Sukkot 5770 -- Take your lulav & etrog

Dr. Rachel Adler teaches that Judaism should be made more sensual. By this, she means that we should experience Jewish life using all of our senses. She talks of the importance of a multi-sensory Jewish experience and explains that a sensual Judaism is an embodied Judaism. Educators know that lessons taught with an emphasis on taste, touch, and smell are lessons well remembered. And this is why Sukkot is my kind of holiday. Sitting outside. Meals shared with friends and family. Fruit. Leaves. Trees. Decorations. It’s like camping. But Jewish. It smells good. It tastes good. It feels good.

This is the most sensual holiday of the year. Yes, tonight we enter into Z’man Simchateinu, the Season of our Joy. On Sukkot, we are commanded to be joyful and to embrace nature. The Torah tells us:

On the first day, you shall take the product of beautiful trees (citron), branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees (myrtle), and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God Adonai for seven days. ...You shall live in booths seven days, all citizens of Israel shall live in booths (Leviticus 23:40, 42).

In Hebrew, we call the fruit of the citron an etrog and we put the myrtle, palm, and willow branches together to make a lulav. Part of the great fun of Sukkot is taking these elements together and shaking them. For blessings and instructions of how to take the lulav and etrog click here.

For Sukkot, I would like to offer you a spiritual gift of three different understandings of what the lulav and etrog symbolize. I invite you to share these at your Sukkot meals. This is the week for family picnics and lots of time outside. Enjoy!

PARTS OF THE BODY
The palm branch is like the spine.
The myrtle is like the eye.
The willow is like the mouth.
And the etrog is like the heart.
“With all your limbs praise God.”–Vayikra Rabbah 30:14

AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF ISRAEL
The palm branch represents the lowland.
The willow represents the river.
The myrtle represents the mountains.
The etrog represents the irrigated areas.–Encyclopedia Judaica

THE JEWISH PEOPLE
The willow has neither taste nor aroma, symbolic of those people who neither study Torah nor perform good deeds.
The myrtle has a wonderful aroma but no taste, symbolic of those people who perform good deeds but do not study Torah.
The palm has no aroma, but has a delicious taste, symbolic of those who spend their time studying Torah but do not perform good deeds.
The etrog has a delightful aroma and a delicious taste, symbolic of those who both study Torah and perform good deeds!
“God says: ‘Let all four be held together so that they may protect and complement one another.’”–Vayikra Rabbah 30:12

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR FAMILY TO CONSIDER:

• Which of these explanations resonates most with you? Why?
• Can you think of your own interpretation of what the lulav and etrog might symbolize?
• Each of the three different explanations talk about bringing different things together. What are ways you can make Sukkot a holiday for celebrating differences?