Dear Rabbi Simon
My neighbour’s apple tree overhangs my garden. We have agreed for my gardener to cut down the branches on my side in order to replace the broken fence between the gardens. However, I am concerned about the halakhic permissibility of doing so. Am I right that the Torah forbids destroying fruit-bearing trees. (But my gardener is not Jewish.)
Many thanks
Ilan
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Dear Ilan
Thank you for your practical question.
Sefer ha-Hinukh and Rambam appear to indicate that the prohibition is limited to cutting down a tree in its entirety. (Interestingly, these laws are not addressed in the Shulkhan ‘Arukh.) Moreover, Teshuvot Har Tzvi of Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (OH 2:101) is quoted as explicitly permitting cutting branches. So you are fine, particularly if the work is to be undertaken by your gentile gardener.
Best wishes
Rabbi Rashi Simon