Disposing of Orlah Fruit

Q. There is a fruit tree in my yard that is less than three years old. The fruit are orlah. May I throw away the fruit, or am I required to burn them?

A. Shevet Halevi (2:165) discusses whether there is a mitzvah to burn orlah that was grown in Israel. The Mishnah (Temura 7:5) writes that orlah must be burned, but this can be interpreted two ways: a) There is a mitzvah to burn orlah because the Torah says “Pen Tukdash”(Devorim 22) by kilayim, which means to burn, and we derive orlah from kilayim (see Rashi Temurah 33b) b) Orlah must be destroyed for practical reasons to prevent people from eating the fruit. Burning is the most secure way to achieve this, but if not practical, the fruit can be discarded in the garbage. Tosofos (Sukah 35a) indicates that this is a mitzvah. However, the Rashba and Ritva (ibid) write that there is no mitzvah, but it should be burned for practical reasons. The Beis Meir (EH 124) rules that there is no Torah obligation to burn orlah, but there is a mitzvah d’Rabbanan. After offering various proofs, the Shevet Halevi sides with the Beis Meir. The Pnei Yehoshua (Berachos 36a) writes that there is no obligation to burn orlah fruit that grew outside of Israel. Sefer Keser Hamelech (Hilchos Avoda Zara 8:9) writes that there is a direct proof to the Pnei Yehoshua from the Gemara (Kidushin 39a) which states that they announced regarding orlah outside of Israel that it should be thrown away.

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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.