Is a bracha me’akev to the mitzvah?

Question

Many mitzvahs require a bracha beforehand. If one were to not make the bracha, is the mitzvah valid bedi’eved or does the fact that the bracha wasn’t made means the mitzvah wasn’t done?

For example:

If you put on a tallis but didn’t made the bracha, does it count as wearing a tallis?

If you washed before bread but didn’t make an Al Netilas Yadayim, does it count as washing?

If you searched for chametz in the correct time but didn’t make the Bracha, does it count as a valid bedika?

I think the point is clear after all those examples 😁

Ps: these halachos (https://outorah.org/p/32929/) seem to say the rule about whether you can still make the Bracha, but it doesn’t say whether or not you were mikayim the mitzvah after the fact.

Answer 1

The beracha is not me'akev the mitzavah. In fact, when there's a doubt about when you're required to do a mitzvah d'oraita the halacha is to do the mitzvah, but not make the beracha. (Because if you aren't required to do the mitzvah, making the beracha is a beracha levatellah, which is itself an issur d'oraita.)

Sefirat HaOmer is a great example. There's a machloket rishonim whether the whole 49-day period is one mitzvah, or whether each night is its own separate mitzvah. If you miss a day, then for the rest of the Omer you'd only be chayav according to the rishonim who say that each night is its own separate mitzvah. So we're machmir for those rishonim, and require you to keep counting, but because maybe the other rishonim are correct, we don't make the beracha.

There's another example to answer your question in the halachot of the Omer. What if you casually mentioned "It's Lag Baomer" to a friend before having a chance to count the Omer on the 33rd night? You may have just been yotzae the mitzvah, so now you can't count with a beracha anymore that night. (But you can continue to do so on subsequent nights.)

Answer 2

There are many cases where the rule “Brachos Einon Meakvos” is brought.

One that comes to mind from the recent Yom Tov of Sukkos is the Biur Halacha 649:1 in regards to an esrog that was used after being stolen with yiush;

ומיהו לא יברך - ואם עבר ונטלו א"צ ליטול שוב לולב אחר וכ"ש שלא יברך עליו דכיון דמדינא יצא בנטילה ראשונה שוב הוי ברכה לבטלה [בכורי יעקב

Even though a bracha cannot be said, he is yotzei the mitzvah