The rabbinical council of the Rabbanut yesterday came to a few interesting decisions. While I have liked Rabbi Lau all along, I think that Rabbi Dovid Lau was actually the right man for the job of Chief Rabbi - because he was supported by the Haredi parties for the position, and he was even portrayed, somewhat, as the [somewhat] Haredi candidate, he seems to be able to make decisions that would probably get anybody else, who had come from the Zionist camp, tarred and feathered (at least by the Haredi MKs, activists, and media).
The latest decisions include topics such as marriage, shmitta and organ donation.
1. Marriage: the council decided to give community rabbis the authorization to officiate at weddings, despite not yet having passed the special certification exams to do so.
Chief Rabbi Lau says the process for certification takes too long and many good rabbis are waiting for their approval - this will make religious services more accessible to the public, by freeing up many good rabbis to be available for this service.
2. Shmitta: while until now the Rabbanut was taking the approach of offering farmers 3 options for the coming year which will be shmitta, they have now decided to offer a fourth options:
1. completely resting the field - no work at all
2. distributing produce to the public via the Otzar Beis Din method
3. Rav Kook's solution of halachic hetter mechira, while being careful to not violate the four forbidden activities of working the land.
4. and now the fourth method is the newly developed and approved method of "matza menutak" - detached plantations. Basically this method employs the planting within greenhouses, but not directly in the ground - they are in sealed containers or pots or on top of materials that are placed between them and the ground. This method is controversial on its own, with some saying it cannot be used to avoid shmitta issues.
3. Organ Donation: rabbis will be appointed to hospitals and will be responsible for determining the point of halachic death of a patient. This will make it easier for religious patients who want to donate organs, as most organs can only halachically be removed after the death of the patient, but that point is under dispute as to whether it is brain death or when the heart stops. Having a rabbi on board to make the practical decisions, will make the religious organ donation much more feasible..
source: Srugim
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