While it is an established minhag, how certain can we be that the goy we sell hametz to is really a goy? Over the millenia many Jews have gone off the derekh or been kidnapped as children, etc. Can we be certain that anyone we encounter, especially from a European or Middle Eastern country, is really a goy?
Would it be better not to sell any real hametz (i.e. destory it or consume it before Pesach)? Perhaps insist on someone from an area without an historical Jewish community who matrilineal DNA shows no signs of Middle Eastern or European ancestry?
I believe there are some communities where selling hametz was not practiced.
Does this Nochri speak Iwrith? or was someone on the Eida Chareidis able to converse in English with him?
akuperma:
How did Jews have a “Shabbos Goy” for the last hundreds of years? According to your taaina, you can’t have a goy be mechallel Shabbos.
Dear ‘147’,
With tens of thousands of foreign workers that annually find employment in Eretz Yisrael, it is very likely that ‘this Nochri’ has mastered lashon ha’kodesh. In the event that his linguistic skills are not up to par, the chances of him speaking English is no greater than him speaking any given slovic language.
Nevertheless, in addition to the esteemed Torah greatness of the entire Eidah Chareidis Beis Din; the Chief Rabbi (Ga’avad) Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss is fluent in seven languages. The Vice-Preseiddent (Ra’avad), Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, was born in London and is fluent in three languages. The rich linguistic medley spoken by the various Eidah Chareidis Beis Din members, is not what defines their stature. Rather, their appointment eligibility is based upon profound Torah knowledge and deep understanding of halacha. These two elements should be primary requisites and fundamental for any Rabbi selling chametz. Competent translators are commonly implemented to facilitate business transactions. There is no replacing halachic acumen.
#3: Athough not certain how it is nowadays, it’s fairly well known that in earlier years, many Arabs spoke Yiddish (before the medinah, many Jews and Arabs lived in close proximity, such as in the old city of Yerushalayim). And many Jews spoke Arabic. I had a Yerushalmi neighbor many years back who spoke it. Chances are Rav Tuvia Weiss of the Eida speaks English. And Rav Moshe Sternbuch does for sure.
#2: The fact that the majority of the world’s population is non-Jewish (rov) is sufficient. There was one celebrated case in Eretz Yisroel some years ago when the Israeli rabbanut discovered that the “arab” to whom for many years they were selling the chometz had a Jewish mother. So, sometimes there are embarrassing mess-ups. But it’s not reasonable to expect a company that hs warehouses containing millions of dollars worth of lukshen, crackers, etc. would agree to destroy it all before yomtov.
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6 Responses
I understand that the Eida sells it to Lapid.
While it is an established minhag, how certain can we be that the goy we sell hametz to is really a goy? Over the millenia many Jews have gone off the derekh or been kidnapped as children, etc. Can we be certain that anyone we encounter, especially from a European or Middle Eastern country, is really a goy?
Would it be better not to sell any real hametz (i.e. destory it or consume it before Pesach)? Perhaps insist on someone from an area without an historical Jewish community who matrilineal DNA shows no signs of Middle Eastern or European ancestry?
I believe there are some communities where selling hametz was not practiced.
Does this Nochri speak Iwrith? or was someone on the Eida Chareidis able to converse in English with him?
akuperma:
How did Jews have a “Shabbos Goy” for the last hundreds of years? According to your taaina, you can’t have a goy be mechallel Shabbos.
Dear ‘147’,
With tens of thousands of foreign workers that annually find employment in Eretz Yisrael, it is very likely that ‘this Nochri’ has mastered lashon ha’kodesh. In the event that his linguistic skills are not up to par, the chances of him speaking English is no greater than him speaking any given slovic language.
Nevertheless, in addition to the esteemed Torah greatness of the entire Eidah Chareidis Beis Din; the Chief Rabbi (Ga’avad) Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss is fluent in seven languages. The Vice-Preseiddent (Ra’avad), Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, was born in London and is fluent in three languages. The rich linguistic medley spoken by the various Eidah Chareidis Beis Din members, is not what defines their stature. Rather, their appointment eligibility is based upon profound Torah knowledge and deep understanding of halacha. These two elements should be primary requisites and fundamental for any Rabbi selling chametz. Competent translators are commonly implemented to facilitate business transactions. There is no replacing halachic acumen.
#3: Athough not certain how it is nowadays, it’s fairly well known that in earlier years, many Arabs spoke Yiddish (before the medinah, many Jews and Arabs lived in close proximity, such as in the old city of Yerushalayim). And many Jews spoke Arabic. I had a Yerushalmi neighbor many years back who spoke it. Chances are Rav Tuvia Weiss of the Eida speaks English. And Rav Moshe Sternbuch does for sure.
#2: The fact that the majority of the world’s population is non-Jewish (rov) is sufficient. There was one celebrated case in Eretz Yisroel some years ago when the Israeli rabbanut discovered that the “arab” to whom for many years they were selling the chometz had a Jewish mother. So, sometimes there are embarrassing mess-ups. But it’s not reasonable to expect a company that hs warehouses containing millions of dollars worth of lukshen, crackers, etc. would agree to destroy it all before yomtov.