[Avodah] Etrog jam and pesticides

[Moshe Feldman]

R'n Chana Luntz wrote:
<<I thought that
everybody held that one of the criteria for use of an esrog was that it
must have a heter achila (see Sukkah 35a) due to the requirement of
l'chem (see eg Rashi there)?  And yet I have never heard of anybody
enquiring into the pesticide status of an esrog to determine its
kashrus.  Why not?
>>

>From Meorot HaDaf's weekly sheet:
<<With these points in mind, we turn our attention to the question of an
esrog kept under the
bed before Sukkos. Presumably, the esrog must not be eaten, due to the
spirit of impurity
that rested upon it, and therefore it is possul. However, some Poskim are
lenient,
explaining that our Gemara referred to esrogim that were subject to direct
Torah
prohibitions, such as orlah. An impure and therefore dangerous esrog is not
intrinsically
forbidden. It is just subject to external conditions that render it unfit to
be eaten.
Therefore the esrog is kosher for use (Marcheshes I, 20).

However, some Acharonim object to this reasoning. They insist that since
practically
speaking the esrog may not be eaten, it is not fit for the mitzva. The
technical reasons for
why it may not be eaten are irrelevant (Teshuvos Binyan Olam O.C. 33).
However, even they
agree that if one has no other esrog available, an esrog kept under the bed
may be used.
In such a case it is uncertain whether a beracha may be recited over it.

R' Yitzchak Elchonon Spektor (Teshuvos Ayin Yitzchak, O.C. 24) writes that
he had often been
asked this question by various Rabbonim. Therefore, he wrote a lengthy
response to deal
with all the proofs and counterproofs cited throughout Shas.

Firstly, he cites a proof from Rashi and Tosefos that the esrog may be used.
Later in our
masechta (48b), the Gemara states that wine or water left uncovered is
possul for use as a
libation offering on the Mizbei'ach. Rashi explains that when wine or water
is left
uncovered, there is a concern that a snake might have spat venom into it.
The venom
mixed in with the wine or water would then subtract from the minimum volume
requirement
of the libation. Tosefos on the other hand explains that it is disrespectful
to offer poisoned
food or drink as a korban on the Mizbei'ach. R' Yitzchak Elchonon notes that
korbanos
must be brought from things are kosher for us to eat (Pesachim 48a). Yet
neither Rashi nor
Tosefos make any objection to the fact that the wine or water may not be
eaten, due to the
danger of possible venom.

Therefore, we must conclude that although dangerous foods may not be eaten,
this does
not make them non-kosher per se. The same may be said of an esrog kept under
a bed.
Although its impurity makes it unsafe to eat, it is still kosher, and
therefore may be used
for the mitzva of lulav and esrog.
However, the Talmud Yerushalmi (Sukka 4:7) offers a third reason why water
or wine left
uncovered may not be offered on the Mizbei'ach. They are not considered
"liquids fit for
Israel." This seems to imply just the opposite. Since they are dangerous,
they are unfit for
our use. Therefore, they are also unfit for the Mizbei'ach. Similarly, an
esrog unfit for our
consumption would be unfit for the mitzva of lulav and esrog.

R' Yitzchak Elchonon concludes that since many Poskim hold that food kept
under a bed may be eaten b'dieved (especially raw foods), such an esrog may
be
used for the mitzva.

No harm befalls us for performing a mitzva: Many other prominent Poskim
also permitted using an esrog kept under a bed, each one offering his own
reasons to be lenient. The Sdei Chemed (Lamed, 141:31) cites the general
principle that, "Shomeir mitzva lo yada davar ra - no harm will befall a
person
for performing a mitzva" (Koheles 8:5). Had it been a mitzva to eat the
esrog, we
would eat it despite the dangers posed by its impurity, trusting that no
harm
would befall us for performing the mitzva. The Torah did not command us to
eat the esrog, but rather to shake it. Nevertheless, in regard to mitzva
observance, we consider the esrog to be edible.

The Sdei Chemed further advises that the esrog be rinsed three times in
water,
just as we wash our hands three times upon waking up, in order to remove the
impurity.

A mitzva-esrog is protected: The Minchas Yitzchak (57:5) writes that the
principle of "shomeir mitzva lo yada davar ra" applies only after the esrog
has
been set aside for use in the mitzva. Otherwise, it is just like any other
fruit,
and the impurity will rest upon it if it is left beneath a bed (see also
Teshuvos
V'Hanhagos, II 316).

Esrogim sprayed with pesticides: The sefer Kashrus Arbaas HaMinim (p. 73)
addresses a similar question, in regard to esrogim sprayed with dangerous
pesticides. In the previous case of the esrog kept under the bed, the esrog
itself was dangerous. In this case, the esrog itself is not dangerous.
Rather,
the pesticides that have seeped beneath its skin are poisonous, rendering
the
esrog inedible. Perhaps this can be compared to the case of a kosher esrog
that absorbed the taste of a forbidden food. The Magen Avraham (O.C. 649
s.k.
20) rules that le'chatchila such an esrog should not be used on the first
day, but
b'dieved if one has no other esrog available, he may use it even on the
first
day, and may even recite a beracha (see Shaar HaTzion ibid s.k. 48).

R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l is quoted as saying that since the pesticides
will eventually wear off, and the esrog will become edible, perhaps even now
when it is inedible it is still kosher.
>>

BTW I do not learn daf yomi, but I do like this weekly sheet.  The (almost)
most recent one is available at
http://www.meorot.co.il/English/files/meorot_pdf.pdf 

Kol tuv,
Moshe 
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