{"id":11911,"date":"2026-07-02T00:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=11911"},"modified":"2026-08-03T11:33:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T08:33:30","slug":"17-02-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-02-04\/","title":{"rendered":"4. Calculating the Years of Orla"},"content":{"rendered":"

When counting the years of orla<\/em>, two dates are relevant: the first of Tishrei, which is the New Year for years and for plantings, and the 15th of Shevat, which is the New Year for trees. This is because fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> by the 15th of Shevat is considered to have developed from the rains the tree received during the previous year. We also have another rule: 30 days in a year count as a year (Rosh Hashana<\/em> 9b\u201310b).<\/p>\n

The calculation works as follows: If the tree took root in the ground by the 29th of Av, then by the first of Tishrei, 30 days will have passed for it, and those 30 days count as a full year. One must then wait another two years to complete the three years. Since the New Year for trees is the 15th of Shevat, one must wait until the 15th of Shevat, because fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> before the 15th of Shevat developed from the rains of the previous year, when the tree was still subject to orla<\/em>. Thus, if the tree took root on the 29th of Av 5781, all fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> on it before the 15th of Shevat 5784 is orla<\/em>. Fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> from the 15th of Shevat 5784 until the 15th of Shevat 5785 is neta reva\u2019i<\/em>. Fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> from the 15th of Shevat 5785 onward is ordinary fruit. In practice, then, orla<\/em> applies to the tree for two years and five and a half months.<\/p>\n

The Sages estimated that a seed or cutting takes 14 days to take root in the ground. Therefore, for a tree to take root by the 29th of Av and have that year counted, it must be planted no later than the 15th of Av. If one plants a sapling together with its root ball, there is no need to wait 14 days, because from the moment it is placed in the ground, it is considered rooted there. Accordingly, if it is placed in the ground by the 29th of Av, that year counts for it.<\/p>\n

However, if the tree took root in the ground on the 30th of Av 5781 or later, then since 30 days did not remain for it in 5781, its first year begins only on the first of Tishrei 5782. One must then wait three full years, until the first of Tishrei 5785. Since the New Year for trees is the 15th of Shevat, one must wait several more months, until the 15th of Shevat 5785. Only then does the tree leave its orla<\/em> status. Thus, if the tree took root in the ground on the 30th of Av 5781, orla<\/em> applies to it for three years and five and a half months. Some authorities are lenient and maintain that orla<\/em> never lasts more than three years. However, since orla<\/em> applies by Torah law, the halakha follows the stringent opinion.[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[5]<\/a>. If a tree took root on the 29th of Av, the orla<\/em> period ends after roughly two years and five and a half months. If it took root on the 30th of Av, the orla<\/em> period ends after roughly three years and five and a half months.<\/p>\n

The text above follows Ra\u2019ah, Tosafot, Rashba, Ritva, Ran, and Tur, who hold that after the three orla<\/em> years end, one must always wait until the 15th of Shevat, since fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> before then draws its nourishment from the previous year\u2019s rains. Nevertheless, the first year need not be complete. If it contained at least 30 days before the first of Tishrei, that is enough for it to count as one year.<\/p>\n

However, Rashi, Rambam, Raavad (MT, Laws of Second Tithe and Fourth-Year Fruit 9:10\u201312), Ri Ha-zaken, Meiri, and Semag disagree. In their view, only when the initial calculation was lenient, counting part of a year as a full year, must one wait until the 15th of Shevat in the final year. But if the tree was planted less than 30 days before year\u2019s end, one begins counting three years only from the first of Tishrei 5782. On the first of Tishrei 5785, the tree leaves its orla<\/em> status entirely, as it has completed three full years, and one need not wait until the 15th of Shevat. In their view, even fruit that reaches \u1e25anata<\/em> before then is permitted, despite having developed from rains that fell while the tree was still within its orla<\/em> years. If the tree was planted between the first of Tishrei and the 15th of Shevat, many authorities who follow this approach maintain that the orla<\/em> period ends on the 15th of Shevat, so that one must wait more than three complete years (Raavad, Radvaz, and others on Rambam).<\/p>\n

Others maintain that three years are counted from the exact day the tree was planted (Rambam, according to Kesef Mishneh<\/em>). Still others go further and argue that whether the tree was planted before Rosh Hashana or after, one never counts more than three exact years (R. Hai Gaon, cited in Eshkol<\/em>, Hilkhot Orla<\/em> 111a; R. Natronai Gaon, cited in Tamim De\u2019im<\/em> 120). Some are even more lenient, ruling that if the tree took root by the 29th of Av 5781, the orla<\/em> years end on the first of Tishrei 5784, after only 25 months. If it took root later than the 29th of Av, they end on the 15th of Shevat 5784, after 29 and a half months (R. \u1e24ananel, Rosh Hashana<\/em> 9b\u201310a; another view cited in Eshkol<\/em>, Hilkhot Orla<\/em> 111a).<\/p>\n

In practice, the primary ruling of SA YD 294:4\u20135 follows Rambam, while the stringent view of Razah is cited only as a minority opinion. The Vilna Gaon rules similarly. Even so, I wrote according to the stringent view, because we are stringent in cases of doubt involving Torah law. Mahara Fulda, Levush, Sha\u2019arei Tzedek, Adret, Rashash, and Kerem Tziyon<\/em> 6:5 likewise write that it is proper to be stringent.<\/p>\n

In the Diaspora, the halakha follows the lenient view, and in pressing circumstances one may rely even on R. \u1e24ananel. As for the 14 days needed for rooting, those must be full days. Therefore, for the first year to count, one must plant no later than the 15th of Av. That is the ruling of Rambam (MT, Laws of Second Tithe and Fourth-Year Fruit 9:10), Semag, Kaftor Va-Fera\u1e25<\/em>, Tur, SA YD 294:4, Sha\u2019arei Tzedek, and Arukh ha-Shul\u1e25an<\/em>. Some maintain that part of a day counts as a full day, and therefore one may plant even on the 16th of Av (Rabbeinu Yero\u1e25am and Meiri). In Eretz Yisrael one should be stringent, while in the Diaspora one may be lenient.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When counting the years of orla, two dates are relevant: the first of Tishrei, which is the New Year for years and for plantings, and the 15th of Shevat, which is the New Year for trees. This is because fruit that reaches \u1e25anata by the 15th of Shevat is considered to have developed from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-02"],"yoast_head":"\n4. 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