Canada Reverses Ban on Lulavim After Quick Response by Askanim

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 09/21/22 | News Source: Vosizneias.com

Canada — A massive crisis has been averted that could have impacted the ability of hundreds of thousands of Canadian Jews to fulfill the mitzvah of Lulav.

Thanks to Jewish activists and specifically Jewish MP Rachel Ben-Dayan, Canada’s Food Inspection Agency has reversed course and allowed the commercial import of daled minim into the country.

Earlier on Tuesday, word quickly spread that the country was banning import of lulavim, hadasim and aravos.

Dovid Leib Silverstein, owner of Rodal’s Judaica in Montreal, sent an urgent message asking for anyone who could intervene.

He said that the CFIA, the Canadian government agency that regulates the import of plants, banned all commercial and even personal imports of the products. As a result, the only way for Canadian Jews to fulfill the mitzvah would be to travel into the US and bring in their own personal lulav, and only within three days of Succos. That would have been virtually impossible for the vast majority of Jews.

Later on Tuesday, Mr Silverstein sent a second message saying that the issue was amazingly resolved, B’Chasdei Hashem.

He personally thanked the askanim who became involved in the effort, and particularly Parliament Member Rachel Ben-Dayan, who invested enormous effort to resolve the problem and avert a huge crisis.

Although the details are sketchy, it appears there may have been a mistake or misunderstanding, and the askamin were able to clarify and resolve the matter.