Picking Potted Vegetables on Shabbos
QUESTION: Is it permissible to pick a vegetable on Shabbos if the vegetable is grown in a flowerpot?
ANSWER: There are two types of flowerpots in halacha: those that have holes on the bottom (atzitz nakuv) and those that have no holes (atzitz she’aino nakuv). If a flowerpot with a hole was placed outside on the ground or was hanging directly above the ground, the dirt in it is considered to be connected to the ground. Thus, vegetables that are grown in this type of flowerpot have the same status as those grown directly in the ground. If one were to pick vegetables on Shabbos from this type of flowerpot, it would be a Torah prohibition. However, picking vegetables grown in a flowerpot that has no holes is only a Rabbinic prohibition, because it is viewed as though the vegetables are not attached to the ground.
Why does the halacha differentiate between vegetables which are attached to the ground or not—after all, either way you are detaching it from the dirt where they are growing? The Mishnah Berurah (336:35) explains that it is uncommon to grow vegetables in a manner that they are not attached to the ground, and therefore picking such vegetables is only a Rabbinic prohibition.
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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.