ASK THE REBBE from the virtual desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe Question: How does the consumer approach buying lulav and etrog this year (the Sukkot directly after Shmita)? Answer: Let’s start with the easiest point. Aravot, which are not food, do not have kedushat shvi’it, (sanctity of Shmita - see below) and, thus, do not have restrictions. It is possible that they were improperly handled during Shmita, but this is not so common and, in any case, according to most poskim, they are not prohibited b’dieved (after the fact). Although, classically, it is edible produce which has kedushat shvi’it, the gemara (Sukka 40a) says that branches which are used for benefit before they are destroyed (hana’ato u’bee-uro shaveh), as opposed to wood for burning where the burning precedes the heat, have kedushat shvi’it. Rishonim already discussed the status of the lulav (which once was used for a broom) and hadasim (which can be used for their fragrance). Practically, the assumption is that lulav and hadasim, which are used primarily for mitzvot (which are not considered worldly benefit), do not have kedushat shvi’it (Minchat Shlomo 51.23). An etrog, as an edible fruit, certainly has kedushat shvi’it. There is significant discussion from the Tana’im to our day, whether its status follows its budding (chanata) or its harvest (l'keeta). To avoid problems, most etrogim were harvested last year before Rosh Hashana and, will be this year, after it. However, all agree that we assume that an etrog which grew during Shmita has kedushat shvi’it. The main complication regarding an etrog with kedushat shvi’it is how to buy it (normally there is a problem of weighing such fruit, but I never saw etrogim sold by the kilo). There are three basic, valid approaches which are used. One is to buy the etrog b’havla’ah, which means that the price of the etrog is included in the price of some other commodity, perhaps one of the other minim. In this way, the money does not receive kedushat shvi’it, which would cause problems. Those who rely on the heter mechira can do so regarding the etrog as well. The otzar beit din system, which we encourage all during the Shmita year, is fine for etrog as well. Under this system, a beit din (rabbinical court) supervises the handling of the orchard and sets the price of the fruit according to the cost of expenses (including permitted labor), not according to the fruit’s value to the consumer. Whenever one buys an etrog, he should demand rabbinical approval of the validity of the etrog. This year, the supervisors have a few more things to verify (there is a serious issue of shamur ve-ne’evad concerning how the laws of Shmita were kept in regard to the growing the fruit, but this is beyond the scope of our discussion). After Sukkot, one should either eat the etrog, make jam from it, or wait until it is inedible before disposal. “Ask the Rabbi” Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. You can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at
www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. If you would like to receive Hemdat Yamim by email, on a weekly basis, please send an email to
lists@eretzhemdah.org with the
message:JoinHemdatya - Please leave the subject blank. Good deeds done in self-interest and not for their own sake are better off not being done at all. Except for charity. The poor gain benefit from charity regardless of the intention of the giver. A Jew is like a golden coin. If at times it gets rusty or mired, all you have to do is wash and scour it and its luster will return. One must constantly renew oneself. REASON In accord with the pasuk (T'hilim 36:8) B'TZEL KENAFECHA YECHESAYUN, they shall find shelter under the shadow of Your wings. The word B'TZEIL is similar to the word BATZAL (onion). Ed. note: Don't know anyone who has this minhag, but I have a feeling that more people (some TT readers?) will try it this year. Let me know if you do. REASON Because these are joyous days, and it is written in Kohelet 2:2, "And of joy, what does it accomplish? (Magen Avraham) REASON We find an allusion to Sukkot in Kohelet (11:2), "Distribute portions to seven, or even eight." Our Sages expounded (Eruvin 40b) Distribute portions to seven — this refers to the seven days of Sukkot. Or even to eight — this refers to Shmini Atzeret. REASON Melachim Alef 8:2 says, "And all of the men of Israel gathered to King Shlomo in the month of the mighty ones, the seventh month." REASON Since in the piyutim of Hoshana Rabba we recite several times the phrase KOL MEVASER V'OMER. In German, the phrase sounds like KOHL, cabbage, MIT VASSER, with water. The "Ask the Rabbi" Q & A from Eretz Hemdah, published in Torah Tidbits 486 (pre-Rosh HaShanah issue) dealing with the acutely sensitive issue of Shofar blowing and its relevance to the hearing-impaired community, requires a fair measure of modification and update in order to secure a Halachically sound directive. [1] Indeed, as quoted, "The great majority of poskim have ruled that one cannot fulfill the Mitzva of hearing the Shofar by means of a hearing aid". [3] Therefore, Q & A's absolute definitive conclusion as stated: "If one cannot hear the Shofar at all without a hearing aid, he is totally exempt from the mitzva", falls short of a "complete" P'sak, for the Halachic dictum: "Safek D'Oraita L'chumrah" must be applied in both directions (Halachic literature being relete with illustrations of such double-edged Piskei Halacha). Namely, from the point of view of one's personal obligation, certainly the hearing-impaired individual should be encouraged to see himself as being obligated in the mitzva in accordance with the above-mentioned lenient opinions. However, regarding his communal standing in blowing for others, we would certainly adopt the stingent view in this case and not allow this individual to blow for others. [4] It goes without saying, that if the hearing ability is sufficiently adequate for one to hear the Shofar on any level without the use of the hearing aid (whether in Shul or at home), this would be preferred. [5] On a related note, the past two decades have witnessed the development of a variety of cochlear implants. A successful implant patient, with proper rehabilitation procedures, gains access for the very first time to the wonderful world of sound. In private conversation with my Rebbe, HaRav Prof. Moshe D. Tendler, the following trailblazing opinion has emerged. The cochlear implant procedure is to be regarded Halachically as "by-pass road" to the natural hearing mechanism of the ear. Sound is perceived by the stimulation of the auditory nerve - bypassing the impaired sensory hair cells of the inner ear - and is subsequently transmitted to the brain for perception and interpretation of sound. Hence, the individual is to be regarded as "hearing" in every sense of the word. Rav Tendler went so far as to declare such a person not only a "Bar Da'at" (intellectually worthy for mitzva purposes), but also as a "Shoma'ah" (a person with competent hearing) for Shofar purposes. Not only would such an individual be obligated personally to hear the Shofar, but he may actually blow for others as well. Take, for example, two of Rabbi Akiva’s references to the names of individual species and their allusion to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The etrog - Pri Etz Hadar – reminds us of Hashem who is recalled in the verse “Hod Vehadar Lavashta” – ‘You are dressed in majesty and splendor.’ And likewise there is a reference to Hashem in the phrase, “Tzadik katamar yifrach” – ‘The righteous shall blossom like the date palm (the lulav).’ The most popular analogies invoked by the Arba Minim revolve around the notion of Jewish unity: All the disparate elements of the Lulav seem to converge in the service of Hashem despite their intrinsic differences. It appears that in our purified state following Yom Kippur, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is ready to remember the devotion of our youth (Yirmiyahu 2:2). And we are then prone to heed each other and cling to one another as, in the spirit of Sukkot, we ready ourselves to make sacrifices on behalf of an entire world. Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center [The Sukkot Homepage]
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