13 Tevet 5770
December 30, 2009
 I am frequently asked questions regarding wines that carry kedushat shvi’it, wines that are sold under the halachic Otzar Beit Din provision. These wines are frequently seen on the shelves of stores that we frequent, supermarkets and grocery stores in frum neighborhoods around town.

Such wine carries a special kedusha that demands one using it familiarize oneself with the appropriate halachot as well.

I am posting the following halachic explanation provided by Rabbi Yoel Yosef Moore of Yerushalayim regarding inquiries concerning the purchase of wines that are kedushat shvi’it.

1) Otzar beis din wine has kedushas shvi’is and as such should not be exported. I very much doubt that store owners in California have been made shlichim of Beis Din!
People should not buy this wine.

2) As to shmitah wine found in stores in Eretz Yisroel now, unless one can reliably verify that the store is acting as an agent of a reliable Beis Din, one has to assume that the wine was owned by the store or its supplier at the time of biur and is now forbidden.

By the way, even if failure to perform biur was unintentional (beshogeg), the produce is still forbidden.

One should note that shmitah wine may not be sold. If a store does act as a shaliach of Otzar Beis Din, it only charges expenses. The wine is distributed for free. Whether stores can be used as distribution stations for shmitah produce is in itself a matter of opinion.

Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv Shlita permits this (under certain conditions); the Chazon Ish did not.

Rabbi Moore also provided me with an additional clarification to avoid any misunderstandings regarding the halachic issue.

I did not state that shmitah wine sold in regular stores is definitely ossur (prohibited) because it was liable for biur and this was not performed. What I wrote is that if Otzar Beis Din wine is being sold (and not distributed) in a regular store, one needs to investigate (a) in whose possession was this wine at the time of biur - Erev Pesach 5769 - and (b) whether the store is acting as an agent/distribution station or is just functioning as a regular store.
 
 If the store or its supplier - which was not an agent of Otzar Beis Din - held the wine at the critical time and did not perform biur, the wine is ossur.

If it was acting as an agent of Otzar Beis Din, then the wine is exempt from biur. It certainly retains its kedushas shvi’is and as such is ossur b’schora - it may not be sold in the regular manner.

Violation of the issur (prohibition) of trading in shmitah products does not render them ossur. However, one should not assist shmitah violators by buying the produce. The actual buying could also be a violation of issur schora.

To contact Rabbi Moore, one may email talkinghalocho@gmail.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 13:23 and is filed under General Interest, JKN Alerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.