Mekach Ta'us [Mistaken Sale] When Buying an Esrog That Is Chaser [Missing] When the First Day of Sukkos Falls on Shabbos

Insights Into Halachah

Mekach Ta'us [Mistaken Sale] When Buying an Esrog That Is Chaser [Missing] When the First Day of Sukkos Falls on Shabbos

There is a novel ruling cited in the name of R' Elyashiv zt”l: If someone comes to a halachic authority to ask about the kashrus of an esrog in a year when the first day of Sukkos falls on Shabbos, and the rav sees that the esrog is chaser only in a manner that is considered a stringency - - since there is no halachic invalidation of chaser on the remaining days — he should not write to the seller instructing him to replace the esrog. Only if it is missing in a way that even the merchants consider it chaser should he instruct that it be exchanged. (This is cited in Menashim BaOhel, pg. 170, by Rav Ezriel Auerbach shlita.)

R' Yom Tov Sanger shlita writes: One could argue that it depends on the custom of the merchants, who generally care greatly about their reputation and therefore rely on the decision of the halachic authority. If the esrog is missing in a way that would constitute a mekach ta'us on the first day of Yom Tov, the buyer may claim that he paid a high price because the esrog was completely whole even if it is not invalid on the remaining days. This is especially so considering a famous incident involving the tzaddik Rav Zalman Baron zt"l.

Is It Proper to Lechatchilah Buy a Chaser Esrog When the First Day of Sukkos is Shabbos?

There was an incident involving the righteous tzaddik Rav Zalman Baron zt"l (a renowned halachic authority in Yerushalayim, brother of Rav Dovid Baron zt"l):

A Jew approached him on motzei Yom Kippur to show him an esrog that was beautiful in every respect — except that it was chaser. That year, the first day of Sukkos fell on Shabbos.

When Rav Zalman told him that the esrog was invalid due to being chaser, the man wondered: “But this year chaser is kosher — it is invalid only on the first day!"

Rav Zalman trembled and rebuked him: “Do you not believe in the coming of Mashiach? Do you not await him every day? Soon the Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt, and we will all merit to recite a berachah on the lulav and esrog even on the first day of Sukkos even if it falls on Shabbos, as is clear from the Rambam (Hilchos Lulav 7:16). Then your esrog will be invalid for the mitzvah. Furthermore, your esrog will be invalid in the Mikdash on all seven days, since the obligation there is de’O'raisa for all seven days.” (This story is recorded in the sefer Arba'as HaMinim HaShalem, pg. 404.)

Being Careful to Pay for the Arba Minim Before Sukkos — Even When the First Day is Shabbos

A similar idea is already mentioned in Shu”t Binyan Shlomah (Tikkunim V’Hosafos to siman 29; and in the new version Vol. 1, siman 48). The Binyan Shlomah is mechadesh that although one fulfills the mitzvah of arba minim even with a borrowed set on the remaining days of Sukkos, and therefore seemingly one need not be careful to pay for them before Yom Tov when the first day falls on Shabbos, nevertheless perhaps Mashiach will come and the Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt that very day. Then the arba minim will be taken even on Shabbos, even outside the Mikdash. Therefore, one must have them in his possession from before Yom Tov and should avoid purchasing them on credit.

The Binyan Shlomah explains:

The Zohar says that Mashiach is destined to come on Sukkos, and the reason Sukkos is called Chag HaAsif is because Mashiach will gather in the dispersed of Yisrael from the four corners of the earth. Consequently, one must be careful to pay for his arba minim before Yom Tov and not buy them on credit as it is very likely that Mashiach will come and we will have the mitzvah of arba minim even on Shabbos.

He cites proof from the wording of the piyut of R' Elazar HaKalir for Sukkos: קיחתם בדמים יבשרו לשם איום ראויים להנטל בזה ראשון יום. The Binyan Shlomah explains that these words mean: Even though we do not take them on the first day of Sukkos when it is Shabbos, nevertheless, they must be fit to be taken on the first day i.e., paid for in advance, so that one can fulfill “u’lekachtem lachem."

However, he concludes: “I am afraid to state such a new idea, which is not found in any earlier or later posek, but I only come to arouse attention."