Friday, August 21, 2009

A Vineyard Inauguration at Shiloh

This week's reading portion is Shoftim in Deuteronomy and verse 6 in Chapter 19 reads:

And what man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not [yet] redeemed it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man redeem it.
ו. וּמִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נָטַע כֶּרֶם וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יְחַלְּלֶנּוּ:
And the commentary (here) explains:

[And what man is there that has planted a vineyard,] and has not [yet] redeemed it:
Heb. וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ. He has not redeemed the vineyard in the fourth year [of its growth], for the fruits [of the fourth year] have to be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed [by exchanging them] for money, and to eat [food purchased with] the money in Jerusalem.


The actual commandment is here:

Not to eat the fruit of a tree for three years from the time it was planted (Lev. 19:23).

Well, at Shiloh this morning, the inauguration ceremony was conducted at the two dunam vineyard owned by a resident of Toronto.

The pictures:









No comments: