Rabbi's Blog

Halachic PSA: What to Do With Shemittah Etrogim?

Dear Shaare Family,
 
This year, we were fortunate to use Etrogim for Sukkot that were even holier than usual, as they grew during the Shemittah year. As such, they are endowed with Kedushat Shevi'it, sanctity inherent in produce that grows in Israel during the Shemittah year. 
 
Fruits and vegetables that grow during Shemittah should be treated differently than those that grow at other times- one is not allowed to destroy them, or hasten their demise. Practically, this leaves us with two options regarding etrogim:
 
1. Do nothing with the shemittah etrog and passively allow it to become inedible. This is what people usually do when they let their etrog dry out. It Should not be thrown out before it has reached this stage. 
 
2. Eat the etrog (turning it into jam, for example), sometime before mid-April, which is the time of bi'ur, when the regular growth season of an etrog concludes (note that according to some authorities, there is no such season for etrogim because they don't stop growing as long as they aren't picked!) According to Ramban (Hashmatos Mitzvas Aseh 3) one performs a mitzvah when consuming shemitah fruit.  Eating the Shemittah etrog is a rare opportunity for the Diaspora Jew to perform the mitzvah of eating fruits of the Shemittah year. . By purchasing an Israeli etrog and properly eating it after Sukkot, one supports Jewish farmers, fulfills his mitzvah of daled minim with an object that has already been used for a mitzvah and has the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of eating Shemittah fruits. For Etrog recipes, click here.
 
Note: For a long time, I thought that the FDA treats Etrogim as botanicals and not produce, and as such, many more pesticides are allowed than they would be on regular fruits and vegetables, thus mitigating against eating them. A colleague informed me that this is inaccurate- the FDA's rules governing etrogim are the same, re. pesticide use, as any other produce imported into the US. 
 
Chag Sameach,
 
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky