Q&A: A Stolen Lulav
A Stolen Lulav
Question
Hello Rabbi!
I learned that according to Maimonides there is no prohibition against using a stolen lulav on the other days, aside from the first day, because the verse says: “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day.” My basic question is this: am I allowed to fulfill a commandment with a stolen object, or more precisely, does my act of performing the commandment count as fulfillment of the commandment, and then the Torah newly teaches that a stolen lulav on the first day is forbidden? Or is it forbidden to fulfill a commandment with a stolen object, in which case I do not understand what the Talmud is adding when it says “for yourselves” — from your own property?
Answer
You are asking the question raised by Tosafot at the beginning of the chapter “A Stolen Lulav.”
But there is also a problem with a stolen lulav on the later days, since this is a commandment fulfilled through a transgression. The rule of “for yourselves” applies only on the first day. The practical difference is in the case of a borrowed lulav, which is invalid only on the first day (because there is no transgression there). But a stolen one is invalid on all the days.