Commentaire sur Le Lévitique 19:23

וערלתם ערלתו את פריו meant lit., ye shall close its closing (regard it as enclosed): the meaning being that it shall be, as it were, closed up and barred so that no benefit may be derived from it.

VA’ARALTEM ORLATHO’ THE FRUIT THEREOF. “[This means literally]: ‘ye shall close its closing,’ meaning that it shall be closed up and hidden so as not to have any benefit from it.” This is Rashi’s language, and he has explained it well. And if so, ‘erel’ of heart¹⁵⁴Ezekiel 44:9. means “closed of heart,”¹⁵⁵It is generally translated: uncircumcised in heart. just as it is said, and I will rend the enclosure of their heart.¹⁵⁶Hosea 13:8. Similarly, ‘areila’ is their ear¹⁵⁷Jeremiah 6:10. means “their ear is closed and dulled so that no sound enters therein.” And ‘aral’ of the lips¹⁵⁸Exodus 6:12. means “closed of lips,” for defective speech is a result of an impediment and obstruction in the veins of the tongue, or sometimes in those of the lips, which have not been properly opened. Speech is referred to in Scripture by the term “opening,” thus: Open thy mouth for the dumb¹⁵⁹Proverbs 31:8. [which means, “speak up in the cause of the dumb”]; Job opened his mouth;¹⁶⁰Job 3:1. and the opening of my lips shall be right things;¹⁶¹Proverbs 8:6. keep the doors [literally: “openings”] of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.¹⁶²Micah 7:5. Now Scripture uses the expression “closing up” with reference to the fruit of the first three years, so as to prohibit the deriving of any benefit from it, although it does not express it in this way with reference to other things from which we are also forbidden to derive any benefit [e.g., diverse kinds in a vineyard].¹⁶³Deuteronomy 22:9. This is because the appearance of the fruit in its earliest stage is called “opening,” just as it is said, the vine-blossom has opened.¹⁶⁴Song of Songs 7:13. Therefore He said, three years shall it be ‘areilim’ unto you, as if the fruits are closed up in the trees, and have not put forth buds nor opened blossoms.
The reason for this commandment is to honor the Eternal with the first of all our produce of the fruits of the tree and the increase of the vineyard, and that we are not to eat of them until we bring all the fruit of one year [i.e., the fourth year after the planting] for giving praise unto the Eternal.¹⁶⁵Verse 24. Now the fruit of the first three years is not fit to be brought before the Glorious Name¹⁶⁶Deuteronomy 28:58. because it is small; neither does the tree in its first three years impart good taste or flavor into its fruit. Besides, most trees do not bring forth fruit at all until the fourth year. Therefore we are to wait with all of them [an equal period of time], and are not to taste of their fruit until we have brought of the planting which we have done, all its first good fruit to be holy before G-d, and there [in Jerusalem] we are to eat it and praise the Name of the Eternal. Thus this commandment is like that of the first-fruits.¹⁶⁷Ibid., 26:1-11. It is furthermore true that the fruit which comes forth from the tree when it is first planted, contains an abundance of moisture which attaches to and is harmful to the body and it is not good to eat it, just like a fish which has no scales and all food, forbidden by the Torah, which are harmful also¹⁶⁸See Ramban above, 11:13, and 17:11, that the harm is chiefly to the soul of the person. This is the intention of Ramban’s expression here that the forbidden foods are “also” harmful to the body. to the body.
The Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] also gave in the Moreh Nebuchim the same type of reason for this commandment as he gave for most of these commandments, namely, that the magicians and sorcerers of those days used to practice certain deeds of witchcraft at the time of the planting of the trees, thinking that by so doing they would accelerate the coming out of the fruits before their natural time, and when the fruits appeared, they would offer them to the idol in the name of which that witchcraft was performed. Therefore the Torah commanded that the fruits which come out before three years [after the planting of the tree] should be forbidden [to derive any benefit from], in order that people should not come to practice these evil deeds, for most trees bring forth fruits in the fourth year, and that we are then to eat them before G-d [in Jerusalem], contrary to their eating of them before the idols.

וכי תבאו אל הארץ, "and when you arrive in the country, etc." This verse contains three commandments. 1) The arrival in the land of our ancestors. We understand this in accordance with Ketuvot 110 that הכל מעלין לארץ ישראל, a father may force all the members of his household to migrate to the land of Israel as opposed to leaving the land of Israel. 2) One must plant fruit-bearing trees in order to enhance the stature of the land. 3) One has to observe the years of ערלה before one is entitled to eat or use the fruit of these trees.