Daf Yomi - Sukkah 37 - More Hadas Aroma

The Gemara rules that one is prohibited from smelling and deriving pleasure from the fragrance of the hadassim that are used for the mitzvah. The Acharonim challenge this ruling from the Gemara that states that sound, sight and aroma are deemed inconsequential and one who inhales a fragrance from an item in the Bais HaMikdash will not have violated the prohibition of meilah. Why, then, is there a concern if one were to smell the hadas? HaRav Elyashiv Shlita explains that the above-mentioned principle only applies when one smells, sees or hears something incidentally and one was not intending for the smell, sight or sound. One who inhales the hadas for its aroma, however, is acting deliberately and this is forbidden. Harav Elyashiv cites a proof to this from the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah which discusses if one can fulfill his obligation of shofar with a shofar that one is forbidden to derive benefit from. The issue in the Gemara there is if the benefit that one derives while performing a mitzvah is deemed a prohibited benefit or not. Although sound is normally deemed inconsequential, regarding shofar it is obvious that he intends for the sound and this intention is thus taken into consideration.