* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Have you visited a four species market yet? I recommend that you do.
During the holiday of Sukkot, there is a mitzvah to shake the four species: etrog (citron), lulav (palm branch), hadas (myrtle), and aravah (willow). Here is a taste of what I saw at one market, among many such markets throughout the Jewish world:
• I saw the deep commitment of preparation for the holiday. Hundreds of people were carefully examining lulavim, hadassim, aravot, and etrogim. They checked the four species to make sure they were kosher according to Jewish law, asked questions, looked closely, deliberated, and happily made their purchases. Thousands of years after we received this mitzvah in the Torah, we still remember it and pass it on. That should not be taken for granted.
• I saw unity. An older man dressed in Hasidic clothing stood alongside a young man wearing a tank top and flip-flops, each choosing his own set of the four species. It was entirely appropriate since our sages tell us that the four species represent different personalities among the Jewish people. They are bound tightly together and we cannot do without any of them.
• I saw lots of children with a twinkle in their eye. Among all the intriguing gadgets available today, a fragrant Jewish gadget — the etrog — is more exciting than any of them. It is wonderful to see children fascinated by an etrog as they are powerfully attracted to the special, ancient tradition that includes it.
• I saw simplicity. The more technology advances, the more the message of Sukkot becomes subversive and revolutionary: the sukkah and the four species compel us to touch, smell, build, and experience. Once a year, the sukkah take us outside to encounter nature, our neighbors, the sky and the earth—and above all, the One who created them.
You are invited to make sure that you, and others, have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of the four species, and to be inspired by what you discover.
Chag sameach, have a happy Sukkot!
