Shevi'is Wine
Question:
My neighbor is selling wine at a great price. The catch is that it was produced as shevi’is wine and had kedushas shevi’is. Then, at the zeman biur, he was mafkir it properly. He subsequently repossessed it and is now selling it at a profit. My question is this: Now that he has repossessed the wine, does it still have kedushas shevi’is, in which case he is forbidden to sell it (and I cannot buy it), or is the kedusha gone, in which case he is permitted to sell it?
Answer:
The answer is not so straightforward. The Chazon Ish, whom I consider the expert on these matters, first ruled that after biur the wine is not kadosh and may be sold.[1] At the end of Hilchos Shevi’is he reversed his psak and decided that even after biur the food or drink must be treated as having kedushas shevi’is.[2] In light of this, I would say that lechatchila one should treat the produce as kadosh and not sell the wine. The Chazon Ish ultimately felt that it is assur. However, if someone does sell such wine, he does not have to be stopped as there is room to be lenient. Since we do not observe the yovel, shevi’is is derabbonon today, and one can be lenient regarding questions or disputes about derabbonon obligations. Furthermore, the prohibition of selling food with kedushas shevi’is applies to the seller, not the buyer. If the seller were clearly violating a prohibition, the buyer could not buy, since he would be abetting the violation. In this case, however, where there is room for leniency, there would be no problem of assisting the seller in an aveira, since there may very well be no aveira.[3]
To sum up, it is best not to sell such wine. Buying it is permitted lechatchila, and one does not have to tell the seller to stop selling it.
BookID: 2 Chapter:
[1] שביעית סימן י''א.ו וסימן י''ג.ה.
[2] שביעית סימן כ''ו.ו ד''ה אם.
[3] מבי''ט ח''א סימן כ''א.