Question:
I
heard that Ha-Rav Shlomo Goren permitted using the Heter Mechirah and then later
forbade it?
Answer:
Ha-Rav
Ha-Gaon Shlomo Goren's opinion is that after the establishment of the State of
Israel we can no longer utilize the Heter Mechirah since even though an
individual can sell his field to a non-Jew, there still remains a sort of
"super-ownership" by the entire State. As a result, there is still Jewish ownership
by the State of Israel. When Rav Goren
served as the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Halachah nonetheless followed the
majority of the Rabbis on the Rabbinical Council of the Chief Rabbinate and the
Heter Mechirah was indeed utilized. His
personal opinion, however, was that it cannot be used (article in the magazine
"Be-Machanayim" of the Military Rabbinate in the year 5619. Torat Ha-Medinah p. 445. Torat Ha-Moadim p. 624).
And
there is another great Rabbi who agrees: The Satmar Rebbe. Ha-Rav Yoel Teitelbaum had many arguments against
the Heter Mechirah. He argued that even
according to the opinion that the Heter Mechirah is halachically acceptable
(which he did not uphold), it no longer applies after the establishment of the
State of Israel on account of the "super-ownership" of the State (Shut
Divrei Yoel #96-98 and printed in a separate booklet entitled "Shalosh
Teshuvot").
The
difference, however, is that Rav Goren held this opinion because the State of
Israel is a great and holy Mitzvah, while the Satmar Rebbe reasoned as he did because
he saw the State as impure, and a rebellion against Hashem.
Rabbenu
Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah however rejected the proofs of Rav Goren, and argued that
the sale of land sold by an individual is considered a valid sale regardless if
there is Jewish sovereignty over Eretz Yisrael or not. Therefore, the Heter Mechirah still applies
even after the establishment of the State of Israel (Techumin Volume 7, p. 23).
