Question:
There is a dispute in tractate Chullin regarding whether Reishit Hagez (the commandment to give the first shearing of the flock to a Kohen) applies in the Diaspora like it does the Land of Israel. My question is, even according to the accepted custom of it not applying, what about cases where there is a sheep born in the Diaspora but brought into the Land of Israel and first sheared there?
Answer:
Hello,
You are asking an interesting question, and I am taking the question as a theoretical one, and you should not rely on the answer as the actual halacha. The Chazon Ish ( Yora Deah 7-3) writes about this and he says that if the animal is brought to Eretz Yisroel, and and sheared there, then it would be included in the mitzva. He explains that the mitzva of Reishis Hagez is not the same as terumos and maasros, which apply to produce that grew from the land. The wool grew from the sheep itself and not from the land. Therefore it depends on where the woll is sheared, and not where it grew.
Sources:
חזון איש יורה דעה ס’ ז’ אות ג חולין קל”ו א’ מה תרומה בארץ ולא בחו”ל אף ראשית הגז ומתנות, בארץ ונא בחו”ל. נראה דר”ל דגזז בחו”ל ושחט בחו”ל אבל לענין גידול לא שייך למילף דהתם הגידול מן הארץ והכא לא שיייך גידול מן הארץ”. וע’ בס’ גז צאנך ס’ קל”ג סע’ א’ הערה ט’ מש”כ בזה.
