Question:
I purchased an Esrog and afterwards asked the seller if he had any pasul Esrogim that my children could use for play. He handed my daughter a beautiful Esrog that looked perfectly fine to me. When I asked what was wrong with it, he explained that the Esrog was “sick” and had developed several light-yellow discolorations. Does a sick Esrog automatically become pasul? Do these color changes invalidate the Esrog?
Answer:
No. We do not find that an Esrog becomes pasul simply because it became sick. Rather, the question is whether the sickness caused a halachically significant discoloration or blemish.
If the sickness caused the Esrog to develop abnormal colors that are not the natural colors of an Esrog, such as white, black, or other unusual discolorations in multiple areas, then the Esrog may be invalid due to the law of Menumar (spotted with abnormal colors). However, if the discoloration remains within the normal range of Esrog colors, such as varying shades of yellow or green, then it generally does not invalidate the Esrog even if those shades developed due to illness. Accordingly, the fact that an Esrog is “sick” does not by itself make it pasul. What matters is the result of the sickness and whether it created an invalid discoloration. Light-yellow spots that remain within the normal coloration of an Esrog do not necessarily render it invalid.
Sources:
Admur 648:26; Michaber 648:15; Sukkah 36a; Ritva Sukkah 35a; Raavad in Tamim Deim 230 regarding a Menumar Esrog being invalid. Clear implication of Admur 648:26 that only colors which are not naturally found on an Esrog are included in the invalidation; Biur HaGra 648; opinion in Mishnah Berurah 648:55; Chaim U’Beracha 159; Piskei Teshuvos 648:17. See however the second opinion brought in Mishnah Berurah 648:55 who is stringent even regarding color changes within the normal range of Esrog colors.