In the Sabbatical Year (every seventh year, in a recurring cycle), it is prohibited to plow, sow, and cultivate the ground in the Land of Israel. Vegetables grown in Jewish owned property in the Land of Israel during this time may not be eaten. By contrast, the fruits of trees that grew in this year may be consumed, but they have a sanctified status, and they are therefore subject to certain restrictions. This mitzva appears in several places in the Torah, the main one being toward the end of Leviticus: “The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you will sow your field, and six years you will prune your vineyard, and you will gather its harvest. And in the seventh year, it shall be a sabbatical rest for the land, a Sabbath for the Lord; your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune. The aftergrowth of your reaping you shall not reap, and the uncultivated grapes of your vine you shall not gather; it shall be a sabbatical year for the land” (Leviticus 25:1–5).

All vegetables that grow during the Sabbatical Year in Israel in land owned by Jews are forbidden for consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to have a kashrut certificate for every food product containing produce from the Land of Israel, in order to ensure that they contain no ingredients that are problematic due to the laws of the Sabbatical Year.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel conducts a sale of many of the fields in Israel to a gentile, for the duration of the Sabbatical Year, so that they may be cultivated during that year. This “solution” for the restrictions on agriculture during the Sabbatical Year is called in Hebrew heter mekhira, meaning “permission [granted] through sale [of the land].” Though accepted by some, there are many that do not rely on this heter, and are stringent not to consume vegetables that were grown during the Sabbatical Year by Jewish farmers.

Produce that is available in regular vegetable stores may at times not even be covered by the heter mekhira, but was possibly sown in absolute violation of the prohibitions of the Sabbatical Year. Consequently, even those who rely on the heter mekhira must check that the store has a certificate of supervision and kashrut from the Chief Rabbinate, in order to be sure that the goods in the store are permissible at least according to the heter mekhira.

One who does not rely on the heter mekhira must buy his produce during this year from stores that sell only products regarding which there is no concern at all that they are in violation of the Sabbatical Year’s laws. Likewise, one must make sure that products that contain vegetable ingredients do not include produce of the Sabbatical Year. One must continue to be cautious in this regard for about a year after the Sabbatical Year, as the restrictions for Sabbatical Year produce can sometimes apply to preserved and processed food products sold even after the year has passed. This is relevant outside of Israel as well, for products imported from Israel.

Vegetables that grew during the sixth year of the Sabbatical cycle but were picked in the Sabbatical Year have a sanctified status. Similarly, fruits that begin to grow during the Sabbatical Year also have a sanctified status. Such produce is said to have kedushat shevi’it, sanctity of the Sabbatical Year. They are permitted to be eaten but they are subject to several restrictions. They may not be traded or sold for profit. They also may not be treated in a manner leading to its destruction or degradation.

One may not discard the leftovers of Sabbatical Year produce into the garbage in the usual manner; this includes peels, if they are edible. Rather, they should be left to rot of their own accord and then discarded, or wrapped and sealed in a plastic bag and only then placed in the trash.