The bracha of Shehecheyanu and the fruits of Tu BiShvat
[1] (halacha 463)
In honor of Tu BiShvat - 'the New Year for the trees'.
In the machzor with the commentary Ma'aglei Tzedek1 it is written: 'And since this day is the New Year for the trees, it is a minhag for each person in his home to purchase a little of every fruit that he can find'. And so wrote the Magen Avraham2: 'On Tu BiShvat. The New Year for the trees. And the Ashkenazim have the minhag to increase the varieties of fruits of trees (Tikkun Yissachar daf 62 column 25)3'. And since on the fifteenth of Shvat it became the minhag to eat fruits, and often these are new fruits over which one recites Shehecheyanu, therefore we shall explain the importance of the bracha and its meaning.
The importance of the bracha
It is brought in the Talmud Yerushalmi in Maseches Kiddushin4: 'Rabbi Chizkiyah, R. Kohen in the name of Rav: In the future a person will have to give a judgment and accounting for everything that his eye saw and he did not eat. R. Lazar was concerned for this teaching, and he would accumulate small coins and with them would eat from every kind of thing once a year'.
And the Korban HaEidah explained: 'Was concerned for this teaching. He was concerned for this halacha and would gather pennies to buy with them from every newly available item once a year. Another interpretation: he did so in order to recite Shehecheyanu and to give praise and thanks to Hashem for having created good creations for people to derive benefit from them, blessed be the God of thanksgivings'.
The Tashbetz Katan5 cited the Yerushalmi and wrote: 'And the reason is in order to increase in brochos'. And the Eliyah Rabbah6 explained: 'And it implies that he is referring to brochos of Shehecheyanu'.
And in a similar vein the Rashbatz wrote in Magen Avos7: 'And they said in the Yerushalmi, Rabbi Elazar would gather pennies all year long in order to eat from every kind, and some explain that he did so in order to recite a bracha over the enjoyment and to mention the name of Heaven, and this too is good'.
And in the Sefer Chassidim Tinyana by Rav Moshe ben Elazar HaKohen (nephew of the Rosh) he wrote8 based on the aforementioned Yerushalmi: 'Every single year you shall make a point of buying the fruits that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, so that you may bless and praise your Creator over every single kind ..9'.
On the meaning of the bracha
The Avudraham wrote10: 'The meaning is that He has given us life and sustained us to merit this thing'.
And the Rokeach wrote11: 'And why three times, Shehecheyanu, Vekiyemanu, Vehigiyanu. Corresponding to "הללי נפשי את ה'. אהללה ה' בחיי. אזמרה לאלהי בעודי" ("Praise Hashem, O my soul. I will praise Hashem while I live. I will sing to my God while I yet exist")'.
And so it is written in the commentaries to the Siddur on the Kaddish: 'B'chayeichon uv'yomeichon uv'chayei d'chol beis Yisrael, corresponding to the one who said "הללי נפשי את ה' אהללה ה' בחיי ואזמרה לאלהי" ("Praise Hashem, O my soul, I will praise Hashem while I live and I will sing to my God"), and corresponding to them we say Shehecheyanu, Vekiyemanu, Vehigiyanu — in this world, and in the days of Moshiach, and in the World to Come'.
If so, we have seen from the importance of the bracha of Shehecheyanu that they would specifically buy new fruits in order to recite the bracha. And in the following halacha we shall see the opinions of the poskim as to whether this bracha over the fruits is optional or obligatory.
Notes:
1 סביונטה שנת שיז ע' כח ↩
2 או"ח סי' קלא ס"ק טז ↩
3 להרב יששכר דידיע בן סוסאן מערבי נדפס על ידו בשם 'עיבור השנים' בשנת שלט, אלא שהי' מדפיס שהדפיס לפני כן בשם תיקון יששכר ↩
4 פ"ד הי"ב הובא במגן אברהם או"ח סי' רכח ס"ק יד ↩
5 סי' שכ הובא בט"ז או"ח סו"ס רכח ↩
6 סי' או"ח סי' רכה אות ו ↩
7 פ"ג מ"ג. אך ממשיך שם 'אבל האמת הוא שהיה עושה כן שלא לצער הגוף מתאוות העולם, וכתיב, 'יודע צדיק נפש בהמתו ועוכר שארו אכזרי' [משלי יב י], ותורתנו השלמה לא אסרה ההנאות, ואסרה הריבוי בהם וחייבה מיתה לזולל וסובא. על כן אמר התנא, כי הנדרים שהם לעשות סייג לפרישות, הם הנבחרים, לא שאר נדרים'. וראה גם שו"ת תורה לשמה סי' תיח: 'מצינו בגמרא דערובין דף ל .. שהיו הולכין רבי יוחנן וסיעת מרחמוהי מאה רבנן ממקום למקום כדי לאכול פירות מתוקים וטובים וכל הליכתם בשביל זה שכן מוכח מן הלשון ובודאי הם היו מכוונים בזה בשביל חיבוב ארץ ישראל לאכול מפירות המתוקים וחשובים שלה וכוונתם לש"ש והנה ודאי כולם היו חסידים וקדושים נמצא ד"ז הוא משנת חסידים ולית ביה פקפוק ולכן מאחר שגם אתה השואל כונתך לש"ש בשביל חיבוב א"י ולהודות לה' על הארץ ופירותיה הטובים לך אכול בשמחה והכל הולך אחר כונת הלב. והיה זה שלום וא-ל ש-די ה' צבאות יעזור לי' ↩
8 ע' 14 בהוצאת פיעטרקוב תר"ע ↩
9 בעלי תמר על הירושלמי שם כתב: 'הנה שחסידי אשכנז נהגו כן הלכה למעשה, והוסיפו שיש להקדים ולקנות הפירות בכל שנה ושנה. והנני להעיר על לשונו שם: ר"א חשש לההיא שמעתא ומצמית ליה פריטין ואכל בהון מכל מין ומין חדש בשתא, מזה נראה שגירסתו היתה, מכל מילא חדת בשתא וגירסא זו נראה נכונה. וכ"ה בתשב"ץ קטן סי' ש"כ' ↩
10 ברכת הראייה השבח וההודאה ↩
11 הל' ברכות שעא. הובא בהגש"פ עם עם לקוטי טעמים ומנהגים ד"ה שהחיינו כו' ↩
[2] (halacha 464)
Question: Is the bracha of Shehecheyanu obligatory or optional?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Eiruvin1 says: And Rabbah said: When I was in the house of Rav Huna, we inquired: What is the law regarding saying zman [= the bracha of Shehecheyanu] on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Since they come from time to time - do we say it, or perhaps: since they are not called regalim - do we not say it? He did not have an answer. When I came to the house of Rav Yehudah he said: I, even over a new gourd [= a new gourd] also say zman. - He said to him: As for optional, I am not inquiring; what I am inquiring is - as for obligatory, what is the law'.
And several of the Rishonim cited the words of Rav Sherira Gaon, from whose words it appears that according to the conclusion of the Gemara one should not recite Shehecheyanu except over the festivals that come from time to time, and not over other new things, as the Tosafos wrote2: 'And as for what we say in HaRoeh, that one recites a bracha over new utensils, Rav Sherira Gaon wrote that we do not rely on it, since we conclude in the chapter Bechol Mearvin that we require something that comes from time to time, and this is difficult from pidyon haben'3.
On the other hand, there are Rishonim who hold that one does recite a bracha also over new utensils or fruits, except that they derived4 from this Gemara that the law of the bracha of Shehecheyanu over fruits is optional and not obligatory, as the Rashba wrote5: 'And these brochos are brochos of an optional nature and not obligatory'.
But there are those who understood the words of the Gemara in another way, and hold that the bracha is obligatory, as follows:
a. There are those who explained that only the bracha of Shehecheyanu over the sight of the fruit is optional, but the bracha of Shehecheyanu over the eating, as is our minhag, is obligatory, as the Rabbeinu Peretz wrote6: 'And so it is somewhat implied in Eiruvin, where Rav Yehudah said, I over a new gourd recite Shehecheyanu — explained: over its sight — however there it implies that it is optional and not obligatory, and inside it implies that it is obligatory, similar to "over their eating"'. And the Eliyah Rabbah wrote7: 'It seems to me from the language of the aforementioned Hagahas Semak that "over their eating," meaning the bracha of Shehecheyanu over their eating, all agree that it is obligatory, even according to the opinion that it is optional — that is, over their sight; therefore I say that it is proper to be careful not to omit it'.
b. And there are those who understood that the intent of the Gemara is that the Shehecheyanu over a fruit that is newly available is optional, in that there is no obligation to eat it, but one who eats it is obligated to recite a bracha. As the Knesses HaGedolah wrote8: 'And it appears that he explains "optional" as referring to the bracha, but to me it appears that "optional" refers to the new gourd, and this is what he is saying: as for optional, we are not inquiring — meaning, a thing that one is not compelled to do, namely to eat a new gourd, and he wishes to eat it, I am not inquiring about. What I am inquiring is obligatory — meaning, a thing from which one cannot exempt himself from doing'.
As for the halacha, the Rema wrote9 in Darkei Moshe: 'And it appears to me that even though from the responsum of the Rashba that I wrote above (letter a) it is implied like the words of Rav Sherira that these brochos are not obligatory, nevertheless one should follow the practice of reciting them like the words of the poskim who hold that they are obligatory; and nonetheless one who is lenient regarding brochos in a place where there is a dispute has not lost out'.
And in a similar vein the Rema wrote in a gloss in the Shulchan Aruch10: 'And some have written that the minhag is to be lenient regarding this bracha, that it is not obligatory but optional, and from this it spread that many are lenient regarding these brochos'.
And the Magen Avraham brought this11 regarding the bracha of Shehecheyanu over fruits and wrote: 'Shehecheyanu. And it is only optional (Gemara), and so wrote the ShaG, and so it is in siman 223, not as he forced it in the Knesses HaGedolah'.
The Alter Rebbe wrote in Luach Birchas HaNehenin12: 'The bracha of Shehecheyanu was instituted only in the manner of an optional matter, that if one wished to recite it he is permitted, and it is not a bracha in vain, and from this it spread that many are lenient regarding all brochos of this sort, and they err, for they only said it regarding the bracha of Shehecheyanu alone, and even regarding this bracha one should not be lenient'. But in the Seder Birchas HaNehenin he omitted this halacha.
And so wrote several of the Acharonim, that although it is optional, they accepted it as obligatory, as the Eshel Avraham (Butshatsh) elaborated on this13.
And this is the language of the Aruch HaShulchan14: 'And nevertheless, regarding new fruits they accepted it as obligatory and all are careful in this, and it is found in the Yerushalmi about one who would economize on pennies from his expenses to buy every new fruit and to taste it, and it says there that in the future one will have to give a judgment and accounting for not having eaten'.
And the Chasam Sofer wrote15 that this depends on his enjoyment, and if he derives enjoyment then it is obligatory and not optional, and this is his language: 'And what appears to me, that which Chazal said regarding the bracha of Shehecheyanu that it is optional, it is not optional to recite a bracha in vain; rather, anyone who derives enjoyment from something over which it is fitting to recite a bracha is forbidden to derive enjoyment without a bracha. But for this there is a measure and a limit, and there are things such that even if he says "I derive enjoyment," his opinion is nullified relative to all people and he is forbidden to recite a bracha; and there are things, such as a new gourd, and according to the Rashba all those in the chapter HaRoeh, that depend on the opinion of each person according to his own view — if he derives enjoyment, his opinion is not nullified, and if he does not derive enjoyment he should not recite a bracha, and that is "optional." And nonetheless, one who knows of himself that he derives enjoyment — his bracha is not optional but obligatory, and if he knows of himself that he derives enjoyment and does not recite a bracha, he is a sinner'.
And so too we see the importance of the bracha from the laws of Bein HaMetzarim, that although the minhag is not to recite Shehecheyanu, the Rema wrote16 in a gloss: 'And likewise, with a fruit that will not be available after the ninth of Av, it is permitted to recite a bracha and eat it during Bein HaMetzarim'. And they explained17 that this is derived from the words of the Yerushalmi about Rabbi Eliezer, who was particular to recite Shehecheyanu.
If so, we have seen that although the poskim held that the bracha of Shehecheyanu is optional, they accepted and made it the minhag to recite it because of the importance of this bracha.
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Notes:
1 מ, ב ↩
2 סוכה מו, א ↩
3 ראה גם ראבי"ה תשובות וביאורי סוגיות סי' אלף קנב. אגודה מנחות פ"ד. וביחס לסתירה בדברי רב שרירא מהתוס' במנחות מב, ב שכתבו: 'דאכלים חדשים מברך שהחיינו, וכ"כ רב שרירא גאון', ראה מהרש"א שם, וראה מראה הנוגה הל' ברכות פ"י ה"א, ויצחק ירנן הלכות תמידין ומוספין פ"ז הי"ח ↩
4 ראה ספר או"ז הל' עירובין סי' קמ: 'פי' רבי' שמואל זצ"ל ושמעי' מהכא דלברך שהחיינו על כל דבר חדש רשות הוא ולא חובה'. וראה גם בב"י סי' רכה ↩
5 שו"ת ח"א סי' רנ אות ו, ועד"ז כתב שם בסי' רמה ↩
6 בהגהות על הסמ"ק מצוה קנא כט ↩
7 או"ח סי' רכה אות ו וראה גם מ"ש החיד"א בברכי יוסף או"ח סי' רכה שיו"ב אות ב, וראה מש"כ ביוסף אומץ סי' נו ↩
8 הגהב"י או"ח סי' רכה ↩
9 או"ח סי' רכג ס"ק ד ↩
10 סי' רכג ס"א ↩
11 סי' רכה סק"ו, וכ"כ גם בסי' רכג סק"ג ↩
12 פי"א הל"א ↩
13 סימן רכה ↩
14 סי' רכה ס"א ↩
15 בשו"ת ח"א או"ח סימן נה ↩
16 או"ח סי' תקנא סי"ז ↩
17 ראה ביאור הגר"א ↩
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