Q&A: Shemittah Acronym: Neighbors Establish Settlements, Pick a Lot
Shemittah Acronym: Neighbors Establish Settlements, Pick a Lot
Question
My righteous neighbors abandoned their home, along with the whole tribe, and went up to a hilltop to establish a new community in the Land of Israel.
Good for them.
And may the merit of settling the Land of Israel, which is equivalent to fulfilling all 613 commandments (Sifrei, Re'eh), stand by them and their enormous offspring.
Bottom line: they have many kinds of fruit in the garden, really impressive, and almost every day I am about to fulfill with these fruits the important commandment of “that the poor of your people may eat,” but unfortunately I’m embarrassed to come with sacks and fill them…
And bottom line, every day the commandment is being missed…
I thought of taking advantage of their absence and fulfilling the commandment with great joy, but perhaps it isn’t moral to take advantage of their absence, for the sake of the commandment of settling the Land of Israel, in order to empty out the fruit.
What does the Rabbi think?
(Apparently this is really a passing commandment, and it can’t be done by others.)
Answer
Simply speaking, you cannot fill sacks. According to the accepted approach, you may take what is customary to buy in a store at one time.
If the fruit is ownerless, you may take it whether they are present or not. And if you feel uncomfortable doing it in front of them, then do it when they are not there. I don’t see what the problem is.
But it seems to me that there is a moral issue in leaving them fruit for them themselves to eat, unless you are among “the poor of” our people. Here I do see something objectionable.