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Large stems of Aravah were brought from a place called Motza, in the valley below Yerushalayim.

Summary

We begin now the sugya of muktzah machmas mitzvah: If something is set aside for a mitzvah, it may not be handled for any other purpose.

Rabbi Yochanan: An esrog is muktzeh all day on Hoshana Rabbah (although it’s technically a weekday, there is still a “muktzeh”), but may be handled on Shemini Atzeres. The sukkah is forbidden even on Shemni Atzeres (this is because the sukkah is used all day, including the time of bein hashmashos which may already be the beginning of Shemini Atzeres).

 Reish Lakish: The esrog is permissible even on Hoshana Rabbah. 

Their argument is as follows: Reish Lakish holds the esrog is only set aside for the duration of the mitzvah, afterwards it is permissible. Rabbi Yochanan holds that muktzeh cannot apply to part of a day, and it is muktzeh all day. 

 Reish Lakish challenged Rabbi Yochanan from the mishna (35.6): “They would snatch the lulavim from the hands of the children and eat their esrogim”. So it seems that anyone can eat esrogim on Hoshana Rabbah because they are no longer muktzeh? 

 Response: The mishna is discussing children specifically (either that their esrogim can be eaten since their mitzvah is not really a mitzvah, or that they can eat the esrogim).

 Some say: Rabbi Yochanan challenged Reish Lakish from the mishna (35.6): “They would snatch the lulavim from the hands of the children and eat their esrogim”. So it seems that only children can eat esrogim on Hoshana Rabbah but for adults, they’re muktzeh? 

 Response: The mishna does not intend to specify children, it is merely recording the custom of the children.