Waving The Lulav And Etrog…
Once a traveling Jew was offered a thousand gold
coins from the Emperor in return for an Etrog. "That
Etrog is the most beautiful I have ever seen in my
life." the Emperor remarked. The Jew needed the
money, but would not sell the Etrog. "This Etrog,"
the Jew said, "is a symbol of joy, why should I sell
joy for something that only promises joy?"
Meditation:
As I lift up these symbols of life on Sukkot,
commemorating our wanderings in the desert and the
fall harvest, I reach out to You, and You are
everywhere. You sustain life in each
direction—across the seas, in the deserts, on
mountain tops and ice caps, skyward to the clouds,
deep down in the earth’s soil, and to the cosmos
which frame them all.
Ritual:
Standing with the etrog in your left hand, stem
down, and the lulav in your right, place your hands
together. After reciting the blessings, stretch out
your arms and shake three times in each of the six
directions (first to the East, then South, West,
North, up and down).
Blessing:
(As you hold the lulav and etrog in
your hands:)
Barukh atah Adonai melekh ha’olam, asher
kidshanu b’mitzvotav al nitilat lulav.
Blessed is the Holy One who makes us holy and
instructs us to raise up the lulav.
(When you make this blessing for the first time
on this Sukkot:)
Barukh atah she’hechiyanu v’keyemanu
v’hegiyanu lazman hazeh.
Blessed is the Holy One who has given us life,
sustained us, and brought us into this moment.
Teaching:
On the first day, you shall take the fruit of the
hadar trees (an etrog or citron),
branches of palm trees (lulav), boughs of
leafy trees (hasdassim) and mytles, and
willows of the brook (aravot), and you shall
rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
(Leviticus 23:40)
Each species is an allusion to the Holy One. Of
the palm branch, we read
"The righteous bloom like a date palm" (Psalms
92:13) of the Etrog "You are clothed in glory and
majesty" (Psalms 104:1) of the myrtle "And he stood
among the myrtle trees" (Zechariah 1:8) and of the
willow "Extol him who rides on the willows" (Psalms
68:5)
(Leviticus
Rabbah 83)
It is considered a special mitzvah to get an
aesthetically attractive etrog. The etrog is unfit
if it is dried up, spotted, punctured, smaller than
a walnut, or if its pitum (protuberance at
the tip opposite the stem) has been broken off.
(Yitz Greenberg, The Jewish Way)
Then the next night my orthodox rabbi friend
brought over a lulav and etrog for me to hold and
wave in praise of God’s goodness for keeping me
alive. It was a wonderful symbol of friendship to
me….
(Hirshell Jaffe, Why Me? Why Anyone?)
(CLAL Faculty)
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