“He shall notify me upon receipt of funds for the Shemitah observers”
Letter by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, Av Beis Din Vilna. Vilna, Eve of Shemitah, 1938
With the Shemitah year swiftly approaching, Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski concentrated all his efforts to aid financially the Shemitah-observant farmers in Eretz Yisrael, so that they would not feel compelled to rely on the heter mechirah – the selling of Jewish-owned land to non-Jewish owners and then working it throughout the year of Shemitah. Harav Chaim Ozer wrote to the Chazon Ish who was living in Eretz Yisrael at the time and inquired about the practical details of supporting the farmers. He then appealed to dozens of influential parties in order to promote the observance of Shemitah in Eretz Yisrael.
In this letter, Rav Chaim Ozer clarifies whether the money from Slovakia intended to support Shemitah-observant farmers had been received.
The first part of the letter addresses the participation of Agudas Yisrael in the settlement taxes imposed by the national committee. Both Chief Rabbi Herzog and Harav Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky are mentioned in reference to this.
Vilna, 9th of Elul, 1938. On official stationery. Last line handwritten and autographed by Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Adhesive paper reinforcement of margins. Unpublished.
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