Orlah

Your innocent question is actually quite complicated. I'll try to make this as concise as possible -- so bear with me! First the biblical source (Leviticus 19:23-25): When you come to the Land and you plant any food tree, you shall surely block its fruit ...

Then it was haircut time. I squeezed my eyes shut, half expecting the same cries I heard at his bris, which seems like it was just yesterday. But when I looked up, he was grinning.

A mystical interpretation of the laws of orlah (forbidden fruit of the first three years after a fruit tree's planting), netah revai (the sanctified fruit of the 4th year), and the "mundane" fruit of the fruit tree's 5th year.

Is it what we do, or why we do it? Do we enter life to play a part in a pre-established cosmic plan, or do we also have a role in defining the significance of our actions?

The Torah teaches that for the first three years the fruit of a newly planted tree is forbidden to us. The majority of Jews today no longer work in the agriculture, but we are all gardeners at heart

The very first failing of the very first human beings was the desire for instant gratification. What is not so well known is that the fruit of the forbidden tree was not intended to be eternally prohibited...

In addition to the basic kosher laws (such as kosher species of meat and fish, and the separation of meat and dairy), there are several other kosher considerations. Here are some of them...