3,562. Neta Revai During Shemittah

Hilchos Maaser Sheini and Neta Revai 9:6

Neta revai is redeemed as follows: a basket of produce is appraised by three people who determine how much of it would sell for a sela after factoring in the cost of labor, specifically watchmen, transportation and farmhands. Once the value has been determined, the owner puts the money down and declares that the sanctity of all his produce from that source is transferred to the money; this is based on estimating how many such baskets worth a sela each the produce would fill. In Shemittah (the Sabbatical year), one redeems the produce for its actual value because there are no labor costs. If the field was declared ownerless (hefker), one need only deduct the cost of gathering the produce.

Hilchos Maaser Sheini and Neta Revai 9:7

Let’s say that someone has a fourth-year field and it’s Shemittah, so that everyone is allowed access to it. In such a case, he must indicate the neta revai status with mounds of soil. This will signal to people that they may not eat it without first redeeming it. If the produce was within its first three years (orlah, which may not be eaten), it would be indicated with ceramics so that people will know to avoid it altogether. Ceramics were used for orlah – which is a more severe prohibition – because it was more durable than soil. Those who were zealous in their mitzvah observance would put money aside in the Shemittah year and declare that the sanctity of all the fourth-year produce is transferred to the money as it’s harvested. This was necessary because the produce couldn’t be redeemed while still connected to the ground, as we have discussed.