[Avodah] Shehecheyanu for shmitta

[Michael Poppers]

RMarBl replied to me:
>> BTW, mei'inyan l'inyan: do you know why "shehecheyanu" isn't made by a
b'ris (which surely is a "qiyum bequm va'asei")? The "Sharashei Minhag
Ashk'naz" Vol1 piece on this topic is worthwhile.... <<
> Actually the minhag in EY is to make a shehecheyanu at a Bris. <
Yes (for details l'halachah, see SA YD 265:7 and nos'ei keilim), and as per
Rav Hamburger, this started w/ RaMBaM (Hilchos Milah 3:3 [NB: in my
"Sharashei" volume, the source is listed as 3:5] and B'rachos 11:9) but is
not at all mentioned in the Talmud, by the G'onim, or by any other early
pos'qim (in fact, the Tos'fos specifically explain why this b'rachah is
*not* made -- e.g. see BT Sukkah 46a d'h' ha-oseh and BT B'choros 49a d'h'
l'achar) and was not accepted by S'faradim before the Inquisition-related
geirush S'farad (sources include the ba'al Ohel Moeid, RaShBA, and RaN).
Accordingly, as noted by the BY (I don't have a Tur YD at home, but Rav
Hamburger refers to YD 265 d'h' [any transliteration mistake mine] shedar),
what became minhag e'Y' us'vivoseha (language found in SA YD 265:7)
certainly has a basis in RaMBaM, but what was the RaMBaM's basis?  (Lest
one consider this merely an argument from the absence of a positive
statement not to make the b'rachah, such no-shehecheyanu-by-b'ris
statements are replete among the Rishonim, as hinted above re Tos'fos, but
read the article -- it's too long to be reproduced via pager :-).)

Chag Sameach and all the best from
--Michael Poppers via RIM pager
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