[Avodah] Hekker for Sukkah on Shmini Azteres

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

A common explanation for why Leshev Basukkah is not said on Shmini Atzeres in Chu"l is that the absence of the bracha serves as a hekker regarding the mitzvah status. This appears, for example, in Aruch Hashulchan 668:2.

This concept of the hekker appears elsewhere as well. For example, if an Israeli has no choice but to eat in the sukkah on Shmini Atzeres, then he makes a hekker by making part of the sechach passul, in the late afternoon of Hoshana Raba. If a chu"lnik must eat in his sukkah on Simchas Torah, he doesn't have that option, because it has to be kosher on Shmini Atzeres, and he can't passul it on yom tov. Therefore, the hekker is made by bringing pots and pans into the sukkah on Simchas Torah (Aruch Hashulchan 666:4).

We see that this hekker can be made in a variety of ways. Here's my question:

Most machzorim and luachs say that in Chu"l, the Yehi Ratzon upon leaving the sukkah is said in the afternoon of Shmini Atzeres, *not* the afternoon of Hoshana Raba. And it seems to me the the Rama held this way as well, because he mentions this Yehi Ratzon in siman 667, and not earlier.

But it seems to me that this Yehi Ratzon destroys the hekker. No one would say this Yehi Ratzon on a day when there's no mitzvah of Yeshivas Sukkah. Saying the Yehi Ratzon has the same effect as saying the bracha of Layshev would. If a person has a more-than-kebaytza snack on Shmini Atzeres afternoon, and leaves out the Layshev in order to provide a hekker, he defeats his purpose when he says the Yehi Ratzon.

It seems that the idea of the omission of Layshev being a hekker contradicts the custom of saying the Yehi Ratzon on Shmini Atzeres. A chutznik should either say the Yehi Ratzon on Hashana Raba, or he should have a different reason for why the Layshev is omitted on Shmini Atzeres.

Comments?

Akiva Miller

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