Not to work with trees to produce fruit during that year
This page is incomplete.
Help complete the
Mitzvah Minute website.
This Mitzvah's Summary
It is forbidden during the Shemitah year to perform tree-work that promotes fruit production (e.g., pruning, grafting, removing shoots), as the Land must rest.
Beyond the general prohibition on agricultural labor in Shemitah, the Torah explicitly forbids vineyard and tree-work that enhances fruit yield—classic examples include זְמִירָה (pruning), הַרְכָּבָה (grafting), and removing suckers/shoots that channel energy toward fruiting. Chazal treat “שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרַע” and “כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר” as archetypes: sowing for fields, pruning for vineyards—together modeling the broader class of growth-enhancing melachot. Routine horticultural upkeep that directly promotes yield is prohibited; only minimal prevention of irreversible loss (הֶפְסֵד) is considered within rabbinic parameters. The year is “שַׁבָּת לַה',” orienting the farmer away from productivity toward faith and submission to Divine ownership of the Land. This mitzvah works in tandem with related Shemitah commands (no sowing, no standard harvesting, hefker produce) to create a holistic cessation that sanctifies time, land, and livelihood.
Commentary & Classical Explanation:
- Rambam (Hilchot Shemitah V’Yovel 1:2–7; 1:10–11): Defines the prohibited labors of Shemitah. Pruning (זְמִירָה) and similar tree-work are forbidden as avot/toladot of agricultural melachah.
- Talmud (Moed Katan 3a): Derives Shemitah prohibitions from “you shall not sow and you shall not prune,” establishing sowing/pruning as category archetypes.
- Sifra (Behar 1 on Lev. 25:4–5): Treats sowing and pruning as prototypes, forbidding all cultivation that enhances productivity.
- Rashi (Leviticus 25:4): Interprets “וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר” as an explicit ban on pruning during Shemitah.
- Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 112): Explains that Shemitah develops trust in G-d and recognizes the holiness of the Land by pausing normal agricultural work.
Commentaries
Applying this Mitzvah Today
Notes on this Mitzvah's Fundamentals
Faith – אֱמוּנָה
- Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 112) explains that refraining from pruning and tree-work during Shemitah develops faith in Hashem. By leaving trees unworked, one acknowledges that livelihood is sustained not through constant human intervention but by Divine providence.
Holiness – קְדֻשָּׁה
- Rambam (Hilchot Shemitah V’Yovel 1:2–7) teaches that Shemitah sanctifies agriculture itself. Just as Shabbat sanctifies time, Shemitah elevates the seventh year, imbuing even natural growth with holiness and requiring restraint in how fruit trees are treated.
Agriculture – חַקְלָאוּת
- Talmud (Moed Katan 3a) identifies “you shall not sow” and “you shall not prune” as prototypes for agricultural prohibitions. By forbidding pruning and grafting, the Torah targets labors that enhance productivity, reshaping the rhythm of farming into a spiritual discipline.
Eretz Yisrael – אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל
- The mitzvah applies exclusively in the Land of Israel, rooted in its unique sanctity. Rambam (Hilchot Shemitah V’Yovel 4:29) stresses that Shemitah expresses the covenant between Hashem and His land, showing that Israel’s produce belongs ultimately to Him.
Shemitah – שְׁמִטָּה
- Leviticus 25:4–5 forbids sowing and pruning, framing them as archetypal Shemitah restrictions. Together with related prohibitions on reaping and gathering, this mitzvah forms part of the Torah’s agricultural Shabbat, ensuring the land rests completely.
Reverence – יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם
- Sifra (Behar 1) interprets the phrase “שבת לה'” as a call to awe. By withholding their hand from even ordinary pruning, farmers display reverence for Hashem’s sovereignty over the land and its cycles.
Bein Adam L’Makom – בֵּין אָדָם לְמָקוֹם
- Rambam (Hilchot Shemitah V’Yovel 1:1–3) writes that Shemitah is primarily an act toward Heaven. Avoiding fruit-promoting work is an expression of loyalty and submission to Hashem’s direct command, sanctifying agriculture as Divine service.
