Transplanting a Tree Before Rosh Hashanah
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Question
I have a pot with a fruit tree, and I want to plant it before the Shemitah year, and the 17th of Av has already passed. Is there still a possibility?
Answer
If the pot or bag in which the fruit tree is planted has a hole with a diameter of two centimeters, and there is a solid clump of soil around the roots that will not crumble during the transfer of the tree, it is permissible to transfer it until the eve of Rosh Hashanah of the Shemitah year. However, in practice, it is difficult to check and verify that all the conditions for transferring the tree are indeed met, so in practice, fruit trees should be planted in the garden or orchard only until the 16th of Av [or the 15th of Av].
Source
Since the reason it is forbidden to plant after the 15th of Av is because the years of Orlah are counted as if it were planted in the following year and it will be considered as planted in the Shemitah, but here, since there is a hole in the pot as mentioned above and the root is surrounded by soil, even when transferring the tree from place to place, it is not considered a new planting according to the essence of the law, and there is no need to recount the years of Orlah, as its nourishment from the ground and the soil in which it was planted is not interrupted, and since essentially the years of Orlah continue to be counted from the time it was planted in the nursery, it is therefore permissible to transfer it even on the eve of Rosh Hashanah of the Shemitah year. And although regarding the consumption of the fruits, there is a stringency to be concerned about Orlah due to the interruption of nourishment during the transfer of the sapling from the nursery to the home in the vehicle, nevertheless regarding the prohibition of planting on the eve of the Shemitah year - one may be lenient. Rambam (Shemittah and Yovel, Chapter 3, Halacha 11); Azmera Leshimcha (Shemittah, Issue 1).
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