Q&A
Bi'ur: What happens if you won't be at home on erev Pesach?
I'm going away for Pesach and won't be at home at bi'ur time. How should I perform bi'ur for my shemitah wine?
Selling my otzar beit din bottles to someone else
I bought several cartons of otzar beit din wine. My neighbor asked me if I could sell her three bottles. Am I allowed to do that, or is it considered forbidden transaction with shemitah produce?
Harvesting citrus trees now to avoid fruits from different years from getting mixed up
I have several citrus trees in my garden that are now starting to bloom. Can I (and should I) pick all the existing fruits so the new and old fruit don't get mixed up? I have kumquats, clementines, lemons, and pomelos.
Do distributors need to sign on a bill of agency with the otzar beit din to be considered an agent?
Many otzarot beit din rely on organized deliveries for their wine and grape juice distribution.
Individuals who agree to distribute the produce (now: wine and oil) locally usually receive a nominal fee for their time, effort, and at times even storage space. Sometimes people don't come to pick up their orders immediately; at times, the otzar beit din will leave an extra amount with the distributor.
With bi'ur time approaching, should these distributors sign a bill of agency shetar shelichut to render the wine exempt from bi'ur? Should they do so regardless of bi'ur to avoid issur sechorah, the prohibition of transacting with shemitah produce?
Should we make an active effort to perform biur
Should we actively designate shemitah produce in order to perform the mitzvah of bi'ur like what we do with the 10 pieces of chametz so we can do bi'ur chametz on erev Pesach?
Grape juice from Rabbi Revach's otzar beit din and makach ta'ut: a true halachic drama
if the taste of the grape juice is different than the regular grape juices. Can I give it back and get back my money?
Bi'ur via hefker before married children
I bought 4 boxes of Batra wine from the Golan Heights otzar beit din (I traveled to Katzrin to buy it, because the wine at the distribution spot was gone!)
I loved the wine and I brought our children mishloach manot that included Batra wine, which they also enjoyed.
On erev Pesach, may I declare the bottles ownerless in front of three of my children? They are married, live in their own homes but in my neighborhood. We all really like the wine.
Hefker for shemitah fruit in the 8th year
I have citruses on my tree that began to develop last year (5782), so I know they have kedushat shevi'it.
But are they still hefker, even though it's the 8th year now? In other words: does hefker follow the status of the fruit or the year?
Going bananas in the 8th year
I see bananas in Otzar Ha'aretz stores labeled sheminit, eighth-year, at the end of Tishrei. How can that be?
Pruning on the 8th year branches with fruit on them:
We are now in the asseret yemei teshuvah 5783. I walked down the street and saw many pruned branches with tangerines, most of them ripe and some partially ripe.
Do these tangerines have kedushat shevi'it?
Is it permissible for gardeners to prune them? Am I allowed to take them and juice them? If so, what do I do with the peels? I don't have enough room in my shemitah bin.