Chag HaSukkos/Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah/Parshas Bereishis 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Oct 16, 2024
- 2 min read
עניני חג הסוכות
שני אתרוגים אחד מהודר אבל ספק מורכב ואחד ודאי כשר אבל אינו מהודר
Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank zt”l[מקראי קודש, סוכות ח"ב, ס' ט'] writes that הגרש"י זווין צ"ל once told him that the following situation occurred to him and Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l. Rav Zevin had 2 esrogim, one was מהודר (beautiful), but might be posul [ספק מורקב], and the other esrog was certainly kosher but was not very מהודר. ר' חיים told him he should take the ספק פסול which is מהודר first. Because if it really is כשר, he was יוצא with a Mehudar esrog. However, if he would take the ודאי כשר one first, once he takes it, he was יוצא the מצוה at that point, so there would be no purpose to take a second esrog which is more מהודר, since he was already יוצא. ר' צבי פסח פראנק says this psak seems שווער from a Gemara in עירובין [נ.]. There the Gemara discusses if during מעשר בהמה, two animals come out of the corral at the same time and the owner calls them both "עשירי". One is treated like מעשר בהמה and the other one is treated like a שלמים. Since we don’t know which is which, they both must take on the חומרות of each other. This means that the maaser animal now needs תנופה and סמיכה, even though normally it doesn’t need it, since it might be the שלמים. [שם ד"ה והרי] רש"י says "לבי אומר לי" not to make a ברכה on this תנופה and סמיכה as it might be a ברכה לבטלה. We see from רש"י that even though after making the beracha he will be doing תנופה and סמיכה on both animals, since the first animal might be the maaser one that doesn’t require it, it is considered a הפסק and the ברכה is לבטלה. If so, that an action is considered a hefsek, how can ר' חיים say to take the ספק כשר esrog first? If it’s posul it is a hefsek before he takes the ודאי כשר one? ר' זווין reports that he asked this question to the גרי"ז and he defended his father and said that since by נטילת לולב one may take the esrog after the לולב (בזה אחר זה), once he takes the lulav, it’s considered in middle of the מעשה מצוה, so doing another action is not a hefsek. Only if the hefsek is between the ברכה and the מעשה is it a problem, like by the סמיכה and תנופה.
The [שו"ת ח"ו,ס' לט' אות י'] ציץ אליעזר answers similarly that the נוסח הברכה is "על נטילת לולב" and since we take the lulav immediately and both esrogim are in front of him at the time of the ברכה, it is not a הפסק. The ציץ אליעזר says that he told this סברה over to both הגר"י אברמסקי and ר' צבי פסח and the two Gedolim liked it. ע"ש. [וגם עיין שו"ת בית הלוי ח"ב, ס' מז. בענין ציצין המעכבין]