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When a woman (or, if need be, a man) lights candles for Shabbat, she covers her eyes before making the bracha to "pretend" that the candles aren't lit yet because we generally say the bracha before fulfilling the mitzvah, but once the bracha has been made, shabbat would start and she would be unable to light the candles. [Rm"a [quoting the Maharil] in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 263:5].

Are there any other mitzvot that we fulfill using some measure of pretense? I'm not talking about having a tnai in mind, or doing something incorrectly or incompletely until the bracha is made (like holding an etrog upside down), but about having to pretend that something is different from what it is.

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Many hold that a man doesn't need to follow this procedure and says the bracha before, because men generally accept Shabbat through maariv not candlelighting. – Double AA♦ Mar 1 at 14:33
@DoubleAA I haven't seen that -- can you show me a source which explains why there would be a difference? TIA – Dan Mar 1 at 14:37
Have a look at the Beiur Halacha to the se'if you quoted. It depends how much you want to say lo plug. And related judaism.stackexchange.com/q/20243/759 – Double AA♦ Mar 1 at 14:44
He seems to be citing an opinion that one should make the bracha first and, with no pretense, then light; this is pointed to in the Ramo, itself, where he says yesh mi she'omer shemevarchim kodem. Maybe I'm missing something but he still seems to say that while a man doesn't need to make a tnai, there is no difference in the order of operations (ידליקו ויפרסו ידיהם ואחר כך יברכו) – Dan Mar 1 at 15:02
This is my version of the third biur halacha on that seif ביאור הלכה על שוע אוח סי' רסג סעיף ה אחר ההדלקה - עיין במ"ב ואשה שמתנית שאינה מקבלת שבת בהדלקה או איש דקי"ל לקמן דאין צריך להתנות משמע בדה"ח דאפ"ה ידליקו ויפרסו ידיהם ואח"כ יברכו משום דלא פלוג וכדעת המ"א אבל מדברי הגאון רע"א בחדושיו ומדברי ח"א מוכח דבזה יברכו ואח"כ ידליקו: Meaning it's a machloket Magen Avraham and Divre Chaim vs Chaye Adam and R Akiva Eiger IIUc. – Double AA♦ Mar 1 at 15:17
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