Southern and Northern Arava regarding Shemitah
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Question
What is the "Southern Arava" and what is the "Northern Arava", and what is the status of fruits from there?
Answer
It is unclear where the southern border of the Land of Israel lies, and there is a dispute among contemporary authorities:
The commonly accepted lenient opinion is that of the Badatz of the Edah HaChareidis, which holds that almost all of the Arava is outside the borders of the land, and therefore they permit from approximately Ein Yahav and southward, and what they permit is called the Northern Arava.
The commonly accepted stringent opinion is that of Rabbi Y.S. Elyashiv, who holds that one should be concerned up to the 30th line, which is slightly north of Lotan. South of this line is called the Southern Arava, and its status is like that of outside the land according to all opinions. There are other opinions, but the halacha has not accepted to be more lenient than the above or more stringent than the 30th line, and there are other important authorities who have established places in between.