Siman - Succah Daf 35
- Different pshatim in פרי עץ הדר
It was taught in a Baraisa: "פרי עץ הדר" עץ שטעם עצו ופריו שוה הוי אומר זה אתרוג – The term the fruit of the hadar tree alludes to a tree whose wood and fruit taste alike. You must say that this is the esrog. Rebbe said: אל תקרי "הדר" אלא הדיר – Do not read the word describing the tree as hadar, meaning beautiful, rather read it as hadir, which means a corral. The Gemara comes to understand this to mean that just as in a corral, small animals are born while the large animals are still in existence, so too the tree is similar in that when the small fruits arrive, the large ones of the previous crop are still in existence. Rashi explains that an esrog is different from other fruits in that it can be left on the tree for a number of years. Rebbe Abahu said: אל תקרי "הדר" אלא הדר דבר שדר באילנו משנה לשנה – Do not read the word as hadar, rather, read it as haddar, meaning that it dwells. This teaches that that the reference is to something that dwells on its tree from one year to the next year. Ben Azzai says: אל תקרי "הדר" אלא אידור – Do not read it as hadar. Rather read it as idur, meaning water, for in Greek water is called idur. And which is the tree that grows on the basis of all sources of water, meaning it relies upon irrigation and rainfall? You must say this is the esrog.
- Machlokes why an esrog of orlah is passul
The Mishnah on Daf 34b stated that an esrog of orlah is passul. Rebbe Chiya bar Avin and Rebbe Assi disagree regarding the reason. One says the reason is לפי שאין בה היתר אכילה – because the esrog is not permitted for consumption and the other says the reason is לפי שאין בה דין ממון – because there is no monetary jurisdiction over it. Rashi explains that since one cannot derive הנאה from orlah it has no value at all, and therefore, is not considered “his own” to fulfill ולקחתם לכם. The Gemara revises its understanding of their machlokes and clarifies that they both agree that an esrog needs a היתר אכילה to be valid. They disagree whether it requires a דין ממון. The nafka minah is an esrog of maaser sheini that is inside Yerushalayim according to Rebbe Meir. According to the one that said that an esrog of orlah is prohibited because it does not have a היתר אכילה, an esrog of maaser sheini inside Yerushalayim is valid since it may be eaten according to Rebbe Meir. According to the one who said an esrog of orlah is passul because it does not have a דין ממון, מעשר שני ממון גבוה הוא – maaser sheini is property of the Most High according to Rebbe Meir and would thus be passul.
- נטלה פטמתו פסול
The Mishnah stated: נטלה פטמתו פסול – If its pitam was removed the esrog is passul. It is common for an esrog to have a stemlike protrusion at its top, which is crowned by a rounded bud. This short stem is the pitam and is also referred to as the דד, nipple. The crown of the stem is the שושנתא. If the pitam is missing the esrog is passul because it is considered חסר, deficient. On this Daf, Rebbe Yitzchak ben Elazar brought a Baraisa with the reading: נטלה בוכנתו – Its pestle was removed. This reading reflects the fact that the pitam is pointed and its shape resembles that of a pestle. Rebbe Yitzchak ben Elazar informs us that the esrog is passul only if the base of the pitam is missing, but not if the bud is missing.
