Olive oil from an Arab village

Dear Rabbi! I received a bottle of olive oil as a gift from an Arab who works for our company. The oil is produced at an oil-press in his village, from the olives that are grown right there in the village. Can I use this oil for food?

Dear …!

If we suppose that it is indeed know that this product contains 100% olive oil without any additives, and that this oil is indeed made out of the olives that grow in the village, and that the land where they grow does indeed belong to the village Arabs (and not to some Jew who works there, for example), then it would be permissible to use the oil. According to the Chazon Ish, the oil would acquire the holiness of the sabbatical year. On a regular year, it would be exempt from tithes and other gifts.

However, the reality is that the realm of olive oil especially is replete with forgeries. This is especially true of something that’s produced in a village. Very often there are various additives that require kashruth supervision.

Besides that, very often the Arabs actually use Jewish products that they buy from the Jews in accordance to all kinds of agreements. In this case, this (sabbatical) year, it’s a matter of disagreement between the authorities if the oil is permitted at all. Our ruling is that it’s permissible to be lenient (and use the product), but it’s fitting to be stringent (and not use the product).

As far as orla (prohibition to use the fruit of a tree that is less than three years of age) is concerned, one can be lenient. Although there is such a phenomenon as olive branches growing right out of the ground (in which case they’re considered separate trees and are forbidden for the first three years of life), and producing fruit, most oil does not contain oil produced from such fruit.