5724
Mr. . . .
Greeting and Blessing:
Your letter reached me with some delay, and my reply was further delayed because of pressure of duties.
In your letter you link the question of help to Eretz Yisrael with the mitzvah of etrog, and you argue that one should use etrogim from Eretz Yisrael exclusively.
Judging by your background, as reflected in your letter, I trust it is unnecessary to emphasize to you at length that there is no connection between the mitzvah of Etrog Bentshen and support of Eretz Yisrael from the viewpoint of the Shulchan Aruch, or even that of common sense. A simple illustration of this point would be the case of parents and their devotion to their children. Regardless of the level of that devotion, if the parents need some advice or require a certain article, surely they are not obliged to patronize their children’s business if their children are not in a position to supply that need. It is evident from your letter that you know the reason why those who obtain their etrogim from another country, and not from Eretz Yisrael, do so. The reason is not because they have a particular attitude towards that particular country, but because an etrog, according to the poskim, requires certain qualities, and they are particular to obtain the etrog that has all these qualities. As to why the poskim require those qualities in an etrog, there is ample literature on the subject that you will find referred to in the appropriate sources.1
Incidentally, you surely know that the Government of Eretz Yisrael buys weapons from foreign countries, and does not insist upon using only its own domestically produced weapons for the simple reason that they do not satisfy its requirements.2
As for your questions relating to particular dinim connected with the laws of etrog, any qualified Rav can answer your questions in detail, and also give you the sources and references in the poskim.
Although you do not mention it explicitly, I trust that you have regular appointed times for the study of the Torah every day, and that your daily conduct is in harmony with the teachings of the Torah. About the essential need of both there can surely be no question, since they are frequently emphasized in Chumash.
With blessing,
Notes and sources
1) See Shut Chasam Sofer, Orach Chayim, Siman 207; Sha'ar Hakolel chapter 37; Sedei Chemed, Asifas Dinim, s.v. Esrog; ibid., Kelalim, s.v. Lulav UMinav.
2) See also Igros Kodesh vol. 26, Letter 9983.
Published: The Letter and the Spirit, Vol 1 (Nissan Mindel Publications, 1998), 237.
Note: Letters printed in "The Letter and the Spirit" are from the Archives of Rabbi Nissan Mindel A"H, the Rebbe's personal secretary entrusted with writing up the Rebbe's orally dictated responses. The “Nissan Mindel Archives” are comprised of secretarial copies, including first drafts, and may have subsequently been published with editorial changes. Therefore the letters as they appear in the book may not be the final signed version.