Q&A

I was planning on preparing lemon meringue pies using holy shemitah lemons for mishloach manot. The lemon juice is just part of the pie. There are other ingredients, though (I know the whole pie is holy). Does this make a difference?

It says in the Consumer's Guide for Shemitah that you need three people, who can be related to one another, to declare the wine hefker on erev Pesach.

In your WhatsApp group posts. you also mentioned that they can't be dependent members who are part of your household.

We are having a family over for seder night: a couple and their teen daughter. Can they be my hefker witnesses? Or do they have to be men? Is it a problem that they will be our guests (dependents at our table for the night)?

Does otzar beit din wine from last shemitah require bi'ur a second time?

I have many cartons of shemitah wine and I'm not allowed to lift heavy boxes. It will be very difficult and time consuming to bring them out to the public domain to declare them hefker on erev Pesach. What should I do?

I'm going away for Pesach and won't be at home at bi'ur time. How should I perform bi'ur for my shemitah wine?

I bought several cartons of otzar beit din wine. My neighbor asked me if I could sell her three bottles. Am I allowed to do that, or is it considered forbidden transaction with shemitah produce?

I have several citrus trees in my garden that are now starting to bloom. Can I (and should I) pick all the existing fruits so the new and old fruit don't get mixed up? I have kumquats, clementines, lemons, and pomelos.

Many otzarot beit din rely on organized deliveries for their wine and grape juice distribution.

Individuals who agree to distribute the produce (now: wine and oil) locally usually receive a nominal fee for their time, effort, and at times even storage space. Sometimes people don't come to pick up their orders immediately; at times, the otzar beit din will leave an extra amount with the distributor. 

With bi'ur time approaching, should these distributors sign a bill of agency shetar shelichut to render the wine exempt from bi'ur? Should they do so regardless of bi'ur to avoid issur sechorah, the prohibition of transacting with shemitah produce?

Should we actively designate shemitah produce in order to perform the mitzvah of bi'ur like what we do with the 10 pieces of chametz so we can do bi'ur chametz on erev Pesach?

if the taste of the grape juice is different than the regular grape juices. Can I give it back and get back my money?