Q&A

According to several halakhic authorities (including Derech Emunah), Mitzpe Ramon lies outside the borders of the Land of Israel. If the gemar melachah (final stage of processing) is performed in an area that is unquestionably within the Land of Israel, are the grapes obligated in terumot and ma‘aserot?

I would like to plant a Jamaican cherry tree (גרגר פנמה in Hebrew). I was told that the tree might be grafted. Could this present an issue of forbidden grafts? From what I understand, the tree is sold at Marmelstein Nursery, which I saw on your list of supervised nurseries.

Rabbi, I would like to know how to proceed if one of the five grains was ground into flour before terumot and ma’aserot were separated from the grain. Is the flour still obligated in terumot and ma’aserot, or is the mitzvah no longer applicable? According to Rabbi Nachman, the blessing on flour is shehakol because its form has changed and it is no longer considered produce. Thank you.

I don't live in Israel. I have a papaya tree. These trees apparently give fruit for just a few years and then fade away. So the main fruit is within the first 3 years I’m not sure if this tree will even give fruit past then. I didn’t know how old this tree was I took a picture of it and sent it to ChatGPT and they guessed it was 12 months old. But I know there is a safek regarding brachos whether papaya is a real tree or not. Can I rely on that to say it is not orlah??

I live in Florida. For the tree I recently bought, at one point a graft was performed in the nursery with a branch from a more mature tree of the same species and I don’t know when that happened. Do I have to call the nursery and get to the bottom of these things or can I just rely on the doubts and not even call the nursery? 

Our pomegranate tree is about 5-6 years old. It's never really produced edible fruit. We're considering getting another non-fruit tree in its place. Are we allowed to uproot the pomegranate tree?

1)   In my home garden, there are two small palms that were self-seeding (I didn't plant them intentionally) that sprouted near the tiles, and they are a nuisance.

2)     Elsewhere in the garden, there is a white mulberry tree that seems to not be in good condition, and I'd like to move it elsewhere or uproot it altogether (it currently is not producing fruit; when it does, the fruit is infested.

3)      I have a golden rain tree (not a fruit tree) that doesn't look good. Is it permissible to uproot it?

I have several fruit trees that we grew from the seed. When they began to grow, I moved each of them to planters. Some of the trees aren't growing nicely—it seems that they are sick. My question is if the prohibition of uprooting fruit trees applies only to trees growing in the ground, or also to those growing in planters? I want to uproot them so I can use the planter to grow other plants. Is there a halachic issue with that? Thank you.

My friend has a feijoa tree in his garden. The tree produces very small, sour fruit that are not pleasant to eat. Is it permissible to uproot the tree?

I am about to buy a house with a small garden and several fruit trees. The problem is that the fruit trees take up nearly all of the space. Am I allowed to prune them? Or uproot them and transplant them in someone else's garden?