Q&A

What does orlah mean?

Just this morning, we planted a garden in our new home (on Rechov Mekor Chayim in Jerusalem). We now have trees – apricot, peach, clementina, pomegranate – all beyond the four years, and a grape vine in its second year. If grapes do appear, what do we do with them?

How should I clean grape leaves from insects for cooking? Is it possible to buy leaves that are already insect-free?

If someone has a tree or a few trees in their yard, do they need to leave the matanot aniyim (gifts for the poor) on the trees and hang up a sign outside? Or should the home owner harvest some of the fruits and give them out, or their value, to poor people? While there might be poor people in the neighborhood, they may not know the halacha and they might not come at all. Does this exempt one of the obligation to give these gifts in the first place?

How and in what way do we perform the mitzvot of giving the poor leket, shichechah, and pe’ah today?

I separated terumot and ma'aserot from my potatoes, and accidentally cooked the potatoes that I set aside. How do I kasher the pot?

I have a tangerine tree in my backyard for seven years now. This year the tree yielded a lot of fruit, B”H. Do I have to take ma’aser each time I pick a certain amount of tangerines?

This year I prepared wine from grapes harvested after Sukkot. Ma’aser was not taken from these grapes, and I was told that I should set aside the ma’aser only after I finish making the wine. When is it considered the end of the wine-making process? Can I put off taking ma’aser until the wine is completely ready, after I transfer it into little bottles? Or can I only take the ma’aser when the wine is all together in the big bottle? Is there a different text for taking ma’aser on wine? I obviously can’t say “at the north” or “south” of the fruit.

Is it permissible to plant herbs (such as lemon balm, savory, and louisa underneath a grapevine? If this is forbidden and was already done due to ignorance, what is the status of the grapes and the herbs?

I bought a seed packet that says "decorative pumpkin small fruit – Curcubita pepo small mixed." The picture on the packet shows pumpkins of various colors and sizes. Am I allowed to plant them in my garden, with a 50 cm distance one from another?