Rabbi's Sermons

Moadim Lesimcha!

Only a few days after Yom Kippur, the calendar takes us to the Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot, which during the Biblical period and the Second Temple, was the most important and joyful holiday. In fact, in the Talmud, this holiday is simply known as the CHAG - or the "holiday". This holiday has a double symbolism: the agricultural aspect, as it is Chag HeAsif, or gathering of the fruits, and also the national-historical aspect, which reminds us of the wanderings of the people of Israel in the desert. However, the relationship between these two elements of Sukkot is quite ambivalent. Although the agricultural element of the collection symbolizes a process of gathering and arrangement in one constant place, the historical message is precisely in contrast to this concept, and Sukkot reminds us of just the opposite, leaving the permanent place and continuing to wander.

This connection, between the fixed and the temporal, is also revealed in the second central commandment of this festival: The four species or Arbaat Haminim. On each day of the Chag, the Etrog - citrus, the Lulav - the palm, the Hadas - the myrtle and the Arava - the willow, come together in a special association, which has served extensively for many parables and interpretations throughout the ages.

We may recall the traditional explanation of the four species, which symbolizes the four types of people:

• Etrog - Those people with aroma and flavor – they have knowledge and do good deeds.

• Lulav - Those persons that have flavor in the fruit of the date palm but have no aroma – they may have no knowledge, but they behave and act in a good way.

• Hadas - Those persons that have aroma but have no flavor on a fruit – persons that may have knowledge but do not act in a good way.

• Arava – Finally, those people that have neither aroma nor taste – they neither have the knowledge, nor act in a good way.

And, despite the differences, we keep them all together as one in a set, as a single union of the people. We may also recall the other traditional explanation, which resembles each of the four species with a part of the human body:

• Etrog – reminds the human heart - always active and highlights the emotions.

• Lulav – Resembles the shape of the human spine - sometimes active, and highlights the actions, dynamism and activity.

• Hadas – Resembles the shape of an eye - sometimes active, and highlights learning and feelings.

• Arava – Reminds the shape of the mouth - sometimes active and highlights the thoughts, you have to use it wisely!

Without compromising the importance of the other three species, the halacha and popular tradition gave only to the etrog the greatest importance! It seems that the etrog was the king of the citrus; its details, of shape and even the Pitam (the twig that seals), have to have a specific condition, so that this fragrant fruit became the diamond of this festivity. And, surprisingly, despite this, it was precisely the Lulav, the date palm, which has been the center of a very brief and symbolic ceremony, during which we take the four species during the morning prayers, even giving its name of "Netilat Lulav"- the taking of the Lulav! Why aren’t all the species mentioned? Why Lulav only?

When we will take the four species tomorrow, we will join a ripe and elegant fruit with an unopened palm, and branches of Hadas and Arava, that are still standing (before the stage of eventually drying and falling). While the Etrog symbolizes all the potential and greatness already acquired, the Lulav symbolizes the hidden potential, it is the palm that is only at the beginning of the journey, waiting to be discovered and exposed. The Etrog, in its maturity, symbolizes the present, the achievements and the desire to keep it that way, but in the Lulav, a future is immersed: It is a call not to settle for the ripe fruits of the present, and to always hope for a new path, a new branch, that in fact, is still mostly out of sight!

The action that is carried out with the Lulav and the rest of the species during the Chag, reflects the emphasis placed on Sukkot, on human movement, in wandering about the continuous movement in life, never staying in the same place! The Mishna at the volume called Sukka, when detailing the laws of the Chag, indicates that while taking the four species, these should be shaken towards the four cardinal points upwards and downwards, indicating that we can continue our journey to any other point, walk with them in Hoshanot and not leave them idle in our hand!

Bialik wrote, that the festivities rise in the timeline, as the mountains rise in the sky and lead us to rise spiritually, and be able, from their prospective and heights, to observe the days that have passed, and give us a different perspective on our lives. In a modern culture of achievements, which classifies human beings for the most part, based on their final results, Sukkot invites us to see the human being and the community based on action, movement, history and their facts, not what we know or what we have or what we pray, but what we do. This is the important message, to better appreciate Sukkot.

Chag Sukkot Sameach!

Rabbi David Laor

October 16^th, 2024