tomatoes and cucumbers [religious court storehouse — Sabbatical-year sanctity] cost much, much, much more than they did at the end of 5781.
I'm puzzled.
In 5781 I paid for: 1. the product, 2. the service of picking, sorting, storage, transport, and the profit of the suppliers and the grocery store. That was the total price.
In 5782, for item 1 I don't pay, and it's forbidden to take payment for it [it is ownerless]. I'm only supposed to pay for item 2. It should be much cheaper.
Not only is it not cheaper, it's much, much, much [tens of percent] more expensive…
Is that possible?
What is this, taking me and the Torah for a ride? A scheme? A bluff? Maybe it's preferable to buy produce grown under the sale permit?
Answer
A religious court storehouse usually comes out more expensive, for various reasons (it's an inefficient mechanism that is set up only during the Sabbatical year for its needs). There are various reasons why a religious court storehouse is not the ideal solution, and when they do it, it isn't really a religious court storehouse as it is supposed to be (because of real-world constraints). A lot has been written about this. In my view, the main drawback is that it does not provide a general solution for the whole public, and according to the categorical imperative it is not the desirable solution. See my article about the categorical imperative in Jewish law.
But it is not correct to say that this is a scheme or a bluff. It's the best they managed to do under the existing constraints.