Preserving the Sanctity of Fruits - The Prohibition of Wasting Shemitah Fruits

The Torah states: "And the land shall be for you to eat," and our Sages interpreted this as "for eating and not for waste," meaning that fruit with sanctity must be preserved without damaging its holiness or causing it waste. This preservation is expressed in several ways, such as:

The manner of eating fruits (will be explained shortly)

Protecting fruits from waste (will be explained shortly)

One of the ways to preserve the sanctity of fruit is "the proper way of eating the fruit," meaning that one should not use fruit, vegetables, or grain for purposes other than those for which they are intended, but should use the fruit only for its appropriate purpose.

Another way to preserve the sanctity of fruit is "protection from waste," meaning that it is forbidden to needlessly waste fruit that has sanctity. This is expressed in several areas, as will be explained shortly.

Actions considered "wasteful" to fruit and therefore prohibited:

Produce typically eaten should not be used for other purposes such as dyeing or non-food uses

Produce normally eaten should not be drunk

Produce normally drunk should not be eaten

Produce normally eaten raw should not be cooked

Produce suitable for food should not be planted

Produce intended for human consumption should not be fed to animals

Produce intended for eating should not be juiced, such as: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, etc. If one violated this and juiced these fruits, the juice may be consumed after the fact (and one must maintain the sanctity of this juice)

It is forbidden to feed a non-Jew food with Shemitah sanctity

It is forbidden to export fruits with sanctity outside of Israel

It is forbidden to mix fruit with bitter substances that would spoil the fruit. (However, it is permitted to add medicine such as an Acamol tablet or liquid Acamol to a banana or other fruit to give to a child, since the food is not spoiled, as the child will ultimately eat this food)

It is forbidden to spoil the taste of fruit even if it enhances another food, such as pickling cucumbers or olives with vinegar that has Shemitah sanctity, as this is considered wasting the vinegar, and likewise, one should not clean lettuce with vinegar that has Shemitah sanctity

It is forbidden to pickle vegetables in vinegar that has Shemitah sanctity

It is forbidden to mix fruit with medicine (to sweeten the medicine)

It is forbidden to cut branches of a tree that has fruits, as this wastes the fruits. This is prohibited even if the fruits are very small and still unripe and not suitable for eating. However, if the cutting is to save the tree, it is permitted to cut branches even if they have fruits and these fruits will be wasted

It is forbidden to grease a baking pan with oil that has Shemitah sanctity if done only to prevent sticking

It is forbidden to anoint utensils with oil that has Shemitah sanctity (but it is permitted to anoint the body, as will be explained below)

It is forbidden to anoint even the body with wine or vinegar that has Shemitah sanctity, because it is not customary to anoint the body with these substances

It is forbidden for a mohel to use Shemitah wine during metzitzah (suction). If there is a concern for the baby's life, it is certainly permitted

If a person boiled fruit in water and the fruit gave a good taste to the water, it is forbidden to discard this water; rather, one must treat it with the same sanctity as the fruit, such as: compote water, water from canned goods, and the like

Wine with Shemitah sanctity should be carefully preserved and not spilled during the recitation of the Ten Plagues at the Passover Seder or used to extinguish a candle. Nevertheless, if one has no other wine, one may spill some when reciting the Ten Plagues in the Haggadah

If a person ate fruits or vegetables on a plate and noticeable food remains, it is forbidden to throw these remains in the trash, as this causes waste to the fruit with sanctity. Rather, one should wrap the remains in a bag and only then discard them. Some are strict and dedicate a special bin for these foods, thus not mixing foods with Shemitah sanctity with other waste thrown in the bin, and may they be blessed

Fruits placed under a bed - an evil spirit rests upon them and one should avoid eating them. However, the problem is that if one does so and avoids eating them, one ends up wasting fruits with sanctity. The solution is to immerse them to remove the evil spirit and then eat them. If one still does not want to eat them, set them aside until they become inedible for animals and then discard them in a plastic bag

If a person picked grapes or olives in a permissible way (that is, picking a little at a time), and wants to make wine or olive oil from them, he may not tread on the grapes in the usual way, but should squeeze the grapes in a small vessel such as a bowl, and do the same with olives

A person must educate his minor children who have reached the age of education not to waste food with Shemitah sanctity

Actions not considered "wasteful" to fruit and therefore permitted:

Any fruit or vegetable that is customarily eaten both raw and cooked or fried may be cooked or fried, and this is not considered wasting the fruit. For example: cooking fruits for compote, cooking carrots and tomatoes, and frying eggplant, onion, etc.

Any fruit that is customarily juiced may be juiced. For example: grapes and olives may be squeezed to make wine or oil, as they are intended for this purpose

Any fruit that is customarily both eaten and juiced may be juiced. For example: oranges, lemons, and grapefruits, because these fruits are intended for both eating and juicing

Today one may be lenient about juicing carrots to make carrot juice, since nowadays it is customary to juice them

It is permitted to squeeze a lemon to make lemon juice, and it is permitted to squeeze lemon on fish or any food, as this is its customary use

Any fruit or vegetable that is customarily eaten mashed or ground may be ground or mashed. Therefore, it is permitted to mash potatoes, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, garlic, onions, nuts or peanuts, etc. (If one grinds to add the food to a mixture, one should be careful not to add such a small amount to the mixture that it is not at all noticeable in the mixture, as this is considered removing its sanctity because it is not at all noticeable in the mixture. If there is not sixty times the amount, one must treat this mixture with sanctity. If there is more than sixty times the amount, one need not treat this mixture with Shemitah sanctity)

A fruit that is not customarily mashed should not be mashed during Shemitah, but it may be mashed for an infant or for a sick or elderly person

Whenever there is doubt whether a fruit or vegetable has Shemitah sanctity or not, one may be lenient and need not treat it with Shemitah sanctity (because there is a doubt about a rabbinic prohibition, as Shemitah in our times is rabbinic)

Any food left from a meal that is in a small quantity, such that people would normally throw it in the trash, may be thrown in the trash. However, before discarding the food remains, place them in a plastic bag and only then throw them in the trash

It is permitted to peel a fruit with Shemitah sanctity or cut parts from it that are not suitable for eating, and this is not considered wasting the fruit. (However, if the peels are suitable for human or animal consumption, one must maintain the sanctity of the peels and not throw them directly in the bin, but must wrap them in a plastic bag and only then throw them in the bin - as explained above)

It is permitted to pickle a vegetable or fruit that is customarily pickled, even if it is not yet fully cooked, and this is not considered wasting the fruit

It is permitted to feed a non-Jew's animal with animal food that has sanctity

A person who wants to eat only half a fruit may cut it in half even if he does not eat the entire fruit

It is permitted to give a child fruit or vegetable even if there is concern that the child will waste, soil, or throw the fruit on the floor. Likewise, it is permitted to give a child a whole banana even knowing that the child will dirty or waste the rest of the banana (and of course, what remains should be placed in a bag and thrown in the bin). However, if it is possible to give the child only part of the fruit without causing waste, it is preferable to do so (and everyone should use their judgment to know how to act, and if the child insists on receiving the whole banana, one may give him everything without any doubt)

It is permitted to place food in the sun or in a place with flies or insects, whereby the food will be spoiled, because the spoilage is not done directly, and this is not considered wasting Shemitah fruits. Similarly, a person eating soup or compote who has a little food left is not obligated to put it in the refrigerator so that it does not spoil

Food that is not very fresh, food that has lost its taste, or food that has spoiled - one is not obligated to eat it and may throw it in the trash. However, one must place the food in a plastic bag and only then may it be thrown in the trash

Lettuce, cabbage, etc., where some leaves have become moldy, may be thrown in the trash and this is not considered wasting the fruit. However, one must place the food in a plastic bag and only then may it be thrown in the trash

It is permitted to make Havdalah with Shemitah wine, but one should drink the entire cup (and those who wish to rely on the authorities who permit even if a little wine spills from the cup, and also permit extinguishing the candle with it, and also permit placing it on the eyelids, etc., as is customary every year, have authorities to rely on. Some are strict, and it is good to be strict initially

It is permitted to wash dishes even if there is food with Shemitah sanctity on the dishes and it is wasted in the sink, provided that the amount of food left in the pot or plate is an amount that is customarily washed away every year and not customarily collected. (However, if a significant amount of food remains, i.e., an amount of food that is customarily collected from the pot - if one wants to throw it in the trash, one must place the food in a plastic bag, and then place the bag in the trash as explained above)

It is permitted to feed worms with leaves of fruits that have Shemitah sanctity, because the spoilage is not done directly, and this is not considered wasting Shemitah fruits

Some are lenient about turning a drink with Shemitah sanctity into food

It is permitted to anoint the body with oil that has Shemitah sanctity

It is permitted to light Shabbat candles with oil that has Shemitah sanctity

There is a dispute whether a person may light Chanukah candles with oil that has Shemitah sanctity, and the halacha is: one should not light with this oil initially, and only if one has no other oil may one light with it

It is permitted to light candles in the synagogue for the elevation of the souls of the deceased with oil that has Shemitah sanctity, if done at night, but during the day one should not light with it

A person who has bread made from wheat with Shemitah sanctity may burn it on the eve of Passover. This is not considered waste, since one is obligated to burn the chametz in one's possession.   

All produce that does not have sanctity need not be protected from waste, and may be thrown in the bin as usual, and one may behave and use them as is customary in any regular year.