[Avodah] Shehecheyanu for shmitta

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Sep 20, 2007 at 10:07:57PM -0400, Michael Poppers wrote:
:> To narrow the search, wouldn't the mitzvah have to be both an asei, and
:> the qiyum bequm va'asei in order to warrant a berakah? Regardless of where
:> we go with shemittas kesafim at the end of the year, what ma'aseh is
:> necessary for it?

: Would that first Q's logic apply to, say, wearing a new suit for the first
: time?  And couldn't a response to the 2nd Q be that what one is bidden to
: do re certain monetary situations that one happens to be a part of is
: similar to, say, what one is bidden to do when in a 4-cornered-garment
: situation?

My point wasn't that shehechiyanu requires a mitzvah. However, if one
is making shehechiyanu on a mitzvah then I would think it requires that:
1- We are making shehechiyanu on something happening, not on something
failing to happen; and thus the mitzvah must be an asei.

Tzitzis is a qiyum asei. Carrying a loan past shemittah is a lav. To
make a shehechiyanu on handing over your loan to a BD would be expressing
thanks for coming to a time where a lav didn't happen.

2- The berakhah should require that there be a particular event involved;
which is why I figured the asei requires an action.

Shehechiyanu on a suit is similarly an event (not the absence of a bad
event) that involved something specific happening -- wearing it.


: 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 (and speaking of
: "Sharashei Minhag Ashk'naz," see my next post)....

I thought there were those who don't say shehechiyanu (basically,
non-Gra-influenced Ashkenazim in chu"l) because there is pain involved.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             When faced, with a decision, ask yourself,
micha at aishdas.org        "How would I decide if it were Ne'ilah now,
http://www.aishdas.org   at the closing moments of Yom Kippur?"
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter