It was Sukkos morning, just before Hallel. The shul was a blaze of green and yellow as people took out their lulavim and esrogim and waved them. Lev stood there patiently, watching everyone else make the blessing and fulfill the beautiful mitzvah. He was not able to purchase his own lulav and esrog, but figured that he would borrow from someone in shul.
When Mr. Freund, who stood just to the right, finished waving his lulav, Lev turned to him. “Could I borrow your lulav for the mitzvah?” he asked.
“You can’t really borrow, since the lulav and esrog must belong to you on the first day,” replied Mr. Freund cordially. “However, I’m happy to give it to you as a gift with the stipulation that you return it, matana al m’nas lehachzir.”
“That’s great!” said Lev. “I just need the lulav and esrog to make the berachah, do the mitzvah, and then I’m happy to return them to you.”
Mr. Freund handed over his lulav and esrog. Lev made the berachos, turned the esrog right-side up and began waving the lulav; forward and backward, right and left, up and down, with the proper na’anuim.
While Lev was doing this, a plane thundered directly overhead, shaking the building. Some seforim on a nearby bookcase toppled over and knocked the esrog out of Lev’s hand. It fell to the ground and a piece broke off.
Lev looked embarrassed. “I’m terribly sorry about your esrog,” he apologized to Mr. Freund. “Those seforim caught me completely by surprise.”
“What will I do now?” asked Mr. Freund.
“I’m willing to pay you whatever the esrog cost,” Lev quickly said.
“That’s not the point,” Mr. Freund replied. “What am I going to do today for the rest of the family and for the remainder of Yom Tov? I can’t buy another esrog until Chol HaMoed – if I find can still find a good one.”
“Maybe I can somehow get another esrog in lieu,” suggested Lev. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Meanwhile, Lev began to wonder: “Since I can’t return the esrog to Mr. Freund and fulfill the stipulation, was his gift still valid? Was the esrog mine? Did I fulfill the mitzvah?”
Lev went over to Rabbi Dayan. “Mr. Freund gave me his lulav and esrog with the stipulation that I return them,” he related. “The esrog was damaged before I was able to return it. Did I fulfill the mitzvah? What if I pay money or give him another esrog in lieu?”
“When the item still exists intact, the recipient cannot return money instead of the item,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “However, when the item is no longer intact, there is a difference between an esrog and other items.” (See Rama, Ketzos and Nesivos C.M. 241:7)
“In what way is an esrog different?” asked Lev.
“The Rosh [Sukkah 3:30] cites the Ba’al Ha’itur that returning money is usually equivalent to returning the item,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “However, regarding an esrog, the owner needs the esrog itself so that he can continue fulfilling the mitzvah during the remaining days. Therefore, if the recipient did not return the esrog itself, he did not fulfill the stipulation of the owner. Hence, the conditional gift is abolished, and the recipient did not fulfill the mitzvah with his esrog.”
“The Shulchan Aruch [O.C. 658:4] rules in accordance with the Rosh,” continued Rabbi Dayan. “He adds that even if the person cannot return the esrog on account of oness [circumstances beyond his control], he does not fulfill the mitzvah.”
“So I have to do the mitzvah again with another lulav?” asked Lev. “The esrog is pasul and I can’t return it intact!”