The mitzvah to take the four minim on Sukkos is learned from the pasuk: וּלְקַחְתֶּם לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר – “You shall take on the first day an esrog…” What exactly is the definition of “taking”?
Mitzvas lekichah – Holding or taking?
Does the mitzvah require that one actually take them in his hands, or is merely holding them also sufficient? The Gemara (Pesachim 7b, Sukah 42a) states that the moment a person lifts the four minim he has already fulfilled his obligation. Does that mean that when the Torah says “take” the four minim, one must actually take them or is holding them also considered taking them?
This question is a dispute among the poskim. Some hold that one must actually take the four minim, and some hold that merely holding them in one’s hand is sufficient.
Many poskim – including the Chasam Sofer (brought by his talmid, the Machneh Chaim), the Binyan Shlomo, in the name of Rav Yisroel Salanter, the Hisorerus Teshuva, and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l – hold that one must actually take them. However, other poskim maintain that holding the four minim is also a form of taking them, and one can fulfill the obligation without actually taking them. This includes the Machneh Chaim himself (who argues on his rebbi, the Chasam Sofer), the Avnei Nezer, the Kaf Hachaim, the Chazon Ish, and Rav Elyashiv.
There are various nafka minos (practical differences) between these two opinions, if one must actually take the four minim, or if holding them in one’s hand is sufficient. Here are some nafka minos:
1) Someone took the four minim before dawn
Someone lifted the four minim before dawn (the halachic starting time of the day), which is too early to fulfill the mitzvah, but then continues to hold them until the morning. If the mitzvah is the actual taking, he did not fulfill the mitzvah, since the action was done at a time that he cannot fulfill the mitzvah, and merely being in his hand is not a fulfillment of the mitzvah. However, if the mitzvah is to have them in one’s hands, then he will have fulfilled his obligation.
2) The four minim are put into one’s hands
If the four minim are put into one’s hands: For example, an old man cannot pick up the four minim himself, and someone puts them into his hands. If the mitzvah is the actual taking, then he did not fulfill the mitzvah, since he did not take them. However, if the mitzvah is being in his hands, even without taking them, then he has fulfilled the mitzvah, since the four minim are in his hands.
3) The first day of Sukkos
Another possible case in point would be in regards to the first day. The halachah is that one must own the four minim on the first day, and one must, therefore, make a kinyan, acquiring them before performing the mitzvah. Consequently, if someone wishes to use someone else’s four minim, he must first make a kinyan, and only then can he use them for the mitzvah.
That being the case, if someone took the four minim for the kinyan, at the moment he took them into his hands, they were not yet his and he cannot yet fulfill the mitzvah. Once the kinyan was made, they are now in his hands, but he didn’t take them into his hands. If the mitzvah is the actual taking, since that was done when they were not owned by him, he would not fulfill the mitzvah and he may be required to take them a second time – once for the act of acquiring them and then a second time for the performance of the mitzvah. However, if the mitzvah is simply having them in his hands, then he has fulfilled the mitzvah, and there be no need to take them a second time.
4) When should the brocha be recited?
In general, one must recite the brocha immediately preceding the performance of the mitzvah. When exactly should the brocha be recited? If he does so, before picking up the minim, it may be too early and if he already picked them up it may be too late. One option the poskim give is to pick up the four minim and have in mind not to fulfill one’s obligation until after reciting the brocha.
But for our discussion, that may be an issue. Is that considered “taking” the four minim? At the time that he took the four minim, he did not fulfill the mitzvah, and then when he has in mind to do the mitzvah, it is already in his hands, without actually taking them. If the mitzvah is the actual taking, then one can suggest that he did not fulfill the mitzvah since, at the time of the mitzvah performance, it is merely in his hands, without actually taking them. On the other hand, if the mitzvah is fulfilled by the four minim being in his hands, since it is now in his hands he will fulfill the mitzvah.
However, this nafka mina is not so simple. One can argue that this case may be different than the case of taking the four minim before dawn, and it is possible that all would agree that it is valid. In the case of taking the four minim before dawn, the action of taking them before dawn is meaningless, because it is not a time that the mitzvah can be performed. Therefore, having it still in one’s hands after dawn is not considered taking the four minim. However, in the case that the four minim were taken, with intention not to fulfill the mitzvah yet, the “taking” can be considered the beginning of the mitzvah, and we can say that the person actually took the four minim.
Summary
There is a dispute whether one must actually take the four minim, or if it is sufficient to just hold them in one’s hand, even without taking them. A practical difference will be in a case when one took the four minim in order to make the kinyan.
Mitzvas lekichah – is there a requirement to lift them?
Until here we discussed if the mitzvah of lekichah includes taking the four minim or just holding them. There is another question to address: Is one required to actually pick up the four minim or is it enough to simply hold them where they are on the table, even without lifting them? From the expression of the Gemara, “once a person lifted the four minim – he has fulfilled his obligation,” would sound like there is a requirement to actually lift them up.
The Kapos Temarim (Sukah 39a) asserts that one cannot fulfill his obligation without lifting up the four minim, either three tefachim, or at least one tefach. He points to the regulations that we find in regards to making a kinyan (Choshen Mishpat 198:2). There we see that there is a difference of opinions whether the item must be lifted three tefachim, or one tefach. (He adds that this would be a viable option for reciting the brocha just before the performance of the mitzvah: one should hold the four minim in his hands, which is not yet a fulfillment of the mitzvah, then recite the brocha, and only then lift them up to fulfill the mitzvah.)
However, the Chaim U’vracha, and the Emek Bracha assert that since this is not an act of acquiring the four minim, it is unnecessary to lift them up. But, they do agree that some lifting is necessary. This is so that the four minim are considered in the person’s hand, not just resting on the table.
The Rashash goes even further and opines that it is not necessary to pick them up at all and the expression used by the Gemara “once he picked it up,” is not meant to be taken literally.
In summation, we have three opinions: Some hold that the four minim require a full-fledged lifting (1 or 3 tefachim); some hold that one must pick the four minim up slightly; and others hold there is no need to pick them up at all.
There is one more remaining question: is it enough if one takes it in his hands which are many tefachim over the ground or does one need to actually lift them up higher? This is a common case scenario, when many people take the four minim from the table and do not necessarily lift them up.
According to the opinion that there is no need to have a full-fledged lifting there is obviously no need to do more than having them in one’s hands. However, according to the Kapos Temarim that one must make a full-fledged lifting, is it enough if one takes it in his hands which are many tefachim over the ground or does one need to actually lift them up, one or three tefachim?
This is actually a difference of opinions. The Taz discusses the regulations of an eiruv. An eiruv is a gathering of food from all the members of an enclosed area, who wish to be able to carry. Technically, each person must donate some food and they keep it all together in one house, thereby uniting all of the people and allowing them to carry. To save time, there is a halachic option, where one person takes the food and asks someone to make a kinyan on behalf of all of the people. The person would be required to pick up the food and have in mind that all of the people are acquiring the food. In this case all agree that one tefach is enough. The Taz asserts that just holding it in one’s hands above the ground a tefach will not suffice; one must actually lift the food to make the kinyan and the fact that it is in the air is not enough.
However, the Biur Halacha and the Avnei Nezer point out that this is not so simple and it may well be that if it is in the air because of his holding it, it is enough for a kinyan.
Coming back to the question of the four minim, according to the Kapos Temarim that there is a requirement to lift them, it should depend on this machlokes. According to the Taz one would have to lift them up and according to the others just being in his hands, which is above the ground, will suffice.
Mitzvas lekichah – Lifting over the ground or higher than the table
We previously discussed that there are three different opinions as to whether one needs to actually lift up the four minim. Some hold that the four minim require a full-fledged lifting (1 or 3 tefachim); some hold that one must pick the four minim up slightly; and others hold there is no need to pick them up at all.
There is one more remaining question: is it enough if one takes it in his hands which are many tefachim over the ground or does one need to actually lift them up higher? For example, if they are on the table is it necessary to lift the four minim a certain height from the table, or does the fact that they are already high up off the ground suffice?
According to the opinion that there is no need to have a full-fledged lifting there is obviously no need to do more than having them in one’s hands. However, this question would be relevant according to the Kapos Temarim. Since he holds that one must make a full-fledged lifting, is it enough the fact that one takes it in his hands which are many tefachim over the ground or does one need to actually lift them up, one or three tefachim off the table?
The answer to this question can be gleaned from the words of the Biur Halacha, in regards to an eiruv.
An eiruv is a gathering of food from all the members of an enclosed area, who wish to be able to carry. Technically, each person must donate some food, which is then kept all together in one house, thereby uniting all of the people and allowing them to carry. To save time, there is a halachically sanctioned option, where one person takes some food and asks someone to make a kinyan on behalf of all of the people. The person making the kinyan picks up the food and has in mind to acquire it on behalf of all of the others. In this case all agree that just one tefach is enough.
The Taz adds that just holding it in one’s hands above the ground a tefach will not suffice. One must actually lift the food to make the kinyan and the fact that it is in the air is not enough. However, the Biur Halacha and the Avnei Nezer point out that this is not so simple and it may well be that if it is in the air because of his holding it, it is enough for a kinyan.
The same should be true for our question of four minim. Since according to the Kapos Temarim there is a requirement to lift them, according to the Taz one must actually lift them up and according to the others just being in his hands, which is above the ground, will suffice.
Summary
In summary, there are different opinions as to whether or not one needs to take the four minim or just hold them. According to the opinion that there is a requirement to lift the four minim, there is a machlokes if one needs to actually lift them up over the table, or being that it is already above the ground will suffice.
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