Q&A

Is it possible, and is it proper, to sell part of the area of the school's fields to a non-Jew, or, alternatively, to assign the responsibility to a non-Jew so the students can work the field at school during the upcoming shemitah year? We have non-Jewish teachers at our school.

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege to be involved in gardening as part of a community project and as part of a school project as a teacher of agriculture. What do I do next year during the shemitah year?!?! I planned on planting on a detached platform, but I saw on your website that it is only permissible for a major need and for educational purposes. I will explain about two of the projects I'm involved in and I would appreciate knowing if they are permissible, or which elements of them are:

1. The community garden in a neighborhood in crisis. We have tried to set up a community garden for several years, with many ups and downs. Finally, this year, the project took off. It is an educational community project, which gives hope to the neighbors and solves many neighborhood problems.
2. I am a teacher of agriculture. I teach various grades in a mixed religious and secular elementary school. We mostly plant seasonal vegetables, hoe, and cultivate many areas on the school grounds. We also have a hothouse. Is it permissible to do anything in this situation?

This is not a financial issue for me. The first case is a project that would otherwise be buried and will be very difficult to resuscitate if temporarily discontinued. The second gives to and educates children. I would like to hear the rationale involved in the answer.

Does the stringency to avoid planting during shemitah even in an unperforated planter apply to sprouting seeds indoors on a bed of wet cotton, without soil, as part of biology lab classes? The sprouted seeds are discarded after they sprout and do not continue to grow.

I am planting a small vegetable and herbs garden. In preparation for shemitah, I will prepare the patches on detached platforms. Is spreading a net against insects considered a roof? The plan is to spread nets above the patches, constructed like a hothouse. Thank you. I would also appreciate tips to prepare for shemitah so I can easily maintain my garden in a mehudar fashion.

It is permissible to grow a plant on the windowsill during shemitah?

Loquat and almond trees bloom early, some before Tu BiShevat, and some afterwards. How do I take teruma and ma’aser from these fruit?

How can I actually give my ma’aser ani? It’s not really practical to find poor people each time I pick a few oranges from my tree to give them a slice.

 My question is as follows: Does the rule of “seeing the inside of the house,” apply to crops grown in a hothouse, meaning that it would it be forbidden to snack on fruit or vegetables in the hothouse without first taking teruma and ma’aser?

During the shemita year, we heard that many poskim view hothouses as a house for halachic purposes.

Thank G-d we moved into our new home and planted young saplings on 1 Kislev 5774. Can we eat from the fruit now? If not now, when? My uncle planted more mature trees. Do the same laws apply in this instance? If the fruit is still forbidden for consumption, what do we do with the fruit? Can you also explain, in detail, what I am supposed to do in the fourth year?

I have two questions that relate to uprooting fruit trees:

1. We have a grapefruit tree that yields sour grapefruit, so we don’t fertilize or water the tree. Since we don’t like the fruit, the grapefruits are left on the tree until they fall on their own. The result is that our yard is littered with dozens of rotten, foul-smelling fruit that attract insects. In light of this, would it be permitted to cut down the tree?
2. In our yard there is an area of 4x4 m that is much higher than the ground level in the rest of the yard, so we can’t use it as part of our yard and we would like to level it. In the middle of this area there is a fruit tree. If we leave the tree in place, we would need to install a cement wall around it to secure the soil underneath that tree. Furthermore, should we leave the tree in place it will make it more difficult to level the ground and make the leveling process much more expensive. Would it then be permissible to uproot the tree to avoid the expenses involved in keeping the tree in place?