How Does Tu B’Shevat Impact Counting Years for Orlah?
How does Tu B’Shevat impact the counting of years of orlah (prohibition of eating fruit from a tree during its first three years)?
One may not eat fruit that grew on a tree the first three years after it was planted. This fruit is called orlah. This prohibition applies both in the land of Israel as well as in the diaspora. Although we count the years of the tree based on Rosh Hashanah (1st of Tishrei), Tu B’Shevat plays a role as well. If a tree is planted more than 44 days before Rosh Hashanah (1st of Tishrei), those 44 days are considered the first year of the tree’s growth, and Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the tree’s second year. If a tree is planted less than 44 days before Rosh Hashanah, one needs to wait until the next Rosh Hashanah (more than a year) to complete the first year of orlah. However, even after the Rosh Hashanah marking the completion of three years, the fruit which blossoms in the fourth year before Tu B’Shevat is orlah as well, since it was nourished from the previous year’s sap which is latent in the tree. Only new fruit that blossoms after Tu B’Shevat of the fourth year, which is nourished from the current year’s sap, is no longer orlah. The Shach (YD 294:10) quotes the Rosh who notes that in our climate, trees don’t ordinarily blossom before Tu B’Shevat, so one may assume that all fruit that is found on the tree in the fourth year is not orlah. In Israel, fruits that grow in the fourth year have a special kedusha (sanctity) called neta revai (lit. four year old plant), which will be discussed in a future Halacha Yomis.
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