Q&A
Should we make an active effort to perform biur
Should we actively designate shemitah produce in order to perform the mitzvah of bi'ur like what we do with the 10 pieces of chametz so we can do bi'ur chametz on erev Pesach?
Grape juice from Rabbi Revach's otzar beit din and makach ta'ut: a true halachic drama
if the taste of the grape juice is different than the regular grape juices. Can I give it back and get back my money?
Bi'ur via hefker before married children
I bought 4 boxes of Batra wine from the Golan Heights otzar beit din (I traveled to Katzrin to buy it, because the wine at the distribution spot was gone!)
I loved the wine and I brought our children mishloach manot that included Batra wine, which they also enjoyed.
On erev Pesach, may I declare the bottles ownerless in front of three of my children? They are married, live in their own homes but in my neighborhood. We all really like the wine.
Transplanting grafted trees
I have citrus trees in my yard. According to the list on your website, they have a questionable status vis-à-vis kilei ilan. For this reason, grafting and planting should be performed by a non-Jew, but Jews may care for the tree both actively and passively.
1. If a Jew was involved in either grafting or planting the tree (or both)—must the tree be uprooted bedi'avad?
2. Some trees are in planters and we need to plant them in the ground. Is transplanting permitted by a Jew, or is a non-Jew's services needed for this action? That is, is transplanting considered halachically a new planting, requiring a non-Jew, or is it simply moving the tree to a larger area, considered actively sustaining the tree—an action permitted to Jews.
3. In continuation to the previous question: what happens if the transplant is performed in a way that does not necessitate a new orlah count (it is transplanted in a clod of soil large enough to sustain the tree for two weeks; the planted had a large enough hole and was attached to the ground; the planted was detached from the ground for less than 24 hours). In this case, would the transplant be permitted by a Jew, or would a non-Jew need to perform it?
Hefker for shemitah fruit in the 8th year
I have citruses on my tree that began to develop last year (5782), so I know they have kedushat shevi'it.
But are they still hefker, even though it's the 8th year now? In other words: does hefker follow the status of the fruit or the year?
Going bananas in the 8th year
I see bananas in Otzar Ha'aretz stores labeled sheminit, eighth-year, at the end of Tishrei. How can that be?
Pruning on the 8th year branches with fruit on them:
We are now in the asseret yemei teshuvah 5783. I walked down the street and saw many pruned branches with tangerines, most of them ripe and some partially ripe.
Do these tangerines have kedushat shevi'it?
Is it permissible for gardeners to prune them? Am I allowed to take them and juice them? If so, what do I do with the peels? I don't have enough room in my shemitah bin.
Strawberry Harvest in the Eighth Year
I have strawberries in my garden that I planted during the sixth year. What is their status now that shemitah is over? If I pick them after Rosh Hashanah, do they have kedushat shevi'it? Do I have to separate terumot and ma'aserot?
Biur Apricots why it is so late
On the calendars you wrote that the bi'ur time for apricots is early September (mid-Elul), but the apricot season was over several months ago. It began around Pesach time (April) and was over around Sivan-Tammuz (July). Why is bi'ur only in early September?
Shemitah status of wheatgrass
I heard that if grains are harvested before being edible or before the grain reaches a third of its development, they do not have kedushat shevi'it and shemitah laws don't apply to it. Since wheatgrass juice is consumed, does that change things? Is there an issue of sefichin?
Any other considerations or special laws?