Harvesting During the Sabbatical Year - What is Permitted, What is Forbidden

Harvesting

The Torah states: "You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest," meaning it is forbidden to harvest fruits of the Shemitah year. However, what is forbidden is specifically harvesting in the manner of harvesters, meaning harvesting the entire field or most of the field, as well as using tools specifically designed for this purpose.

It is permissible for a person to harvest their field or pick fruits from trees if they pick little by little, meaning picking a small quantity sufficient for a few days only, and then they may pick again little by little, and so on. Thus, every few days one may pick a small amount of fruits and bring them into their home to eat, but it is forbidden to pick a large quantity each time.

A person who picks a small quantity is permitted, according to the basic law, to do so even with tools specifically designed for harvesting, such as pruning shears and the like, but it is good to change from the regular method and pick by hand or with a knife and the like.

It is forbidden for a person to pick a large quantity of fruits, even if they distribute it among several people, due to concerns about the appearance of impropriety to others.

A person who picked grapes or olives in a permissible manner (meaning little by little), and wants to make wine or olive oil from them, should not press the grapes in the regular manner, but should squeeze the grapes in a small vessel such as a bowl, and should do the same with olives.  

Any action that is forbidden during Shemitah, if someone transgressed and did it during Shemitah, the produce is permitted. For example, if someone harvested improperly (meaning they picked a large quantity at once), even though it is forbidden to do so, the fruits are still permitted to be eaten.

All these laws apply only to fruits that grew and developed during the Shemitah year. Fruits that grew and developed before the Shemitah year and were only picked during the Shemitah year are not subject to these rules at all. Therefore, it is permitted to pick them without any change, meaning all at once and with special tools. To know when each fruit develops, one should consult with a Torah scholar.

Similarly, all these laws apply only to vegetables that were gathered during the seventh year even if they grew entirely before the Shemitah year, because with vegetables we follow the time of gathering (meaning that with vegetables, it doesn't matter when they grew but when they were picked).