The sanctity of Shevi'is in the Four Species
[1] (halacha 104)
Question: Is there kedushas shevi'is in the arba minim, and this question is highly relevant this year regarding esrogim from Eretz Yisrael belonging to Otzar Beis Din that went out to chutz la'aretz?
Answer: A. Arava (willow) - the arava has no kedushas shevi'is1.
B. Lulav - the Rishonim disagree2 regarding the lulav as to whether it has kedushas shevi'is, but in practice nowadays we rule that the lulav has no kedushas shevi'is3, and so too the HaGrm"sh Ashkenazi z"l ruled in practice.
C. Hadasim (myrtles) - although some were stringent4 to observe kedushas shevi'is with it, in practice the poskim testified5 that the universal practice is not to observe kedushas shevi'is with it, and so too the HaGrm"sh Ashkenazi z"l ruled in practice, and their reasoning is that the hadasim are not designated for their fragrance but rather for the purpose of a mitzvah6.
Therefore, in practice the lulav, hadas, and arava have no kedushas shevi'is, and we need only conduct ourselves with them as explained in yesterday's halacha.
D. Esrog - although some have argued7 to say that an esrog that was planted for the mitzvah has no kedushas shevi'is, nevertheless in practice the ruling of the poskim8 is that the esrog does have kedushas shevi'is.
Therefore it is forbidden by law to throw it into a garbage bin or the like after Sukkos. And so too the poskim wrote9 that one should not stick and stud the esrog with cloves for spices. And likewise it will be forbidden for us to burn the esrog while it is fit for eating, since this is a manner of waste10.
In practice the options are:
A. Since we are not obligated to perform acts of preservation11, one may leave the esrog exposed to the air until it dries out in a manner that it is no longer fit for eating, and then the kedushas shevi'is has lapsed from it and one may, by the strict law, throw it into the bin [but we already saw in yesterday's halacha that since a mitzvah was performed with it, one should not conduct oneself with it in a minhag of bizayon (disgrace), and it is more proper to burn it together with the burning of chametz]. However, it is forbidden to place the esrog in the sun or the like in order to cause it to dry out more quickly, since this is considered performing an act of waste with one's own hands12.
B. To eat it in the manner in which it is customarily eaten, and therefore one may fry it or make jam or compote from it, since this is the customary way13.
But one must be careful:
A. Not to throw into a regular bin that which is fit for eating (and some are lenient when it does not contain a kezayis14), and this includes the peels of the esrog15, as well as the leftovers that have significance from the pot in which the esrog is cooked, and therefore one should place these in a special location (a shevi'is bin) until they rot. However, leftovers that are usually discarded, as well as the seeds in the esrog16, there is no problem in discarding.
B. In a case where one has a quantity beyond three seudos for himself and his household members (i.e. more than 3 esrogim), not to let the time of bi'ur pass without removing them17.
Regarding the esrog, the poskim disagree as to what is the time of bi'ur for the esrog: some say18 that it has no time of bi'ur at all, and some say19 that there is a bi'ur and its time is in the month of Shevat. Therefore, l'chatchilah one should finish eating it before the month of Shevat, or fulfill the law of bi'ur.
Notes:
1 פירות שביעית (להרב צבי כהן) פכ"ב אות סח ↩
2 רש"י בסוכה מ, א. ד"ה יצאו, וסייעתו מחמירים. אמנם הרמב"ם הל' שמיטה ויובל פ"ח הי"א, ובפיהמ"ש, פסק שאין בזה קדושת שביעית ↩
3 שו"ת מנחת שלמה ח"א סי' נא. שו"ת מנחת יצחק ח"א סי' סא. שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"א סי' קפא ↩
4 הגר"ח נאה בהערות למעשה ע' שנב (ואף החמיר בלולב). וכן הגר"ש וואזנר הובא במשנת יוסף ח"א סי' כה ↩
5 ראה במשנת יוסף שם מכמה פוסקים ובראשם המהרי"ל דיסקין בשו"ת ציץ הקודש ח"א סי' טו. שו"ת מנחת שלמה ח"א סי' נא אות כג ↩
6 ראה גם בספר השמיטה להרי"מ טיקוצינסקי פ"ז ענף ד ס"ו ↩
7 שו"ת מהרי"ט ח"א סי' פג. שלחן שלמה שביעית ע' רכה ↩
8 ראה באור שמח הלכות לולב פ"ח ה"ב. הגר"ח נאה שם. שלחן שלמה שם ע' רכו הערה ז דכן המנהג ↩
9 שלחן שלמה שם ע' רלא ↩
10 רמב"ם הל' שמיטה ויובל פ"ה הי"ז ↩
11 פירות שביעית שם ע' שו והערה כד ↩
12 שם ע' שט סעיף כב, וכ"כ הגרמש"א ז"ל ↩
13 שלחן שלמה שם ע' רלא ↩
14 הגר"ח נאה בהערות למעשה שם ע' שלט אות יא ↩
15 שם אות ד ↩
16 שם אות ז ↩
17 הגר"ח נאה שם ע' שסז ואילך ↩
18 רידב"ז סי' ח הי"ג. וכ"כ הגר"ח נאה שם ע' שנב ↩
19 ס' השמיטה פ"ט הערה 4 בשם רבי שמואל מסאלנט ↩
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