Ask the Rov: Must one pay in full for his daled minim before Sukkos?
By Rabbi Chaim Hillel Raskin – Rov of Anash in Petach Tikvah
One does not fulfill their obligation with stolen or borrowed daled minim, as the possuk refers to them as being “yours” (ul’kachtem lachem).1
To gain ownership of an item, one must do an act of kinyan, taking possession. There are some kinyanim which are effective min haTorah (such as giving payment), while others are only effective midrabanan (such as lifting it up, meshicha). Can a d’rabanan acquisition allow one to fulfill the mitzva of daled minim min haTorah?
This issue is the subject of debate among acharonim. For example, if a man gives an unpaid-for object to a woman as kiddushin, it is questionable whether the kiddushin is effective.2 We also find that one cannot use daled minim belonging to a child even though a child can gift things on a d’rabanan level.3
Thus, some achronim rule that one can only fulfill the mitzva by paying for the daled minim before yom tov or by bringing them into your home for the sake of acquisition (kinyan chatzer), which is effective according to some views even prior to payment. The Mishna Berura suggests following this l’chatchila.4
Yet, the widespread minhag is not to be so particular about this. Some dispute the premise and contend that a kinyan d’rabanan is enough to enable the fulfillment of a Torah obligation.5 Others explain that kinyan d’rabanan is effective in removing the daled minim from the seller’s ownership, and then the buyer can take ownership by lifting it up, as if acquiring it from hefker.6 (Some also hold that buying on credit or turning the owed money into a loan is a sufficient form of “payment” for meshicha to be effective min haTorah.7)
A post-dated check is questionable whether it equals a bona fide payment, since it is merely the right to collect money from the bank at a later time, or perhaps this right itself has intrinsic monetary value.8
The Minhag Chabad recorded by the Rebbe is that we are not particular to pay before,9 yet the Rebbe himself was particular.10
See Sources (open PDF)
From The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash
I heard from rabbi zirkind that the rebbe told him that the previous rebbe paid chanukah