Other topics

We planted an olive tree in our yard six months ago. My mother wants to move it because she says that it bothers her in its current location. Is it permissible to move it elsewhere in the garden?

I have a tree that produces khushkhash (Seville orange) fruit. A new graft was performed, but it still produces khushkhash. Is it permissible to uproot it?

I heard that halachah forbids pruning branches of fruit trees that have fruit on them. Is this true, and in any case, which halachot apply to pruning trees—especially fruit trees?

I'm a teacher at a girl's high school, and as part of agricultural studies, we grow lettuce hydroponically in a greenhouse. Do we still need to inspect the lettuce for insects?

I am a media student, and throughout my studies I frequently encounter complex halachic questions concerning the boundaries between freedom of expression, information disclosure, and lashon hara (harmful speech). From my time in yeshiva, I recall that the Chafetz Chaim sets stringent and detailed conditions for when speaking lashon hara for a constructive purpose is permitted. At times, it seems as though halacha tends to protect the offender—shielding him behind a wall of silence—while the victim, who has been harmed, remains unprotected and without recourse. How can we understand the Torah’s approach, which appears to exercise extreme caution toward wrongdoers rather than coming to the aid of those they have hurt?

I have had the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of pidyon petter chamor for the first time in my life. Should I recite the blessing of shehecheyanu on this mitzvah?