Book suggestions on agricultural mitzvot (for non-farmers)
Question
I was interested in obtaining a book(s) on halachot pertaining to plants in Israel. (I'm not a farmer :)) I am not clear as to which book/books I should get. Could you please advise? Thank you
Answer
It depends on the language of the books and if you can handle Hebrew. What we have available in English on the topic is as follows:
1) The Laws of Orlah for the Backyard: A guide to the laws of planting trees, transplanting, porch gardens, and the like, including the status of various intermediate plants.
2) The Consumers' Guide to Shemitah: This will only be relevant in another three years.
3) The Mitzvot of the Land in a Nutshell: This concise booklet provides a general overview of all of the land-dependent mitzvot as they are relevant to home gardens and general consumers. It includes formulas for terumot and ma'aserot in regular and special circumstances (like for tourist picking, separation for guests, and more).
Unfortunately, the guides on kilayim and terumot and ma'aserot have not yet been published (the first is in stages of editing, the second, in translation).
Hilchot Ha'aretz covers all of the plant-related mitzvot, but it is in Hebrew and is currently out of print (we are currently working on a new edition). The book is available online in digital form and available for download.
If you are interested in more in-depth halachic books in Hebrew on the topic, we have plenty on our Hebrew bookstore website.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out.