A Tree of Unknown Age

Q. I have a tree in my yard. I don’t know how old it is. Can I eat the fruit, or must I be concerned that the tree was planted within the past three years and the fruit is still orlah?

A. Shulchan Aruch (YD 294:8-9) writes that although the laws of orlah apply both inside and outside the land of Israel, however there is a fundamental difference. In Israel, orlah is a Torah prohibition that is derived directly from the text. Therefore, any doubts that arise relating to orlah in Israel are forbidden (safek di’oraysa lichumra). However, outside of Israel, the source of the prohibition is a Halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai (a set of laws given to Moshe that were not written in the Torah), and in situations of doubt we are lenient. The Beis Yosef points out that ordinarily one must be stringent whenever there is a doubt concerning a Halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai because it has the same status as a Biblical imperative. However, in the case of orlah, the Halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai specifically stated, “Safek orlah bichutz la’aretrz mutar” (uncertain orlah in the diaspora is permitted).

Thus, the answer to our original question about a fruit tree in a backyard (where the date of planting is unknown) is that if the tree is in Israel, the fruit is prohibited, but if the tree is outside of Israel the fruit is permissible.

____________________________________________________

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.