Thursday, January 4, 2007

אויך מיר א מצוה



Rabbi Yaakov Stefansky of Jerusalem, founder and director of the
Kinyan Ha’aretz Association.


One of the local circulars, the Luach HaTzibur, which advertises such important things like where Yankel Bergstein is making a Kiddush this week, and the Great G&G Clothing sale, has begun to advertise a new Mitzvah, Mitzvos Hatluyos Bo'Oretz. They sell you a small (miniscule) plot of land and take care of all the Mitzvos that are required of you, some 20 in all. It also carries the standard "BeHaskomas Gedolei Yisroel Shlit"a" that everything else has these days. A smart man upon seeing this ad commented: it's like that ad you hear on the radio saying: "for 54 dollars and a call to ------- you can have a star named after you." Would this fall into the same category? maybe. Now I see in the Five Towns Jewish Times that there's a name attached to it, a Rabbi Yaakov Stefansky, I believe he's formerly of Dagim Tuna?

"Jewish people all over the world will now be able to fulfill all of the precious Mitzvos ha’teluyos ba’Aretz - laws dependent on the Land of Israel.
This opportunity has been made available as a result of the efforts of the
Kinyan Ha’aretz Association, recently founded by a group of prominent
Israeli Rabbanim. [Sounds a lot like the JNF, no? - HT]............. Throughout the bitter Galus, Jews have always longed to live in Eretz HaKedoshah, where all of the Torah’s mitzvos may be fulfilled. ...........

When preparing for his journey to Eretz Yisrael, the Chazon Ish’s primary concern wasn’t packing his belongings or arranging the practical aspects of his move, but clarifying certain points regarding the performance of the mitzvos ha’teluyos ba’aretz, which he would soon be able to fulfill. [No mention here that the person he asked was Rav Kook. - HT]

Now all that has changed, and these mitzvos, which many have never fulfilled, will be yours! What is involved? The Kinyan Ha’aretz Association has leased, for a period of fifty years, agricultural land near the towns of
Zichron Yaakov and Mazkeret Batya. On these plots it will operate a wheat field and a vineyard, where farmers will cultivate produce on behalf of its
members and, when harvesting time arrives, will fulfill all of the relevant
mitzvos ha’teluyos ba’aretz. At that time, each member will appoint
Kinyan Ha’aretz as his emissary to perform these mitzvos on his behalf, and
will be considered as having personally performed them. Anyone who wishes, no matter
where he lives, may lease “dalet amos” of this land for a nominal fee, and will
thus be able to fulfill all of the land-related laws on his very own piece of
property.

This idea has received the ardent support of Maran HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the halachic pillar of our generation, who said: “One who merits to be a partner in the important association,
and to thereby fulfill these beloved mitzvos, is indeed fortunate.”

............................ This is not a new idea. Its roots date back to the 18th century, when the disciples of the Vilna Gaon who settled in Tsfat founded an enterprise which would enable Jews of the Diaspora to fulfill these mitzvos. They were guided by Rav Chaim of Volozhin. (A letter which appeared in Pe’as HaShulchan of Rav Yisrael of Shklov testifies to this endeavor.) However, various difficulties prevented the plan from materializing, and technical and administrative problems prevented its realization.

Jews of the Diaspora are not obligated to keep mitzvos hateluyos ba’aretz, since they don’t live in Eretz Yisrael. However, as the Shelah HaKadosh notes, when a person undertakes to observe them nonetheless, Middas HaDin is transformed to Middas HaRachamim.During these troubled times, when
we so need Middas HaRachamim, let us do our utmost to help it prevail in
Klal Yisrael." [so is this a not-for-profit venture set up just to infuse the world with Midas HoRachamim?! - HT]

It used to be that people, especially Acheynu Yatzay Litteh, either worked or learned, they didn't sit around and look for a Chap, a Drei, how to help a Yid find a Mitzvah. I can understand starting organizations that fulfill a need, even a G'mach for Untervesh, but this seems a bit much. Then again, maybe it's the fact that I'm not part of mainstream Judaism anymore that makes me think this way. I should begin to read the Yated every week, maybe that'll help change me for the better. You be the judge.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! Dont trash the Luach HaTzibur, it lists Chabad shiurim in BP and Chitas/Rambam yomi!

Anonymous said...

You know for a right-wing guy, you sure do give a guy a hard time for trying to earn a few bucks.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

that's the first sensible thing you've said today.

Anonymous said...

"Scam of the century" - I don't know about that, but it is still early in the century....

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

he seems real at home in the fields there, with his white shirt and tie....

Is that what it is, a way to make a few bucks?

Anonymous said...

Of course it is to make a few bucks, whats so bad about that? You'll be supporting the community of Yidden that are taling care of the land there. If you don't want to, don't do it.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

And here I thought it was L'shem Mitzvah! how naive of me.

Anonymous said...

Oh, H, gimme a break. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Just because there can be a littlr money made to support those people doing the work does not make this somehow a terrible scam.

Anonymous said...

It used to be that people, especially Acheynu Yatzay Litteh, either worked or learned, they didn't sit around and look for a Chap, a Drei, how to help a Yid find a Mitzvah.

Last week you were adamant that the rest of the kiruv world was jealous of the Menorahs in the airports and car rooftops, becuase Chabad thought of this first. Now the show it seems is on the other foot...

Why all the Sinoh? Why is it that everything is either stupid for not being a chabad idea or the rest of the world hates chabad because of all the brilliant things it does?

Here is a thought, no one is demanding of you or anyone else to involve theselves in this idea, yet the Menorahs all over the place, no one has a say about and if you disagree, you'll sue.

Anonymous said...

Tzig
Why are you always negative?You could have posted it as a cute story and asked people what they thought, instead you go negative:Btw, Stefansky of dagim lives in Boro Park, this is not him, maybe a relative, and btw, R'Schwei from Crown Heights is married to a Stefansky a cousin of the dagim

Milhouse said...

It's not a new idea. A few years ago I bought a 4-year lease on a 4x4 plot in Kfar Gideon from another such organisation. I'd have renewed it too, but I lost their address and it seems that they lost mine, because I never got a renewal notice. But it's a good idea. For a few bucks, you get to fulfill all these mitzvos, besides which just owning land in Eretz Yisroel is a huge zchus. (For one thing, it allows you to make a pruzbul; see the AR's SA.) And if through all this another yid makes a parnosseh, iz doch noch besser, isn't it?

I agree with "ex-chabad aussie" that you sound like the m*sn*gd*m who rant against Chabad menorahs. Vos art aich that yidden are doing mitzvos? You don't wnat to pay and participate? Gezunterheit, nobody is demanding it of you. But Mihyeis teiv al tikro ra.

Anonymous said...

why do all chabad yidden hate everyone besides fellow chabadskers and non affiliated jews.
when a chassen "rents " the yichud room or a yid sells his chometz to a goy it is fine and dandy but this not?
but you sit around and look for a Chap, a Drei, how to knock a yid who wants to do a Mitzvah.

Anonymous said...

Hirshel, I see nothing wrong with this, its a nice idea.

Anonymous said...

You are alienating even your own constituency!

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Is this "gang up on Tzig day" at the Circus Tent? is there nobody that'll agree with me? Am I left here blowing in the wind?

Have I become so alienated that even "Chabdskers" don't agree with me anymore?

I just wonder why he came up with this Mitzvah, that's all. What prompted him to think of it. Maybe he learns these Mesechtas.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Alienating is too harsh a word, after all can't we disagree sometimes? But I see what you mean.

Milhouse said...

My guess is that he got the idea from the earlier scheme, the one I bought into. Perhaps he bought into it himself, and when they failed to contact him to renew his lease, he decided to go into the business himself.

The previous scheme was run out of EY, and I assumed it was cooked up by the farmer himself, facing a year with a sharply reduced income, and wondering why other people shouldn't share in his mitzvah, and in the financial burden. Every shmita there are funds that raise money to support the farmers who are taking the year off (or working at reduced rates for Otzar Beis Din), and I was giving to those, and this seemed like a similar mitzvah except that I got something in return.

The terms of the lease, by the way, were that all the patches would be farmed together, and all their produce combined, with the mitzvos done on the whole kri and apportioned to each lessor pro rata. It also specified that after all the mitzvos had been done with the produce of my 4x4 patch of field, and everything had been taken from it that needed to be taken, the farmer could keep the half-kilo of grain (or however much it would be) that remained. So he just farmed his field as he always did, but he had some income from the leases, in return for a share in his mitzvos.