Just one Halacha on Hilchot Shabbat. Regarding the Melacha of Zorea. Zorea means literally to plant something, to put seeds in the ground with Kavana (purpose) for it to sprout. So the question would be, if a person would take, for example, the Hadasim that he has for Shabbat that he uses to smell, or other types of Besamin that he has. Like we said, the different flowers that have a smell to them, and he wants to put them back in water on Shabbat. Is that permissible? Or do we say, that such might be Zorea.
That bottom line, by putting them into water, you are causing them to grow etc. So the Ramah writes in seman SH L Vav, "Mutar Lahameed Anfe Ilanot Bemayim BeShabbat". That it is permissible to take these branches of the trees, for example the Hadasim on Shabbat, "Ubilvad Shelo Yihiyu Bahem Perachim Veshoshanim She’en Miftachim Bemachluchit Hamayim", so long as they don’t have buds that are closed, and therefore by putting them in water, it’s going to cause it to open. However, like a case of the Hadas, other types of flowers that are opened already, after you’ve smelled it, if you want to put back in the water, its Mutar (permissible.) The reason being, the Kavana is not to cause them to grow. The Kavana is not to cause them to take root. The Kavana is to put them into the water so they don’t wilt. So they won’t become dry. It’s to keep them fresh so they will still have the smell. So therefore, Halacha LeMa’ase, for example, for people that smell the gardenia that they have in the water sometimes, so on Shabbat it would be permissible to take it out and smell it, and then return it back into the water, and there is no problem of Zorea.
