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Q & A - WITH RABBI RISKIN

Question:
I have met a number of people who did not declare as "hefker" (ownerless) wine or grape-juice from Otzar Beit Din that they acquired during the Shemittah year. None of them knew what to do - what is to be done with these beverages?

Answer:
The principal idea of the Shemittah year is that the field and its produce belong to Hashem. Therefore, during the Shemittah year one does not erect fences or gates in his field, and whatever grows there is free for everyone.

Likewise, it is forbidden to trade in or make a profit from the produce of the Shemittah year, including from beverages such as wine. The proper way for one to acquire such products is through "Otzar Beit Din". In this process the original owner does not profit directly from his crop, but rather collects only "expenses" in accordance with the evaluation of the Beit Din. When acquiring bottles of wine from Otzar Beit Din one must also understand that they do not belong to him. He is required to make them "hefker" - i.e., to place them outside his house and to declare them ownerless, such that anyone who wishes to take them is entitled to do so. Bottles of wine - or any other product acquired from Otzar Beit Din - needs to stand outside one's house and defined "hefker" for a short period (20 or 30 minutes). If no-one else comes to claim them, the person who placed them there may claim them himself, and use them.

Such wine etc. must be declared "hefker" by Erev Pesach, but if they were not then they should still be declared "hefker" at a later time.

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