Q&A

Hello. Thank you so much for this information! We made Aliyah 3 months ago are very confused with how to properly keep the laws of shemitah here in the holy land.

Question(s): (1) Can we mow the lawn (or have someone do it)? The seed grass grows too high for my little dog to comfortably do her business on the lawn. We recently mowed it, before I realized that this might be a problem for shemitah.

(2)  Can we remove dead leaves from the ground in the garden? Thank you again.

I have a wild type of tree from the willow family. During the year we have new shoots surfacing and must poison them and pull them out as their roots can be very aggressive. Can we do this treatment during the shemitah year?

Whilst cutting a neighbouring tree a branch fell and broke a pot. Can I lift the pot and soil and put in a new container or I just have to beg forgiveness and replace after shemitah?

Open to the air and on a man hole.

I have an orange tree and our neighbor's lemon tree overhangs our property. Does this mean that we can trim back the trees before they have kedushah status as well?

I don't believe in the halakhic basis behind היתר מכירה. However, I live with roommates who do not see it as a problem, and our food is shared. Invariably, I end up eating היתר מכירה. Since I do not believe in its halkhic basis, and, however, do end up eating it since it's incredibly difficult otherwise, should I consider all the היתר מכירה fruits and vegetables to have קדושת שביעית?

I used to buy produce from a farmer who doesn't have a hechsher, and says that he is selling produce that began growing before the beginning of shemitah and that his produce has kedushat shevi'it. He isn't part of an otzar beit din.

Isn't that a problem? I mean, the produce is supposed to be hefker and you are not supposed to transact with it. Am I allowed to eat the vegetables? I accidently bought some already before checking him out.

BDE my father passed away. We have finished shiva and tomorrow I am clearing his house.  Can I dig a plant from the garden and move it to a pot and keep it in a pot on a covered balcony? Or am I not allowed to dig it up.

There are suckers that often sprout at the base of tree trunks, especially common with olive and pomegranate trees. They ruin the trees' aesthetics. Can I remove them during shemitah? What about citrus trees? Does it make a difference if the growths are from below the graft line?

Whilst cutting a neighboring tree a branch fell and broke a pot. Can I lift the pot and soil and put in a new container or I just have to beg forgiveness and replace after shemitah? Open to the air and on a man hole.

I used to buy produce from a farmer who doesn't have a hechsher, and says that he is selling produce that began growing before the begining of shemitah and that his produce has kedushat shevi'it. He isn't part of an otzar beit din.

Isn't that a problem? I mean, the produce is supposed to be hefker and you are not supposed to transact with it. Am I allowed to eat the vegetables? I accidently bought some already before checking him out.