| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Leviticus 19:23–25 |
| Mishnah: | Orlah 3:1 |
| Jerusalem Talmud: | Orlah 20b |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Yoreh De'ah 294 |
The prohibition onorlah fruit (lit. "uncircumcised" fruit) is a command found in the Bible not to eat fruit produced by a tree during the first three years after planting.[1]
In rabbinical writings, theorlah prohibition (Hebrew:איסור ערלה) is counted as one of the negative commandments among the613 commandments. Outside of the land of Israel the prohibition also applies to a certain degree.
The Hebrew wordorlah literally means "uncircumcised".[2] The use of this term is explained byShlomo Ephraim Luntschitz as meaning "hidden and sealed" and it alludes to the creation itself.[3]
Commentators generally assume that the law wasgood agricultural practice, and that early harvesting would conflict with careful cultivation and pruning during the first three years in order to insure later good harvests and allow maturing of the trees.[4] Grape vines produce fruit in three to six years, almond trees produce some flower buds in the fourth year and some fruit in the fifth, and sources from theAncient Near East suggest that a good crop of dates was expected in the fourth year.[5] In discussing the commandment that the fruit could not actually be eaten until the fifth year, Rooker (2000) notes that in theCode of Hammurabi a tenant-gardener could not eat of the fruit of an orchard until the fifth year, when he shared the produce with the owner.[6][7]
TheMishna stipulates that Orlah fruit must be burnt to guarantee that no one benefits from them,[8] and even a garment dyed by way of pigment derived from Orlah is to be destroyed.[9] The ancient custom in the Land of Israel was to mark the ground surrounding Orlah-plantings with crushed potsherds (חרסית), so as to signify that the fruit grown on the trees are forbidden to be eaten until after the first three years.[10]
TheSifra points out that the three year count begins onRosh HaShana (the Jewish new year) and not "tree years" (the Jewish agricultural holiday ofTu Bishvat). Thus, the fruit of a tree only two years and 30 days old may not be considered forbidden.[11]
TheJerusalem Talmud stipulates that "safek orlah" (uncertainty if the product is indeed orlah) is permitted outside of the land of Israel.[12] However,Rabbi Yochanan, in a letter sent toRav Yehudah and quoted in theBabylonian Talmud, took a starkly stringent approach to the common practice of diasporic Jewry being overly lenient on "safek orlah";
Conceal (a) safek (uncertain orlah), and destroy what is orlah for certain, and publicize on their produce that its burial is required. And anybody who says that there is no (prohibition) of orlah outside the land of Israel will not (merit to have) either a great-grandchild or grandchild who cast property ownership in the lot of the congregation ofHaShem.[13]
Althoughorlah is listed in the category of prohibitions pertaining to theLand of Israel (מצווה שתלויה בארץ ישראל), it is one of just two commandments of this category that applies outside of Israel as well.[14] This law is considered alaw given to Moses at Sinai.[15][13] RabbiEliezer ben Hurcanus held the opinion that the prohibition of orlah does not apply outside the land of Israel.[16]
Faced with an uncertainty as to whether an item isorlah (or a result of orlah usage such as dye, etc.), the mishna prescribes that such product is permitted for consumption so long as the actual removal of orlah product is not "seen" being picked.[17]
Thepapaya fruit is a subject of rabbinic dispute, as most of its fruit is harvested in the first three years after planting.[18] Some rabbinic authorities maintain that the papaya is not a tree, thus making it orlah-exempt,[19] whereas most rule that the laws of orlah do apply to the papaya.[20]Papain, (a "second crop" enzyme extracted from the papaya peel, used in beer, biscuits, and as a digestive aid) is likewise under rabbinic scrutiny as a dilution ratio of 200:1 (200 non-orlah fruit to 1 part orlah) is required to permit orlah, essentially prohibiting benefiting from this enzyme.
Theorlah laws are observed to this day by modern Jews. TheChief Rabbinate of Israel has allowed the sale of such fruit to non-Jews, but the usual policy is to destroy it.[21]
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