[Avodah] Shmittah

[Michael Elzufon]

RRK: ...whatever is planted before shmitta doesn't have a problem of
s'fichim.

oops - I guess my recollections of the end and aftermath of shmitta are
clearer than my memory of the beginning of shmitta before issur s'fichin
becomes relevant. So, l'maaseh, are there OBD vegetables available at the
beginning of shmitta, and later OBD becomes just fruits? Or am I putting my
foot in my mouth again?

[MJE] No, OBD never applies to s'fichin.  Vegetables planted in the sixth year that are not harvested until the shvi'ith begins have kedushath shvi'ith and, depending on how they are handled, could have the status of shamur v'ne'evad.  (Fruits that began to form on the tree in the sixth year do not have kedushath shvi'ith at all.)  The s'fichin problem begins with vegetables that are planted or grow by themselves during shmittah.  Rabbanan made a gezerah on them because people would actually plant vegetables and claim that they had grown by themselves.  OBD is not a way out of this.  OBD only applies to fruits that form during shvi'ith; they have kedushath shvi'ith.