Q. I have a few questions resulting from the recent ice storm… My snow-removing gardener told me that I should contact an arborist if I want to save the (split cherry) tree. I know that we don't cut fruit trees, but do I have to pay to save the tree?
A. There is a Biblical prohibition (Devarim 20: 19) on cutting down a fruit tree. Besides there is also an element of peril, as the Talmud ( Bava Kama 91b; Bava Basra 26a) quotes Rav Chanina as blaming his son's untimely passing on the fact the his son had cut down a fig tree while it was still flourishing. Additionally, we find in the Talmud (Suka 29a) that the moon and stars are "castigated" (eclipsed) because healthy, fruit-bearing trees are chopped down. Rabbeinu Yehudah he-Chasid in his Will [45] also warns against destroying any fruit-producing trees.
As significant as those sanctions are, there is, however, no obligation to save a sick or dying tree.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a
Important Numbers
