Weekly Dvar Torah: The Arava

When the first day of Sukkos falls on Shabbos, like this year, our sages rule that we don’t make a blessing on the Lulav and the rest of the four kinds. Even though the Torah says: ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון = you should take [the four kinds] to you on the first day [of Sukkos].

Whereas, when it comes to using the Arava (the willow branch) on Hoshana Rabba, a tradition from the Prophets, our sages worked out the calendar that this day should never fall out on Shabbos, so that there should never be a time when we can’t use the Arava on Hoshana Rabba.

This is puzzling, when it comes to a Torah commandment, the sages did not arrange the calendar to make sure that we should never miss blessing the four kinds because of Shabbos. But when it comes to a tradition from the Prophets, they went out of their way to arrange the calendar so that we never miss an opportunity to observe this custom. Why is that?

Another aspect to the laws of the four species. The leaves of a Lulav must hold together perfectly, they cannot be separated. Why? Because we infer from the word כפות (read ‘Kapos’ meaning a date palm frond), and this word is spelled like the word כפות (read ‘Kofus’ meaning together), indicating that the Lulav should be solidly held together. It doesn’t say so explicitly in Torah, but we derive this through an inference.

The same is regarding the Esrog. We infer from the word הדר (‘Hadar’ meaning beautiful) that the Esrog must be fresh, it cannot be dry or rotten. Torah does not say so explicitly, but we learn this through inference. The same is with the Hadas (myrtle). The myrtle must be one whose leaves are three together at their source because it says עבות (‘Avos’ meaning thick), that the myrtle must have body, which implies a triple.

But when it comes to the Arava, we find something very different. The Torah says that we should use ערבי נחל (willows by the water), yet, the sages teach that any willow branch, regardless of where it grew it is also fine, all it needs to be is from the family of species that grows by the water.

Here again, when it comes to the other three kinds, we state the law based on inference alone, but when it comes to the Arava, we seemingly dismiss what Torah stated explicitly, and we settle for the ‘family’ alone. Being a member of the family of willows is sufficient.

This can only be explained according to Chassidus, the inner dimension of Torah.

The Midrash says that the four species represent four types of Jews. The Esrog has a nice smell and good taste, representing the perfect Jew, who does Mitzvos with passion and studies Torah. The Lulav (a date palm frond) has good taste, represents the Torah scholar, which is why the Lulav is tall, like a Torah scholar stands high in Judaism, but he doesn’t necessarily have passion in his Mitzvos. The Hadas (myrtle) has a good smell, which represents the Jew of passionate action, but not necessarily a Torah scholar. The Arava (willow) has no taste and no smell, representing the Jew who doesn’t stand out not with scholarship nor with actions. A simple Jew with no status.

One cannot choose to use those of status kinds without the Arava, this is not the Mitzvah. Without the simple Jew, you missed the point.

This is also highlighted by the fact that the word Arava in Hebrew, also means Arev = sweet, the simple Jew is sweet to G-d. When we use the Arava we highlight the sweetness of the simple Jew. Never mind the outside look, look inside, the sweetness that G-d loves in a Jew.

The Lulav Jew must himself be a Torah scholar, family affiliation doesn’t pass. The Esrog Jew must be himself a scholar and a passionate observer of Mitzvos, family membership doesn’t cut it. The Hadas Jew must himself be a passionate observer, and not just belong to the family. But the Arava Jew without the external status symbols, he has the beauty of just belonging to the family. Like the Arava which grows on dryland, with no moistness to speak of, if it’s from the family that grows by the water, it is Kosher, and without the Arava one cannot perform the Mitzvah.

To add to the above. The four kinds must all be held together, if one is missing there is no Mitzvah. Whereas the custom of using the Arava on Hoshana Rabba is performed by the Arava alone.

The Arava represents the SIMPLE Jew = אנשים פשוטים, who has SIMPLE faith = אמונה פשוטה, and is connected directly with the SIMPLE essence of G-d = פשיטות העצמות. This is a quality which every Jew has, unlike the external qualities of scholarship and passion, which sets us apart from each other. The Arava represents the oneness of ‘all’ Jews, and by connecting to the Arava Jew we connect with the essence of G-d.

That is why the sages would never allow us to abandon the simple Jew, the Arava Jew. Therefore, they made sure that Hoshana Rabba never falls on Shabbos, so that we never miss the opportunity to connect with the simplicity of the Arava, the simple Jew who connects us with the simplicity of G-d.

Have a joyous simple G-dly Yomtov,
Gut Shabbos, Gut Yomtov

Rabbi Yosef Katzman