Sukkot 5784 Ma Pitom ~ Sept. 29, 2023

“Ma pitom” מה פתאום, is a Hebrew expression which is hard to translate. It can mean something in between “are you kidding me” and “did you expect anything different?” You just have to know how to say it.

One of the four species of vegetation that we use to celebrate the festival of Sukkot is the etrog. The others are the lulav (the palm), the willow and the myrtle. And while there are some specifications regarding the latter three, the requirement for the etrog is that it must either have a pitom פיטום or be one that was grown “pitom” פיטום less.  The Hebrew word for “what” is “ma מה .” And “ma pitom,” can also be used to ask the question “ma pitom מה פיטום ” as in what is a pitom פיטום and what are the requirements surrounding it.

Ma pitom, מה פיטום? It is not the stem of the etrog fruit; it is actually the pistil or, as Rashi states, the head of the etrog. The etrog has both a stem and a pistil. Etrogs are typically grown in Israel, Morocco and Turkey. China, the world’s exporter of goods, also plants etrog trees. However, while the Chinese businessman would like Jewish people to purchase their etrogs, it has been the practice not too. Ma pitom מה פתאום? Wouldn’t you expect something different; perhaps they might be less expensive coming from China! The answer is quite specific. Etrogs “for use in Jewish religious ceremonies cannot be grafted or budded onto other citrus rootstock.” Unfortunately, Chinese etrog farmers actually graft and bud. As a result, their fruits are pasul, are deemed not permitted to be used for our Sukkot celebration where we use etrogs and lulavs to celebrate not only the Festival of Sukkot, but the end of the harvest. Together the etrog and lulav represent the different types of Jewish people in the world, from the most secular to the most religious. As we gather the four species together, it is similar to the gathering of the four corners of the tallit together. We are asking Hashem to provide us with blessings in the year to come, based on the merit of all types of Jewish people. The fact is that it is not only those who are religiously inclined who have deeds that merit that blessing for the earth and for humanity. Everyone has his/her/their merits that deserve to be considered in meriting a year of blessing for the Jewish people, for all people, and for the world.

So, why teach about the Hebrew word “Ma pitom? מה פתאום” One of the halachic requirements of the etrog is that it must have an intact pitom פיטום , (or have been grown without a pitom פיטום).  On the first day of reciting the blessing over the etrog and lulav, one can only say the blessings over one that is intact. Ma pitom מה פתאום? As we just learned yesterday, a couple of the etrogs sent to our office from our supplier came with broken pitoms. (Thank you Eugene S. for catching the issue.) Thankfully, on the invoice or box, we found out that we had pitom insurance, and our supplier has kindly made good on that insurance, overnighting and supplying us with what we hope will be intact pitom etrogs. He shared with Merrill that for some reason this year, the delivery company used was not as careful as they have been in the past with the shipments of etrogs and lulavs, and many have reported etrogs with broken pitom. Not just ours. Ma pitom מה פתאום? Is that unexpected? Quite so!

So what if one notices on the second day of use that the etrog’s pitom פיטום has broken off?  The halacha quite clearly allows one to use it and say the blessings, since the mitzvah of etrog and lulav has been fulfilled.

And by the way, since the first day of Sukkot is on Shabbat this year, ma pitom מה פתאום, just as we did not hear the sound of the shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we will wait to use and say the berachot, the blessings over the etrog and lulav, until the second morning.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach.

Rabbi K