✍️ From the Rav’s Desk: Permissibility of Plucking Fruit and Herbs from Plants Growing in a Cemetery
Question:
Dear Rabbi,
I was recently visiting a very beautiful and well‑kept Jewish cemetery. Inside the cemetery grounds there were fig trees bearing fruit, as well as numerous rosemary bushes growing throughout the area. At the time, I was unsure whether it would be permissible to take anything, so I refrained from plucking either the fruit or the rosemary. My question is: would it be permitted in the future to pluck some rosemary to take home, and likewise, would it be permitted to take some of the fruit growing from the trees within the cemetery grounds?
Answer:
This matter touches upon two distinct halachic considerations: (1) the prohibition of theft, and (2) the prohibition of making use of a cemetery and items associated with it. Practically, with regard to fruit, it is permitted for one to pluck and benefit from fruit growing in a cemetery provided that the cemetery’s policies allow it. With regard to rosemary, it is proper to be stringent and avoid plucking it, even if the cemetery technically permits it. Certainly, if the rosemary is growing directly over graves, it is forbidden to pluck it at all.
Explanation:
This question involves two separate halachic issues, each of which must be addressed independently.
The Question of Theft (Gezel): If the cemetery is privately owned or managed, and the trees or bushes were intentionally planted by the cemetery—whether for aesthetic purposes, memorial value, or general upkeep—then one may not pluck fruit or herbs without explicit permission. Doing so would constitute theft, as such plantings are considered the property of the cemetery. Furthermore, if everyone were to help themselves, the cemetery’s appearance and integrity would quickly be diminished. Accordingly, permission from the cemetery administration is required unless it is clearly a public cemetery where such use is known to be allowed. [Indeed, most Jewish cemeteries maintain clear policies that prohibit visitors from removing or making use of items found within the cemetery grounds, including fruit, plants, and herbs. Accordingly, one should always assume that plucking fruit or vegetation is prohibited unless the cemetery administration has clearly stated otherwise or granted specific permission.] All of the above discussion applies primarily to a privately owned cemetery, where issues of property rights and theft must be taken into account. However, in the case of public cemeteries that are not owned by any specific private body—such as many Jewish cemeteries in Israel that are open and publicly administered—the concern of theft generally does not apply, and only the second halachic aspect, namely the prohibition of deriving benefit from a cemetery, remains relevant.
Making Use of a Cemetery (Hana’ah Beis HaKevaros): There is a well‑established prohibition against deriving personal benefit from a cemetery. The poskim discuss whether this prohibition applies to items growing in the cemetery. Practically speaking, although the primary halachic approach is that the formal prohibition of deriving benefit does not necessarily apply to items that grow within the cemetery, there nevertheless exists a separate and weighty concern of maintaining the respect and honor of the deceased. The Poskim discuss whether this prohibition applies only to matters that grow directly from the grave itself, or whether it extends to anything that grows anywhere within the cemetery grounds. With regard to herbs and vegetation, many authorities are stringent and prohibit deriving benefit from herbs growing anywhere in a cemetery, due to their close association with the grounds of burial and the concern of desecration or disrespect. While there is some dispute whether this applies solely to growth over actual graves or also to growth elsewhere in the cemetery, the proper practice is to be stringent and avoid plucking herbs from anywhere within the cemetery. Certainly, herbs growing directly over a grave may not be plucked under any circumstances.
With regard to fruit trees, however, the halacha is more lenient. Fruit growing in a cemetery does not have an intrinsic prohibition of benefit and does not involve desecration of the dead, provided that it is not growing directly from a grave and there is no issue of theft. When the cemetery is public and permission is given—or where local custom allows—it is thereby permitted to pluck and benefit from the fruits that grow there.
Practical Ruling:
- Fruit: Permitted, provided there is no cemetery rule prohibiting it and no concern of theft and does not grow on actual grave.
- Rosemary and similar herbs: One is to refrain from plucking, even with general permission.
- Anything growing directly on a grave: Forbidden to pluck or use under all circumstances.
Sources:
Michaber and Rama Y.D. 368:1; See Chasam Sofer 327, brought in Pischeiy Teshuvah 368:2; Bach 368, brought in Rav Akiva Eiger 368
