As Russia continues to fight Ukraine, farmers in Israel have become economic collateral damage.

The farmers are being forced to destroy thousands of tons of produce as regular export shipments to Ukraine as well as Russia have come to a grinding halt. Some farmers have been forced to destroy entire crops, causing a crisis, as they are unable to put food on their tables.

Some speculate that this development is divine retribution for those Israeli farmers violating the Shmittah (sabbatical), a Biblical commandment to cease working the land every seven years in Israel.

‘But in the seventh year, the land shall have a Shabbat of complete rest, a Shabbat of Hashem: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.’

 (Leviticus 25:4)

This year (5782) is Israel’s Shmittah (Sabbatical) year. This means that farmers in the Holy Land cease working their fields for one year as commanded in the Bible: The Shemitah started on Rosh Hashanah 2021 and will end right before Rosh Hashanah 2022.