Agricultural Labors in the Sabbatical Year
● Sowing (“שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרָע” — “You shall not sow your field”)
● Pruning the vine (“וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר” — “and you shall not prune your vineyard”)
● Reaping (“אֵת סְפִיחַ קְצִירְךָ לֹא תִקְצוֹר” — “You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest”)
● Gathering grapes (“וְאֵת עִנְּבֵי נְזִירֶךָ לֹא תִבְצֹר” — “and you shall not gather the grapes of your nazirite vine,” Vayikra 25)
● And some say that plowing is also included (“בֶּחָרִישׁ וּבַקָּצִיר תִּשְׁבֹּת” — “In plowing and in harvest you shall rest,” Shemot 34)
● And some say that planting trees is also included (as it falls under the category of sowing).
Labors prohibited rabbinically
Derivatives of sowing
Watering / spraying / supporting a tree trunk with posts / tying branches so that they do not break / thinning plants / manuring and fertilizing
Derivatives of plowing
Hoeing the field / removing stones from the field / collecting waste / digging a pit for the purpose of sowing or planting
Derivatives of pruning
Trimming / mowing a lawn / and some say also pruning other trees
The laws of these labors
A. Labors prohibited by the Torah are forbidden in every place, while labors prohibited rabbinically were permitted in a situation of loss (Moed Katan 2b; see also Avodah Zarah 50b).
B. Rabbinically prohibited labors that were permitted in a situation of loss were permitted not only where there is loss to the soil or the tree, but even where the loss concerns the fruit.
C. Even in a case of doubt whether the fruit will be ruined, it is permitted to perform rabbinically prohibited labors.
D. With etrog trees, rabbinically prohibited labors were permitted in a situation of loss only where, if they are not performed, the body of the etrog itself will be damaged and it will not be fit for the mitzvah; however, rabbinically prohibited labors for the sake of the etrog’s beauty and enhancement are forbidden.
E. The labors prohibited during Shemitah are prohibited even for the sake of fruit that does not have the sanctity of the seventh year, such as fruit that set in the sixth year; they are likewise prohibited for the sake of crops of the eighth year.
F. Labors prohibited during Shemitah are forbidden even if performed in an unusual manner, even by two people together, and even if they involve no exertion.
G. Labors prohibited during Shemitah are forbidden even through indirect causation — at least rabbinically [Shevi’it 4:2 and 2:4].
H. It is forbidden to tell a non-Jew to perform prohibited labors during the Shemitah year.
Pruning and its derivatives
A. Pruning is prohibited by the Torah in a vineyard, and the Rishonim disagree as to whether it was also prohibited for other trees. In practice, one may be lenient in a situation of loss with other trees [unlike a vineyard, where it is prohibited even in a situation of loss].
B. The act of pruning means cutting and removing dry branches so that the tree will grow better.
C. It is permitted to cut sechach during the Shemitah year in the manner one cuts it in other years, and this does not involve the prohibition of pruning if the person cutting is not an expert and does not intend by his actions to benefit the tree.
D. It is permitted to cut branches that obstruct passage, branches that enter into the house, and also for the purpose of burning them in a Lag BaOmer bonfire. The same applies where there is danger to electrical cables. In all these cases it is permitted when the one pruning is not an expert; if he is an expert, he must cut the branches in a manner that will not benefit the growth and improvement of the tree, such as by cutting only from one side, and the like.
E. It is forbidden to trim the tops of aravot in order to increase their branches.
F. It is forbidden to trim hadassim, and it is likewise forbidden to burn myrtle bushes so that the hadassim will be triple-leaved (burning the bush causes that when it grows again, the branches will be triple-leaved).
G. As stated above, trimming is rabbinically prohibited as a derivative of pruning; regarding a hedge, there is room for doubt whether it is permitted to trim it, since the trimming is done for aesthetic purposes. In practice, one should be stringent in this matter, because trimming sometimes helps improve the hedge so that it grows better; however, it is permitted to trim branches that obstruct passage.
H. It is forbidden to mow a lawn so that it will grow back nicely. If one does this so that the lawn will look better in its present state and not so that it will grow more beautifully in the future, there is room for doubt; in practice, one should be stringent.
Sowing and its derivatives
A. One may not spray the trees unless without the spraying the trees would suffer very great damage.
B. As stated above, watering is rabbinically prohibited as a derivative of sowing; therefore, it is forbidden to water a field that does not require rainwater (“sedeh beit haba’al”), but it is permitted to water a field that requires irrigation (“sedeh beit hashelachin”). There is room for doubt regarding permitted watering (in a sedeh beit hashelachin) whether one must limit the watering, watering only for the preservation of the field and the trees, or whether one may add water and water as usual.
In practice, one should be concerned and water only as needed to preserve the field and the trees (so that they will not be damaged even slightly), but not increase the watering for the purpose of improving the trees. One who is unsure what quantity is needed [when there is no expert to assess the matter] may water until he emerges from the doubt.
C. The permission to water a sedeh beit hashelachin applies also to a field of ornamental flowers; therefore, it is permitted to water as needed so that the flowers do not wither.
D. It is forbidden to wash one’s hands over plants, and one should likewise not wash one’s hands in a sink in such a way that the water will spill into his garden, where there are plants for which watering is beneficial.
However, it is permitted to wash the floor and to operate a washing machine [when there is detergent], even though the water spills into the garden; it is likewise permitted to hang laundry, even though water will drip into the garden beneath it. Regarding water dripping from an air conditioner, there is room for doubt; in practice, it appears that one may permit it, since it is evident that he does not intend for this. However, if the owner of the air conditioner placed the pipe there intentionally in order to water the plants, he must move it from there to another place.
E. It is permitted to pour water on ground where there are no plants. The same applies to a place where there are plants that there is no interest in watering, such as thorns and wild grasses. It is likewise permitted to pour water into a garden that is not his if he does not intend to water it.
F. Where watering is permitted, there is room for doubt whether watering by means of a sprinkler is preferable to manual watering. It appears that since watering a sedeh beit hashelachin was permitted, it may be watered in any manner, even by a Jew and even when it is possible to do so through a non-Jew.
G. Watering a non-perforated pot inside the house (in a roofed house) appears that one may water it as usual, based on the doubt explained above in section 18.
And as will be explained below in chapter 10, the prohibition of labor with a non-perforated pot inside the house is more lenient — therefore, here one may permit it.
H. However, watering a perforated pot inside the house and watering a non-perforated pot on the balcony of the house (which is not roofed) follow all the laws of watering explained above.
I. There is room for doubt whether it is permitted before the Shemitah year to program a computerized irrigation system so that it will water during the Shemitah year as usual, since watering is a derivative of sowing that is prohibited rabbinically and the law of “the resting of the land” does not apply to this. In practice, it appears that one should not do so.
J. It is rabbinically forbidden to manure and fertilize the field as a derivative of sowing, unless the trees will be ruined if this is not done.
Plowing and its derivatives
A. It is rabbinically forbidden to hoe the ground, because the act of hoeing is a derivative of plowing.
B. But it is permitted to hoe around trees in order to make a bed into which the water will collect for the purpose of watering (when the watering is permitted).
C. As stated above, removing stones is rabbinically prohibited because it is a derivative of plowing, specifically when it appears that he is doing so to prepare the ground for sowing. However, it is permitted to remove stones from a parking lot or a playground, since it is evident that the purpose is to use the place and not to prepare the ground for plowing.
D. It is permitted to clean up waste such as papers, plastic bags and the like from a playground, since it is evident that the purpose is cleaning the garden and not preparing the ground for plowing. Regarding a garden that has no playground equipment, one may permit this only when it is evident that he is doing so for cleanliness and not to prepare the ground for plowing or for the benefit of the plants in the garden.
Reaping and gathering grapes
A. The laws that apply to gathering grapes are the same as the laws that apply to reaping, and the prohibition applies only to produce sanctified with the sanctity of the seventh year, even if it is harvested in the eighth year. However, it is permitted to reap as usual during the Shemitah year winter fruit that set in the sixth year, which does not have the sanctity of the seventh year.
B. By Torah law, the prohibition of reaping and gathering grapes applies only when the reaper is the owner of the field or his agent and he harvests the entire field; rabbinically, it is forbidden both for the owner of the field and for another person to harvest in the usual manner.
C. The manner in which it is permitted to harvest according to all opinions is to harvest with tools that are not normally used for harvesting [and if it is impossible to pick with other tools, the Chazon Ish wrote [Shevi’it, siman 12, se’if katan 8] that one who is lenient has not lost, if the field was declared ownerless according to halachah], and to harvest a small quantity — and the owner and others are permitted to pick an amount that a person normally brings home at one time [if the fruit is of species that keep for a long time, people commonly bring a larger quantity; and if they are fruits that do not keep, an amount for a week or two is permitted].
D. Pressing fruit: one should not press grapes, olives, and other fruits in the usual way; rather, one should change and press them in a different manner. If it is impossible to press them in another manner, their law is as explained in the previous section — that one who is lenient and presses them as usual has not lost.
E. With produce of Otzar Beit Din (when arranged properly according to halachah), reaping, gathering grapes, and pressing fruit are permitted as usual.
