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When should the blessing on lulav be recited—before picking it up, while holding it upside down, or after fulfilling the mitzvah (מצוה)? The shiur analyzes the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s unique position that the blessing must precede even touching the lulav, contrasting with Tosafot's three alternative approaches. The resolution hinges on whether grasping the lulav constitutes part of the mitzvah itself or merely preparation, and whether there is a prohibition against performing any element of a mitzvah without a blessing.
The shiur opens with a fundamental question in hilchot lulav: at what point in the mitzvah (מצוה) should one recite the blessing? The Mechaber (Shulchan Aruch) rules that one should make the blessing "al netilat lulav" before taking the esrog, based on two approaches mentioned in Tosafot. Tosafot itself offers three solutions to the problem of over la'asiyatan (the requirement that blessings precede mitzvah performance): (1) take the lulav first, make the blessing, then take the esrog; (2) hold the esrog upside down, make the blessing, then turn it right-side up; or (3) rely on kavanah farkert—intentionally having in mind not to fulfill the mitzvah yet. The Beit Yosef brings a third approach from the Baal HaMaor: fulfill the entire mitzvah of taking the four species, then recite the blessing before performing na'anu'im (the wavings). The Taz questions the kavanah farkert approach, suggesting that an ordinary person may not be sophisticated enough to maintain such intent properly, whereas the Vilna Gaon considers it the ideal solution and says that the complex physical manipulations are unnecessary when proper intent suffices.
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Sukkah 39a
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