{"id":12269,"date":"2026-07-13T00:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12269"},"modified":"2026-08-05T15:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T12:25:08","slug":"17-13-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/","title":{"rendered":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes a fruit tree causes damage. In such cases, one may uproot it, since the uprooting is not an act of destruction but a way to remove harm. The Gemara recounts (Bava Kama<\/em> 92a) that the amora Shmuel noticed that date palms planted among grapevines were harming the vines, to the point that the taste of dates could be detected in the grapes. Since the palms were less valuable than the grapevines, he instructed his sharecropper to uproot them. The Gemara also recounts (Bava Batra<\/em> 26a) that Rava bar Rav \u1e24anan\u2019s palms were planted near Rav Yosef\u2019s vineyard. Birds would come to the palms and then descend and damage Rav Yosef\u2019s grapes, and it was ruled that the palms had to be uprooted so that they would not harm the grapevines. The same rule applies when a fruit tree becomes infected with a disease that will spread to other trees if the tree is not uprooted: one may uproot it to prevent the damage.<\/p>\n

When a fruit tree attracts gnats and flies that enter the home and cause great distress, especially when the distress affects neighbors and may even lead to conflict between them, one may cut down the tree if attempts to eliminate the problem by spraying or similar methods have failed. Likewise, when the powerful roots of a fig tree repeatedly penetrate sewage pipes and crack them, one may uproot the fig tree, since this causes significant damage. In cases of doubt, one should ask a halakhic authority.<\/p>\n

One may uproot a fruit tree that blocks a window and prevents light from entering the home, since blocking a window\u2019s light is considered significant damage, and people are normally particular about it. However, if the damage can be prevented by cutting the branches that block the window, one must suffice with cutting them, even if this must be done every few months, because avoiding this degree of effort does not permit uprooting a fruit tree (\u1e24avot Ya\u2019ir<\/em> \u00a7195). This applies even when one must pay a gardener to cut the branches every few months and the cost exceeds the value of the fruit. Only a commercial orchard may be uprooted when it operates at a loss. In a private garden, however, the tree was not originally planted for financial reasons, and therefore one may not permit its uprooting based on an ordinary financial calculation. It may be permitted only when preventing the damage involves great effort that is difficult to carry out, or a much greater financial cost. [6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

[6]<\/a>. One cannot argue by analogy from a commercial orchard to a private garden. True, one may uproot an orchard whose maintenance costs exceed its profit. But it does not follow that one may uproot a fruit tree in a private garden that produces 50 shekels\u2019 worth of fruit per year simply because the gardener\u2019s work in tending it, or in pruning the branches that shade the window, is worth 200 shekels.<\/p>\n

A fruit tree in a private garden is not planted for financial benefit. Any sensible person knows that growing fruit in a private garden, including the value of one\u2019s own labor time, costs incomparably more than growing fruit in a commercial orchard. For people who plant a fruit tree in their garden, every kilogram grown there is worth many times more than fruit bought in high-end stores, as the Sages said: \u201cA person prefers one kav<\/em> of his own to nine kav<\/em> of another\u2019s\u201d (Bava Metzi\u2019a<\/em> 38a). Therefore, only when preventing the damage involves very great effort or a far greater expense may the tree be uprooted.<\/p>\n

The owner of the garden is not obligated to continue watering the fruit tree, even if this will cause it to die, as explained above, section 2 and note 2.<\/p>\n

One may also uproot a fruit tree whose roots have penetrated deep into a person\u2019s grave and are causing serious indignity \u2013 either to the deceased, because he was an important person, or to his family, who are deeply distressed by it (see Shevet ha-Levi<\/em> 2:208).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes a fruit tree causes damage. In such cases, one may uproot it, since the uprooting is not an act of destruction but a way to remove harm. The Gemara recounts (Bava Kama 92a) that the amora Shmuel noticed that date palms planted among grapevines were harming the vines, to the point that the taste […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[234],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-13"],"yoast_head":"\n05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes a fruit tree causes damage. In such cases, one may uproot it, since the uprooting is not an act of destruction but a way to remove harm. The Gemara recounts (Bava Kama 92a) that the amora Shmuel noticed that date palms planted among grapevines were harming the vines, to the point that the taste […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7866b763cf3f205e4ae075eebce0d674\"},\"headline\":\"05. When the Tree Causes Damage\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":681,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"13 - Fruit Trees and Bal Tash\u1e25it\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/\",\"name\":\"05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/17-13-05\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"05. When the Tree Causes Damage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"description\":\"HaRav Eliezer Melamed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Peninei Halakha\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7866b763cf3f205e4ae075eebce0d674\",\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/author\\\/eladgg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha","og_description":"Sometimes a fruit tree causes damage. In such cases, one may uproot it, since the uprooting is not an act of destruction but a way to remove harm. The Gemara recounts (Bava Kama 92a) that the amora Shmuel noticed that date palms planted among grapevines were harming the vines, to the point that the taste […]","og_url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/","og_site_name":"Peninei Halakha","article_published_time":"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00","author":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/"},"author":{"name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7866b763cf3f205e4ae075eebce0d674"},"headline":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage","datePublished":"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/"},"wordCount":681,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["13 - Fruit Trees and Bal Tash\u1e25it"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/","name":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage - Peninei Halakha","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-12T21:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T12:25:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-13-05\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea","item":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"05. When the Tree Causes Damage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","name":"Peninei Halakha","description":"HaRav Eliezer Melamed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization","name":"Peninei Halakha","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","width":300,"height":64,"caption":"Peninei Halakha"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7866b763cf3f205e4ae075eebce0d674","name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f73aec4c538c25ed89bfe678bd2c8d6c4c68e602d853cddfe42d3dbab083bc82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8"},"url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/author\/eladgg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12269"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12271,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12269\/revisions\/12271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}