In a volume published in 1930, Rabbi Hayim Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs (Minhas Eluzar, 1871-1937) commented that he had seen and heard it said in the name of greats that there was a practice to only hold the lulav during the Hallel service. Presumably the Munkatcher Rebbe meant that the three species that were bound together – lulav, hadasim and aravot – were held during the service and the etrog was not. The Minhas Eluzar decried this practice, calling it a “mistaken custom” and adding that it had no basis.
Why Don’t Lubavitchers Hold the Esrog During Hallel?
In a volume published in 1930, Rabbi Hayim Elazar Shapiro of Munkacs (Minhas Eluzar, 1871-1937) commented that he had seen and heard it said in the name of greats that there was a practice to only hold the lulav during the Hallel service. Presumably the Munkatcher Rebbe meant that the three species that were bound together – lulav, hadasim and aravot – were held during the service and the etrog was not. The Minhas Eluzar decried this practice, calling it a “mistaken custom” and adding that it had no basis.