Lev 23.40 “And you shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the L-rd seven days.”
The rabbis explain that this represents four things, which we are to bring to Him (we’ll have our own spin on this Mitzvah in the fourth chapter), and three of these elements were clearly visible at the Temple ceremony as well:
1. The first fruit of goodly trees- The sages say this is the etrog, a citrus fruit (the people carried these to the Temple) that grows in the Holy Land. Its good looking, sweet tasting and very fragrant. We are also told that this fruit must be free of imperfections (including bruises). Then there’s the pittom, which is a nipple-like blossom that protrudes from the citron. Many Jews prefer it because it makes the etrog more beautiful, but others feel it is improper because it is a hybrid and wasn’t around in Biblical times. If you use the etrog, then the pittom must be intact or it’s not considered a “goodly fruit”. If no etrog is available, then another fruit that meets these requirements can be used in its place.
2. Branches of palm trees (or lulavim)- These were waved with the etrog, back during Yeshua’s day and they were also in the hands of the people, not the priests (the priest may have waved the willow branches). They grew plentifully all over Israel in both wild and cultivated versions. We are to use just one of these.
3. Boughs of leafy trees- The sages tells us HaShem meant myrtle. There are three which traditionally are said to represent the three fathers: Av’raham, Y’tzak, and Yakov or the books mentioned during the Days of Awe: the wicked, the righteous and those in-between. The rabbis also state that myrtle is described in three different words: anaf (branch), aytz (tree) and avot (thicket). These three words are in fact in Torah and not myrtle so where did they get myrtle? We guess it comes from Nehemiah: “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written” Neh.8.15. Of course they never explained why they left out the olive or why Nehemiah clearly says these are for building the succah, not for the wave offering (more on this subject next chapter).
4. Willow of the brook- As previously mentioned, the priests picked these when the sacrifice was being readied and the water was being collected for the Temple service. They were used for building a succah upon the altar and may have been waved as well. The rabbis in later years added these to the wave offering because the word here is plural, therefore we should wave two.
These four are usually called the four species and a special blessing is said over them, specifically for the lulav. Why? The sages tell us that the lulav towers over the others so it gets the blessing. We are also told to include the two willows and three myrtles (as we explained above), yet we strongly suspect that at least two of these items were not part of the original wave offering, but a later addition. Lastly, we place the etrog by itself in our left hand. This is how we are to hold these elements (or ones we can find locally that resemble them if we cannot find them or grow them in our home). Lastly, we are told to wave these in the six directions, north, south, east, and west as well as up and down. Go to blessings for the actual blessings used.
Now the dwelling:
“You shall dwell in booths, that your generations shall know I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”Immediately following Yom Kippur we are instructed by the rabbis to plan our succah (succah means booth in Hebrew, 5521); and we are to make sure we have everything we will need (we get five days). The rabbis tell us that this structure must have at least three walls and it’s roof must be made of the things of the field (and that is what Nehemiah was talking about). They tell us that we can place wood posts across the top so you have something to lay the branches on or you can put in a forth wall with a door (some even put in windows with screens). The covering is called the s’chach, which means to cover or protect. We are further told that it should be made so that there is more shade than sun, and that that you can see the stars when they come out at night. And equally important we are told to at least eat within the succah for all meals if weather permits. On the first day there is no exception, even if it’s pouring rain. However, you may postpone the “feast” until midnight hoping the rain will stop or you can get away with eating a piece of bread, the volume of an olive.
We have also been told that because we are to “dwell” within them, we are able to bring as much of the indoors to the succah in the way of comfort. This means having nice dishes, nice linen and a comfortable place to sit like lawn chairs; we even have seen some succahs with indoor furniture as well. There are also some decorated like a Christmas tree with lights, ornaments, and garland. Does “dwell” necessarily mean bringing the comforts of our homes under our succah and does “celebrate” mean to decorate with Christmas symbols? It makes one wonder if these rabbinical rules are really practical in keeping this Mitzvoth?
We ask this because in the last few years, in our zeal to abide the rabbinical rules explained above, we have found it near impossible to abide the Mitzvah as written in Leviticus. First, our succah was rained out (it rained all during the first day and most of the week), the next year it was too cold (the low temps were in the high thirties and high temps were in the fifties). This past year the combination of rain and wind dismantled our roof several times, whereas it only caved in from wetness three years before. This year we are seeing a drought, which also occurred two years ago, and if there is a pattern then we can expect some real cool temperatures when Succoth comes. As for a meal, lunch was the most likely and that was also difficult. We often went with a scrap of bread, like poor Oliver. And so we humbly ask the rabbis: “Please rabbi, we want more”. Besides, if HaShem really wants us to try and keep His Mitzvoth, should He not bless us? To be honest, He has blessed us when we first began. It’s only recently that we’ve been frustrated by our succah. In fact, it has been three times in a row and three is a completion, and so we like to believe we are keen enough to ask a simple and logical question:
Why build these “booths” if we can’t “dwell” in them?
It seems ridiculous to have to race inside after shoveling in an olive sized piece of bread because it’s down pouring again. Do we really honor and follow HaShem’s Mitzvah if we build a succah that we cannot dwell within because of the climate we live in? Is this what HaShem has called us to do or is it, like some rabbis claim, a mitzvah solely for Israel and not for those of us in Diaspora? Well, it was a feast of ingathering, yet when our fathers first dwelt in booths, they were not in Jerusalem but wandering in the deserts, therefore it fits perfectly Diaspora. If we look at the Mitzvah in Torah again and at each of the elements He called in context, we find a literal meaning to these words, but we also find a meaning far beyond and more practical -
