do you buy at this price ? and where ? in my super they are priced less , not to talk about the market , where there are great Gala apples for 5-6 and less . If you think that 8.90 is crazy , what will youi say then when you have to pay 15 for imported ones ? Open miracles ? tell me some of those endless , i can believe . When people work more , they want also more money . Rabbi's are the same . Keren shmitta ? what will i have from this ? Who will receive money ?

Miracles, my friend, only happen when man lets his imagination get out of control. Any phenomenon is a direct outcome of physics and chemistry at work in their natural environment.

Consumers demand a stricter level of kosher food and the Rabbinate supplies it to them. Don't like it? Then you must believe in miracles and not in the rules of economics

.. They are natural miracles. When you go down to the quantum level the laws of cause and (determinisitc) effect break down. Its called the uncertaintity principle. In othe words you have miracles at the quantum level. In other words thevery building blocks of the natural universe are founded on principles of uncertainty - leaving the door wide open for miracles, either of the natural (deterministic) kind (e.g. the miracle of the cell life support system) or the (undeterministic) supernatural kind.

1. When the famed Brisker Rav z"tl was told of the great miracle that took place in the religious village of Kommemiut, Israel the year after shmittah - when all the kibbutzim in the neighborhood were invaded by locusts, yet the one moshav of Kommemiut which kept shmittah properly was spared - he remarked as follows: "It's a mitzvah to tell others of this great miracle that took place." In addition check out this website: http://www.shviis.com/stories_e.php for first-hand stories of open miracles

those are the same stories as your apples at 8.9 sh. FANTASY

I heard once a scientific explanation of the "miracle" of the passing of the sea when the Jewish peole left Egypt . Much more plausible and more to believe as being true than this nice story of the Tora . There are certainly serious explanations to your fancy stories .

Ashrei hamamin

Jesus walked on water and Mary conceived without impregnation. Statues of Mary are seen to weep all over the world.. Natural or supernatural, or perhaps imagination. Fairy tales is also a possibility.

I am totally secular but I do agree that if you want to have a kosher restarant or hotel then it must be interms of Jewish law and not in terms of what is convenient! Money cannot buy kashrut. If it could I am sure piggy wiggy would already be kosher!

A small part of the consumers want this strict observance . But everyone has to pay for it . Why ? because the great food chains want to retain their kashruth certificate . Only small farmers and shops can grow and sell non shmitta observed food .

"Money can not buy kashrut". I must admit to a good laugh on that one. Are you not aware of what goes on. It is exactly money that buys kashrut.

"Only small farmers and shops can grow and sell non shmitta observed food . " I know you haven't been here for a while Charles, especially during Shmittah; hence your predictions that have no historic basis. HOWEVER, you should be informed that MAJOR stores and farmers still grow non-Shmittah food. Once again, Charles, you don't know what you're talking about.

Major stores and farmers grow non shmitta food , you wrote . I'll ask you , do the major stores grow food by their own ? Do they sell non shmitta food ? if they do so , what's about their kashrut certificate ? Now give me an answer on every one of my questions . Wich major food store sells non shmitta food , that they have grown by themselve ? If you can't give me an answer , you are the IGNORANT one , who talks about subjects you don't know anything about . Were'nt you this person who said that prices will not rise ? an honest answer is awaited

My point is, if you want the rabbi’s blessing do as he says

Most of the people don't want those Shmitta kosher fruits and vegatables . Most of the people are not interested to pay more for their food ,because of those charidi rabbi's who don't accept "heter mechira" products

The problems today would not be any different from the problems in ages past. (It's not like it's a new law.) Historically, how have the farmers, etc. coped(survived) while obeying this law? Surely there must be some history to draw upon where this law was obeyed and people didn't go bankrupt?

They could "sell" their farmland to a non Jew , and because it was'nt Jewish land anymore , it could be cultivated . But this selling is against the spirit of this law because the goal of this law is to have the land rest every 7 years . Now , ultra orthodox Rabbi's oppose thise sale , and that's the problem

As you could not give me an answer , i have to conclude that you told "shtouiot" . That i am right and you don't know about what you talk

I mean we are already importing food from there (look at the Agrexco labels on the garlic). Nonorganic fruits and veg often have food color injected under the skin. So I can assume that any lead the Chinese are using in their colors for the additional agricultural products we will be receiving will be glatt kosher?

Thanks for your reply. However, I DO understand about "selling" to a non-Jew. I guess I wasn't very clear. What I should have said was there MUST have been times where this ('selling') was not allowed, or wasn't done, in times past ... so the situation would be the same as today. How did people cope in past times (or places) when this 'selling' wasn't allowed? Isn't it recorded somewhere?

As far as is known to me , this practise of selling the land made no problems untill this year . Now it are the local head rabbis who decide , and some of them oppose . It was allowed in the State of Israel . How they did 3000 years ago ? I don't know