Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Musar for Berakhot 71:21

ונימא הלכה כרבי עקיבא בחוצה לארץ דכל המיקל בארץ הלכה כמותו בח"ל אי אמר הכי הוה אמינא הנ"מ גבי מעשר אילן דבארץ גופא מדרבנן אבל גבי ערלה דבארץ מדאורייתא אימא בח"ל נמי נגזור קמ"ל

Then let him say : The Halakah is in agreement with R. 'Akiba outside the Land; for everyone who takes the lenient view within the Land, the Halakah is in accord with him outside the Land ! If he had stated that, I might have said : This applies to the tithe of trees which within the Land is a Rabbinical ordinance ; but with regard to 'Orlah, which within the Land is ordained by the Torah, I must suppose that likewise outside the Land we must apply it ! Therefore he informs us.

Shenei Luchot HaBerit

In 19,23, the Torah legislates that trees planted in ארץ ישראל undergo a period of three years of ערלה, a period similar to that of a male child before it has been circumcised. We have understood Torah legislation as an attempt to rectify errors committed by Adam , Noach, etc, who have been responsible for a withdrawal of G–d's presence and for damage to G–d's universe. Noach became drunk because he drank prematurely from a vineyard which had not yet reached its fifth year. In his comments on Rav Alfassi at the beginning of the sixth chapter of Berachot, Rabbeinu Yonah quotes a ruling that of all the trees which grow in the diaspora only the vineyard is subject to the נטע רבעי legislation because whenever there is a dispute concerning whether a certain legislation applies, we decide in favor of the more lenient viewpoint when it concerns applicability of the law in the diaspora. He supports this ruling with the argument that wherever teachers of the Mishnah disagree regarding the הלכה, we adopt the more lenient view where practice in the diaspora is concerned. In the case of wine, there is a special requirement to sanctify wine, i.e. to bring it to the level of sanctity that existed prior to the sin in the garden of Eden. The ruling is supported by similar sounding words ערלתו [even when the context is totally different. This exegetical method is known as גזרה שוה. Ed.] on separate occasions.
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