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Sunday, October 8, 2006 “ “
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OVERVIEW of the Daf Daf DIAGRAM
1) A punctured esrog KEY:
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Ulla bar Chanina cited a Beraisa that taught the laws of - A hole penetrates
a punctured esrog. into the seed chamber.
Rava inquired about the validity of an esrog that shows - A hole across the entire esrog, not entering the
signs of a treifah. seed chamber (see “ ).
The question is explained to refer to where the inside of - The esrog is , without the hole traversing the
the esrog dissolved. entire fruit.
The Gemara unsuccessfully attempts to answer the ques- - Some say that a hole across the esrog refers to it
simply completely crossing the skin layer.
tion, but the question is left unanswered.
- Some say ( “ according to ) that a hole
2) A black esrog across the esrog is when the hole depletes the fruit.
A contradiction is noted between two Beraisos regarding
the validity of a black esrog.
Two resolutions are presented. Distinctive INSIGHT
3) An esrog in the boser stage
The criteria which determines when ma’aser applies to a fruit
Rabbah notes that R’ Akiva and R’ Shimon maintain ¯ ¯ ¯
the same position, namely that a fruit in the stage is . ¯,
not considered ripe.
Abaye suggests that R’ Akiva and R’ Shimon would not
necessarily agree with one another’s position.
R abbi Shimon exempts a small esrog from the halacha of
ma’aser. The Gemara understands that he is of the opinion that
4) An esrog grown in a form an esrog is not considered to be a full fledged fruit until is it ma-
ture and ripe. Rabba stated that this concurs with the view of
The ruling of the Beraisa concerning an esrog grown in
Rabbi Akiva in our Mishnah, who holds that an unripe esrog
a form is qualified. ( ) may not be taken for the mitzvah.
5) An esrog punctured by mice Abaye challenges this assertion of Rabba. He points out
Two versions of Rav’s comment are recorded. Accord- that Rabbi Shimon might have only voiced this opinion regarding
ing to the first version Rav commented that an esrog punc- ma’aser, that an unripe esrog does not have ma’aser removed on
tured by mice is not a beautiful esrog, and in the second its behalf because it does not qualify for the Torah’s requirement
version he maintained that it is a beautiful esrog. of being “produce which is used for seed.” An unripe esrog does
6) A small and large esrog not yield a viable seed. However, it could be that Rabbi Shimon
Rafram bar Pappa equates the dispute in the Mishnah could agree with Rabbanan that an unripe esrog is adequate to be
concerning the minimum size of an esrog with the dispute .
According to this Gemara, the standards which determine
concerning the size of a rock one may bring into the bath-
when ma’aser must be offered differ between Rabbi Shimon and
room.
Rabbanan. Rabbi Shimon holds that only produce which is ripe
A Beraisa further elaborates on the dispute about the enough to produce seeds is obligated in ma’aser. Rabanan are of
maximum size of an esrog. the opinion that the law of ma’aser depends upon whether the
7) MISHNAH: R’ Yehudah and R’ Meir dispute the mate- produce itself is edible.
rial that may be used for bundling the lulav. ¯ points out an explicit Mishnah in Ma’asros
8) Clarifying R’ Yehudah’s opinion (1:2) which states that the obligation of is a function of
Rava gives examples of materials that could be used to when the produce can produce a viable seed. How, then, can
bind the lulav according to R’ Yehudah. Rabbanan argue? It must be, he explains, that Rabbanan hold
Rava presents the source of R’ Yehudah’s position and that either being edible or producing seed obligate a fruit in the
explains how he knows that ivy and bark are considered part laws of ma’aser. If it is an edible type of fruit (i.e., apple, estrog),
of the lulav tree. then this is the criteria. If is not an edible plant (i.e., clover) it
must ripen to at least one-third its growth.
D e d i c a t e d a s a z e c h u s fo r a fo r :
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Number 587 — “ ¯
HALACHA Highlight REVIEW and Remember
Using an Esrog bitten by a mouse
1. Does a puncture disqualify an esrog from use for the mitzvah?
' ¯ _________________________________________________
2. Is a round esrog valid for use for the mitzvah?
It was stated: [Regarding] An esrog that was punctured by mice: Rav _________________________________________________
ruled that it is not beautiful. Is that so? R’ Chanina would dip his 3. Why does an esrog nibbled by a mouse become invalid for use for
esrog and [eat it and still] fulfill the mitzvah! the mitzvah?
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T he Gemara1 states that one who eats a food that was previ-
ously nibbled by a cat or mouse will forget his learning. A simple
4. Why, according to R’ Yehudah, must the sukkah be constructed
from the four species?
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reading2 of the Gemara would lead one to conclude that once a
cat or mouse bit into a food the entire piece becomes prohibited
and not just the section where the cat or mouse actually bit into mains permitted for consumption and as a result remains valid
the food. Thus, Rabbeinu Yosef ben Moshe3 reports that his for use for the mitzvah.
rebbi, Rabbeinu Yisroel Isserlin, author of Terumas HaDeshen, Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor6 disputes the proof from
would not eat meat nibbled by a cat, nor would he give his chil- our Gemara. He suggests that something that is inedible only
dren even part of a loaf of bread if a mouse had bit into it. because of is permitted for use for the mitzvah. It is only
Rav Avrohom Dovid Wahrman4 disagrees and maintains an esrog that is inedible because of an outright prohibition that
that only the part of the food the cat or mouse bit into must be would become disqualified for use for the mitzvah.
removed but the rest of the food is permitted. He cites our Ge-
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mara as support for this position . Rav stated that an esrog bitten : '
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into by a mouse is not . This indicates that it is acceptable for .¯"¯ ' ' " " " '
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the mitzvah although it may not be ideal. According to the strict . ' "
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opinion once a mouse bit into the esrog it is prohibited for .(' ' " )
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consumption and the Gemara previously ruled that an esrog must . '
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" ' " ¯ " " "¯ ' " "
be edible to be used for the mitzvah5. Therefore, concludes Rav
." '
Wahrman, it must be that the untouched part of the esrog re-
liked to ridicule gedolim whenever he play around with it. Suddenly, it slipped
STORIES off the Daf could. from his hands, fell, and broke.”
The Hole in the Esrog Thinking that the arrival of the re- The Rebbe then cried out, “Oy! The
nowned Rebbe of Ruzhin would provide king’s watch! How can I return it to him
"... ..." ideal opportunity for mischief, he de- this way?! What will the King say! How
T he esrog represents a person’s
heart. As we see on today’s daf, the loss
cided to join the others. Just as he
joined the crowd surrounding the
will I stand before Him!”
At this, the “free-thinker” fainted
Rebbe, Rav Yisroel began to tell a story: dead away!
of the flesh of the esrog is only irredeem-
“Once there was a great king who Over his inert form, the Rebbe pro-
able when the hole pierces the fruit all
owned a very precious watch which was nounced: “This man has fainted because
the way through. As long as a person
set with priceless gems. It kept perfect he believes that his life, like the watch,
knows that his failings, his “holes,” do
time, and it was always with him. One cannot be repaired. But the truth is that
not penetrate to his essence, he will still
day, the king decided to travel, and he this is what the straight-spined lulav
be motivated to change his ways.
entrusted this prized possession to a fa- comes to teach us: even though we’ve
Once, just before Sukkos, Rav Yis-
vored nobleman. Before leaving, he just passed through Yom Kippur and
roel of Ruzhin, zt”l, arrived at a certain
warned the man: ‘Make sure to guard it admitted our guilt for our many sins, we
town and all of the Jewish residents
with your life!’ can still straighten ourselves out. We are
turned out to greet him. Among them
“After the king set out, the not like the nobleman in the story! We
was a certain “free-thinker” who was
nobleman just couldn’t resist. He took can still repair all that we have de-
careless about mitzvah observance and
the watch out of its case and began to stroyed!”
