Rabbi Dovid Stein, Star-K Israel Representative When a tourist
comes to Israel from the Diaspora one of the things he has to
get used to is the mitzvos hatluot b'aretz, the mitzvos that are
unique to Israel. After he gets through taking trumah and
maaser, tithing, and makes sure he doesn't come during shmitta
(beware next year!) he is suddenly hit with orla. And when he
asks how to cope with this unfamiliar problem he is sometimes
given a chart with a list of fruits and orla percentages which,
if he isn't totally confused, the charts will certainly finish
off the job. "What do all these percentages mean? And why," he
asks, "can't someone give me a yes or no answer instead of these
percentages?" So what do the percentages on these fruit charts
mean? In order to understand what the charts mean it is
necessary to understand the halachic problems of orla in Eretz
Yisroel today. Fruits produced during the first three years of a
trees growth are prohibited. With new agricultural advances,
especially in Israel, whic