Holeless Flowerpot - Teruma & Maaser

QUESTION: Must Teruma and Ma’aser be separated from Israeli produce that was grown in a flowerpot that has no hole (which is halachically viewed as unattached to the ground)? Also, do the laws of Shemita apply to such produce?

ANSWER: The Rambam (Hilchos Terumos 5:5) writes that Teruma and Ma’aser must be separated from Israeli produce that grows in a flowerpot that has a hole on the bottom. How large does the hole have to be? It must be large enough that a small root can fit through it. If the hole is smaller than that, or if it has no hole, the plant is considered detached from the ground, and there is no Biblical obligation to separate Teruma and Ma’aser, but there is a Rabbinic requirement.

The Gemara (Yoma 83b) explains that Chazal obligated the flowerpot that has no hole, so it should not be confused with a flowerpot that has a hole. The Radvaz (b. 1479; Hilchos Shemitah 1:6) writes that likewise on a Rabbinic level, the halachos of Shemitah apply to flowerpots without holes, and many poskim have ruled accordingly. The Chazon Ish (Shevi’is 22:1) pointed out that although there is no direct source for this in the Gemara, since the earlier poskim have already ruled and this has become the accepted custom, it is forbidden for us to be lenient.

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