Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Sukkot
- Arba'at Haminim
Answer: Lulav – Classically, it is edible produce that has kedushat shvi’It (sanctity of Shemitta- see below), as the pasuk says "The resting of the land shall be for you for eating" (Vayikra 25:6). However thegemara (Sukka 40a) derives from "for you" that branches that are intended for a use in which the benefit comes before they are destroyed (hana’ato u’bi’uro shaveh), also have kedushat shvi’it. This is as opposed to wood for burning, where the wood burns before one enjoys its heat. The gemara implies that lulav has kedushat shvi’it, and someRishonim (see Rashi, ad loc.) explain that it is because it is sometimes used as a broom. Others (see Ran, ad loc.) say that it does not havekedusha. Since people no longer use palm branches for brooms or the like, we posit that a lulav does not have kedushat shvi’it (Minchat Shlomo I:51.23).
Hadasim – Much of the above analysis applies to hadasim, which can be used for their fragrance. Practically, the assumption is that hadasimtoo are not cultivated for this purpose, and use for the mitzva of arba’ah minim is not considered worldly benefit, which would create kedushat shvi’it.
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions (659)
Rabbi Daniel Mann
167 - Washing Hands with Soap on Yom Kippur
168 - Obtaining Arba’ah Minim for the Sukkot after Shemitta
169 - Shabbat Cruises
Load More
While it is possible to discuss whether these three minim could become forbidden if they were grown in violation of Shemitta, the practical and/or halachic assumptions are that there are no restrictions in obtaining them this year.
Etrog¬ – An etrog, as an edible fruit, certainly has kedushat shvi’it, if it is a product of the Shemitta year. There is significant discussion from the Tana’im to our day, whether an etrog’s status follows the time of its budding (chanata), like other fruits, or its harvest (l’kita) because it is watered similarly to vegetables (Kiddushin 3a). According to the latter opinion, if an etrog was picked off the tree after Rosh Hashana, it would not have kedushat shvi’it. While the Rambam (Shvi’it 4:12) followsl’kita, many (or most – see Shabbat Ha’aretz 4:12) say it follows when it grows. While last year extra care was taken to harvest etrogim beforeShemitta, we assume that an etrog that grew during Shemitta haskedushat shvi’it even if it was harvested after Rosh Hashana.
The main complication regarding an etrog with kedushat shvi’it is paying for it, especially that we do not want the sanctity of Shemitta to be transferred to the money paid for it (a broad topic beyond our scope). (Consumers do not weigh etrogim, so that is not a problem). There are three basic, valid approaches to deal with this issue. One is to buy theetrog b’havla’ah, i.e., the price of the etrog is swallowed up (even if it is more expensive) by being combined with the price of another commodity, perhaps one of the other minim. The mishna (Sukka 39a) actually talks about buying a lulav and getting the etrog along with it as a present.
Those who rely on the heter mechira can do so regarding an etrogas well, if there is a hashgacha that confirms that the given orchard was indeed sold. The otzar beit din system is fine for an 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. While it is best, according to this system, for all etrogim to have the same price, there are legitimate leniencies to allow the beit dinto follow a selection process according to quality and attach different prices to the categories (see Shemitta (Burstein), p. 424)). After Sukkot, one should either eat the etrog, make jam from it, or dispose of it in the way he does for kedushat shvi’it produce.
One should always buy an etrog with rabbinical confirmation of its validity. This year, how Shemitta was handled becomes a major component.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
