I Don’t Know How Old My Tree Is; Is the Fruit Orlah?

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 are still orlah?

Shulchan Aruch (YD 294:8-9) writes that although the laws of orlah apply both inside and outside the land of Israel, there is a fundamental difference between them. In Israel, orlah is a Torah prohibition that is derived directly from the text. Therefore, in cases of doubt relating to orlah in Israel the fruit are forbidden. However, outside of Israel, the source of the prohibition is a Halacha l’Moshe mi’Sinai (laws given to Moshe that were not written in the Torah), and in all 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 mi’Sinai, just as one would with any other Torah prohibition. However, in the case of orlah outside of Israel, the halacha taught to Moshe was specifically that only fruit that are certainly orlah are forbidden, but whenever there is any doubt, the fruit are permitted. Pischei Teshuva (YD 294:3) adds that even when the tree was known to be orlah, and a doubt has now arisen that its status might have changed, we are lenient, even though this type of doubt would not allow for leniency in other areas of halacha. Therefore, if one forgot when they planted a tree outside of Israel and cannot figure out when the three years of orlah have ended, the halacha is that the fruit are permitted.


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.