G-d’s Four Species

Leviticus 23:40: “On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an unopened palm frond, myrtle branches, and willows [that grow near] the brook. You shall rejoice before G-d for seven days.”

This translation is taken from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s “Living Torah,” where he has the following footnotes sourcing the definitions of the branches and fruit in question.

“Citron tree (Targum; Saadia). Hadar in Hebrew, usually referred to as etrog.

“Unopened palm frond (Sukkah 32a; Rashi).

“Myrtle branches (cf. Sukkah 32b; Rashi). The practice is to place three such branches in the bunch.

“Willows. (cf. Sukkah 34a). Two are placed in the bunch, together with the palm frond and myrtle.”

The curiosity that pervades these days, the kind that overrides the “Bible states, therefore it is” explanation, may cause people to wonder, “Why these specific items? What, if anything, is ‘special’ about them?”

The Sefer HaManhig explains that the etrog (citron) resembles a heart (in shape), and comes to bring atonement for the (sinful) thoughts of the heart.

The hadas (myrtle) resembles eyes (in shape) to atone for (sins) of probing eyes. These two follow the verse, “You will then not stray after your heart and eyes…” (Bamidbar 15:39).

The aravah (willow) resembles the lips, to atone for sins that come from utterances of the lips.

And why the lulav (palm frond)? Just as the lulav has only one heart (this is a play on the word lulav – which can be read in Hebrew as “Lo Lev” – it has a heart of palm!), so, too, Israel has only one heart, which is directed towards its Father in heaven.

It would seem that the four species are heavily symbolic in that they help us achieve atonement that may have escaped our Yom Kippur efforts. This revelation would indicate that those who poke others with their Lulav, or who shake the Lulav set in a manner similar to a Jedi light-sabre, are missing the point of the mitzvah.

Even for those who don’t care so much for the “shape of item resembles a body-part” approach, there are textual suggestions that make these items even more compelling.