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We are beginning siman 5, where the Chayei Adam discusses the question of detaching an item from its source of growth, but where the item is no longer receiving benefit from being attached to its source. Do we define kotzair as simply removing an item from its source of growth, or removing it from its source of growth when it affects its ability to receive nutrients from its source?
The Chayei Adam writes that if one detaches fruits from a tree when the fruits are dried out and clearly no longer drawing nutrients from the tree, if the stem which attaches the fruit to the free is still fresh, everyone agrees it is kotzair mideoraysa to remove those fruits. The fact that the attachment to the tree is still fresh indicates that there are still nutrients being passed from the tree to the fruit, so one is chayav.
If the stem is completely dry, it is a machlokes whether one would be chayav for kotzair or not. According to the Rambam, even if the tree is completely dried up, one is still chayav for kotzair because they have detached the fruit from its source of growth. According to the Rambam, this is an issur deoraysa.
Therefore, the Chayei Adam writes that it is assur to climb up a tree, even when the tree is completely dried up and dead. Assuming that the issur of kotzair is to detach things from the tree, there is concern that one will detach branches or fruit when climbing. If kotzair were derabanan, climbing would be a gezeira l’gezeira (an issur derabanan to climb out of concern that one will perform the issur derabanan of kotzair), and would not be assur. However, if kozair is assur mideoraysa, then it would not be a gezeira l’gezeira for Chazal to enact an issur derabanan to climb the tree (in order to distance from the issur deoraysa of kotzair. This the question of a dead tree has significant repercussions.,
Since it is a machlokes, the Chayei Adam writes that this issur applies across the board, regardless of whether the tree has branches or not, and even to a dead tree, whether it is winter (when it is harder to ascertain that the tree is dead, and it is easily possible to confuse the trees) or summer, (where the possible of a mistake is much less).
The Chayei Adam concludes that kotzair on grasses which are completely dried out do not fall under the gezeira of a tree, and it is not assur to detach them.
Summary
- If an item is attached to a tree but dried out, if the stem is still fresh, it is assur mideoraysa to detach it from its source of growth.
- If even the stem is dried out, it is a safeik whether it is kotzair mideoraysa to detach the item from the tree. Therefore, one should be machmir for the safeik out of concern of the issur deoraysa.
