Unholy Bananas
Chayim from Kiryat Sefer asks:
You wrote last week that
vegetables picked in the eighth year still have kedushas shvi’is and
could be subject to the laws of s’fichin. Do these laws also apply to
bananas picked in the eighth year?
Bananas are not subject to the prohibition of s’fichin. However, those
which are picked in the sh’mittah year do have kedushas shvi’is.
The Chazon Ish is of the opinion that those vegetables picked in the eighth year
before the prohibition of s’fichin has ended (Chanukah – see last week’s
article) do have kedushas shvi’is. He goes even further by ruling that
even those vegetables which grow in places which are not subject to s’fichin
laws (such as uncultivated fields) have kedushas shvi’is if picked during
this period. However, Rav Elyashiv, shlita, has ruled that even according
to the Chazon Ish, this law does not apply to species which are not
subject to s’fichin laws. Thus, bananas which grew in the sh’mittah
year but were picked in the eighth year have no kedushas shvi’is (Mishptei
eretz, Chapter 16). One should note that this only applies to bananas picked
in the eighth year. Those picked during the seventh year retain their sanctity
even after the conclusion of the year.
