Shas chairman Aryeh Deri displayed this morning (Sunday) his precious etrog, one of the Four Species used on Sukkot, which was placed in front of him with several other etrogsin his sukkah.
"This is the most expensive etrog of all here in the box," he told Rabbi David Yosef who was present, "5,000 dollars, just like that, in cash."
It was noted on social media that this is allegedly a violation of Israel's law to limit the use of cash, which allows transactions between people in the amount of up to NIS 15,000.
Deri's office hastened to clarify that it was only a joke. "For many years, Shas Chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri used to bless on the Sukkot holiday a variety of etrogs of different varieties, including Moroccan, Yemenite , and the Chazon Ish variety."
This year, they clarified, "There were large etrogs and a small Moroccan etrog in his sukkah. With a sense of humor and to protect the honor of the Moroccan etrog Rabbi Deri jokingly said - 'Don't look at the small size of the Moroccan etrog, in Satmar in America thousands are paid for it in cash.' The etrog itself, like all the etrogs, was purchased by Rabbi Deri in Israel for only a few hundreds of shekels, as is his custom."