shmeetah

In the blessing we say after eating cake, wine, or fruit, we ask G-d, “Have mercy on Israel, your people, on Jerusalem, your city, on Zion, the abode of your majesty, on your alter and shrine. Rebuild the holy city of Jerusalem speedily in our days. Bring us there and gladden us with the restoration of our land; may we eat of its fruit.”

Yes, eating the fruit of the land of Israel is among the most important objectives of our people. A great authority on Jewish law, the Bach, agrees that it is central. Indeed, here at the winery, part of the pleasure of our business is giving Jews world-over the opportunity to enjoy the fruit of our land.

This year is very special. Shmeetah is an opportunity to connect with the Jewish laws regulating a Jewish farmer in Israel. The day after Rosh Hashannah all the rules suddenly change. In the Shmeetah year, plowing, pruning and harvesting our fruit is forbidden.

So what did we do here in Beit-El?

First, we take pride in the fact that we are in the land of Israel and thus subject to these Torah regulations. Some parts of the state of Israel are considered by some authorities outside of the land of Israel. Our vineyards are 10 miles due north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In fact, only Jerusalem is mentioned more times in the Bible than Beit-El. There isn’t a place more closely aligned with the land of Israel than Beit-El. This makes commitment to the Torah laws all the more awesome.

At the very end of the sixth year, in the days just before Rosh Hashannah, we harvested our grapes, so that we could prune our vines before Shmeetah year began. In every other year we prune our grapes in the late winter, but during Shmeetah that is prohibited.

In the following fall our grapes will have a special added value. They will have Kidushat Shvee’eet, the sanctity of the seventh year. This means that we will not be allowed to harvest them for commercial use. The grapes will be harvested by representatives of the Beit-Din and distributed to the community at cost.

Consistent with Jewish law, the 2008 vintage of our wine will not be available out of Israel, however it will be waiting for you to come and enjoy it here in Israel.