As this past year was a שמיטה year in ארץ ישראל, virtually all of the אתרוגים that were exported from ארץ ישראל for this סוכות have קדושת שביעית.  Many of us who, living in חוץ לארץ, are unfamiliar with the laws of פירות שביעית, may be confused as to the proper treatment of these אתרוגים after the conclusion of סוכות.  In this brief survey we will attempt to present the possible options of what to do with these אתרוגים.  The intent of this article is present the issues involved and not to offer any halachic rulings. 

Doing nothing. 

Leaving the אתרוג alone and letting it shrivel up over time should be the easiest option.  The גמרא in פסחים נב presents a דרשה of לאכלה אמר רחמנא ולא להפסד -  shmittah produce must be eaten and may not be destroyed or damaged.  There is a מחלוקת אחרונים as to whether גרם הפסד, indirect damage, is also forbidden.  The Maharit (1:83) argues that there is no איסור of גרם הפסד.    This appears to be the position of the Chazon Ish as well (Shviis 14:10).   מקדש דוד  סי' נט אות ה, however, refutes the Maharit's argument. Some claim that the Rambam (פירוש המשנה פ”ח מ”ז) is of the opinion that גרם הפסד is אסור (see משפטי ארץ מהדורת תשס"א פרק כא הע' 16 שמג and Rabbi Ezra Schwartz in קול צבי ג pp. 237-244).

Minchas Yitzchok (10:119) assumes that there is no prohibition of גרם הפסד and is therefore inclined to permit hanging a shmittah אתרוג in a succah as a decoration, although he concludes that one should be machmir in deference to those who prohibit גרם הפסד.  Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (שו"ת הר צבי זרעים ח"ב סי' נד) takes issue with the Maharit, but still suggests regarding אתרוגים that since they are not grown for the purpose of eating them, the whole halacha of לאכלה ולא להפסד does not apply.  [That is how he justifies handling an אתרוג that has קדושת שביעית, even though handling it contributes to the deterioration of the fruit's peel.]  Yalkut Yosef (Shviis 15:57) presents the Maharit as reflective of the consensus opinion.

If there is no איסור of גרם הפסד פירות שביעית, once the אתרוג is no longer edible it may be disposed  of as one would dispose of his אתרוג any other year.  [Although ארבע מינים have the status of תשמישי מצוה and may technically even be disposed of in a regular garbage, Shulchan Aruch (664:9) quotes that one should not step on the ערבות, and the Rama (21:1) regarding ציצית strings, which have the same status as ארבע מינים, writes that one should not dispose of them in a מקום מגונה.]   

However, even if we adapt this approach, we must contend with the requirement of ביעור.  There is a הלכה that פירות שביעית are subject to ביעור (Mishna Shviis 7:1).  This means that at the time that a given fruit species is no longer growing in the fields and hence no longer accessible to the animals of the fields, the fruits of that species that one is storing in his house must be destroyed.  While there is a מחלוקת ראשונים as to how ביעור is accomplished, the accepted opinion (Tosafos Pesachim 52b ד”ה מתבערין and Ramban al haTorah Parshas Behar 25:7) is that one need only remove the fruits from his house and declare them הפקר.  After that time he may reacquire them.  (See משפטי הארץ פרק לא for a brief overview of these שיטות.) 

The Rambam (Shmittah v'yoveil 7:12) rules that shmittah produce that was brought to חוץ לארץ (in violation of the prohibition to do so codified in 5:13, based on משנה פ”ו מ”ה) may have ביעור performed in חוץ לארץ and need not be returned to ארץ ישראל for ביעור.  (This is a מחלוקת תנאים in פסחים נב).  If the אתרוגים in question are subject to ביעור, and they are still edible at the time of ביעור, then ביעור would have to be performed.

The sefer ארבעת המינים השלם (p. 314) quotes a בית רידב"ז who is of the opinion that ביעור does not apply to אתרוגים nowadays at all because אתרוגים tend to remain on trees for two or three years at a time and are only harvested when necessary for ארבע מינים.  However, he notes that the consensus is that אתרוגים are subject to ביעור and quotes that Rav Shmuel Salant was of this opinion.  This is also the opinion of the Chazon Ish (9:17, 10:6).   [See also Tzitz Eliezer 6:39.] According to Shmittah 5768: A Practical Guide, published by the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel, the time of ביעור of אתרוגים is 18 Iyyar 5769.  [Rav Shmuel Salant had a date in Shevat.  Rav Moshe Shturnbuch (שמיטה כהלכתה פ”ג סע' יז) suggests that perhaps the זמן ביעור nowadays is right after סוכות, as there are no אתרוגים left on trees after that point.] It is very likely that if one leaves his אתרוג alone after סוכות it will be completely inedible by אייר.  Even if that is not the case, it is possible that ביעור would not apply in most situations for a different reason.  The דין of ביעור does not apply to the quantity of food that would be consumed by all the members of a household in the course of three meals (Rambam, Shmittah v'yoveil 7:3).  In most cases the quantity of אתרוגים that a person would retain in his position after סוכות should be less than this amount.  However, see Bikurei Shlomo (O.C. 37:19) who does not make this point in addressing the necessity of ביעור for אתרוגים in חוץ לארץ.

Sending them back to ארץ ישראל.

A second possibility is returning אתרוגי שמיטה to ארץ ישראל after סוכות.  Rav Moshe Shturnbuch   (שמיטה כהלכתה פ”ג סע' יז) writes that Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein recommended this procedure.  If one were to exercise this option he should be careful to ensure that the individual returning the אתרוג will treat it appropriately. We should also note the existence of an opinion among the rishonim (Kaftor Vaferach (48) that one may not bring פירות שביעית back to ארץ ישראל (see Rabbi Schwartz's article for a fuller treatment of this opinion).  Minchas Bikurim (Tosefta Shviis 5:1, see below) also writes that one may not return פירות שביעית to ארץ ישראל.

Eating them

Eating the אתרוג would perhaps be the ideal solution to our issue.  One may even fulfill a mitzvah by eating פירות שביעית (see the commentary of Megillas Ester on the Ramban's שכחת העשין מצוה ג).  However, proper consumption of the אתרוג is itself challenging.  The general principle regarding קדושת שביעית is that peels and seeds that are not fit for consumption do not have קדושת שביעית and can be disposed of freely (see Rambam, Shmittah v'yoveil 5:21).  Based on the mishnayos in Terumos, Rambam writes (Terumos 11:10-11) that אתרוג peels are considered edible, whereas אתרוג seeds are not.  [Kesef Mishna explains that the latter are bitter.]  While nowadays peels of citrus fruits are generally not consumed by humans, see משפטי הארץ פכ"ג הע' 4  and Yalkut Yosef 15:13 who address whether the fact that orange and grapefruit peels are fed to animals or used in producing drinks gives them קדושי שביעית.  Any peel that has קדושת שביעית should be preserved until it rots.  If one were to make jam with אתרוגים the earlier discussion of ביעור would be relevant if the jam was kept beyond the time of ביעור.  Presumably the yield of jam would be more that the amount used in three meals.   

Rav Chaim Kaniefsky (Dererch Emunah Shmittah v'yoveil 5:96 and Tziyun halacha ibid.:178) quotes that his father, the Steipler Gaon, instructed that the אתרוגים sent to חוץ לארץ should be consumed after סוכות. 

There is, however, an opinion of Raavad (תו"כ בהר א:ט) and the Vilna Gaon that פירות שביעית may not be consumed in חוץ לארץ. 

Addendum

The mishna in Shviis (6:5), codified by Rambam (5:13), prohibits the export of פירות שביעית to חוץ לארץ.  There is a discussion among later poskim as to what legitimate reasons exist for exporting אתרוגים to חוץ לארץ for the purpose of fulfilling the mitzvah.  ארבעת המינים השלם notes that the רידב"ז entertains the possibility of leniency based on the position of the ר"ש on the mishna that the איסור הוצאה לחוץ לארץ is due to the preference to perform ביעור in ארץ ישראל.  Given that the רידב"ז was of the opinion that ביעור does not apply to אתרוגים, he suggested that this איסור should not apply either.  The רידב”ז also quotes a permissive ruling from Rav Chaim Berlin in a situation where the אתרוגים were planted with the express intention of having them exported to חוץ לארץ.  The volume אוצר בית דין of the אוצר הפוסקים series quotes שו"ת משנת יוסף ח"ב סי' כו recording a psak of Rav Pinchas Epstein that an otzar beis din may export אתרוגים to חוץ לארץ because produce harvested under the auspices of an otzar beis din is not subject to ביעור.

Rav Zvi Michel Shapira (שו”ת ציץ הקודש ח”א סי' טו) records that Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin allowed for the export of אתרוגים through non-Jews when there was an explicit understanding that the European Jewish merchants would only acquire the אתרוגים once they reached a port in Europe.  Rav Shapira himself in uncertain as to whether for he purpose of a mitzva it would be permissible to export אתרוגים on the condition that they be returned to ארץ ישראל.  

According to one opinion in Tosafos (Pesachim 52b ד"ה רב ספרא) the prohibition of exporting פירות שביעית to חוץ לארץ only applies to fruits that will be eaten.  Bikkurei Shlomo (O.C. 37:20) thinks that this opinion of Tosafos is accepted.  [See Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggros Moshe Orach Chaim 1:186) as well.]

ארבעת המינים השלם (p. 323) printed a brief letter from the Chazon Ish who suggests that exporting אתרוגים to חוץ לארץ may be permissible if by not doing so there will be people in חוץ לארץ who will not fulfill the mitzva.       

In addition to the prohibition of exporting פירות שביעית to חוץ לארץ, Rambam (7:12) presents a further prohibition, based on a Yerushami, of moving פירות שביעית from one place to another place within חוץ לארץ.  Not all of the aforementioned leniencies for exporting אתרוגים to חוץ לארץ would apply to transporting them from place to place within חוץ לארץ after the conclusion of סוכות.  Chazon Ish (13:4) writes in explanation of this halacha that whenever someone moves פירות שביעית from place to place it is as if he is again sending it to חוץ לארץ.  Rav Chaim Kanievsky (Derech Emunah, Tziyun halacha 7:125) notes that according to this reasoning it should be permissible to return פירות שביעית to ארץ ישראל. 

Rav Kook suggests in שבת הארץ (פ"ז סע' יב) that the  איסור of transporting פירות שביעית within חוץ לארץ only applies when the fruits were exported there in violation of the halacha.  If the פירות שביעית arrived under permitted circumstances there would be no further איסור of moving them from place to place.  Rav Kook thinks that while there is no need to return פירות שביעית to ארץ ישראל in such a situation, it would not only be permissible but even commendable to do so.

The aforementioned שו"ת ציץ הקודש quotes that Rav Yehosua Leib Diskin thought that the prohibition of transporting פירות שביעית from place to place within חוץ לארץ is related to the requirement of ביעור and only applies after the זמן ביעור.  [This seems to emerge from the Rambam's placement of this halacha, as the Rambam records it immediately after his ruling about performing ביעור in חוץ לארץ.  This is the juxtaposition of the Yerushalmi as well.]  He further notes that since it is only an איסור דרבנן we can rely on the opinion in Tosafos that the איסור does not apply for fruits that are not consumed.

We should note the the definition of place to place in this context is not clear.  Rav Nissim Kareletz (Chut Shani Shviis 7:15) suggests that perhaps the prohibition should apply to moving פירות שביעית out of the תחום of a city, as defined in הלכות שבת.