How to Shake a Lulav

Sukkot begins tonight! You've built and decorated a lovely sukkah, but perhaps you're wondering what to do next. Here's a quick guide on how to begin your celebration of the most fragrant and hospitable Jewish holiday of them all: 

Jerusalem balcony sukkah

Mitzvah #1: Rejoice! 

Sukkot is zeman simchatenu, the season of our joy. All of the pilgrim festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—are times of joy, but for Sukkot the commandment to rejoice is given three times (Lev. 23:40; Deut. 16:14-15). How do you fulfill this mitzvah? By embracing this time of rest and rejoicing, welcoming guests to your sukkah, and giving thanks to God for His abundant mercy and provision for you and your family. 

Mitzvah #2: Dwell in the Sukkah

As you enter your sukkah for the first time tonight, you can fulfill the mitzvah of dwelling in it by eating a meal inside of it. Begin your meal by reciting Kiddush over a cup of wine. Don't forget to add the blessing for the sukkah, too: 

“Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu leyshev ba-sukkah. (Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has hallowed us by your commandments, and has commanded us to dwell in the sukkah.”

Next comes the Shehecheyanu (the blessing for new things and new seasons):

“Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyamanu, v’higiyanu lazman ha-zeh. (Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us in life, and preserved us, and enabled us to reach this season.)”

Congratulations, you've fulfilled a mitzvah! But wait ... there's more! The next morning we're ready to fulfill the third mitzvah ...

Mitzvah #3: Shake the Lulav

And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. (Leviticus 23:40)

To fulfill this mitzvah, acquire a lulav set, which includes the four species described, with the “fruit of beautiful trees” understood as the citron or Etrog. On the first morning of Sukkot, gather your lulav and etrog. Put the lulav in your right hand and the etrog in your left hand, with the pitom (pointy part) pointing down. Recite this blessing: 

“Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al n’tilat lulav. (Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has hallowed us by your commandments, and has commanded us to take up the lulav.)”

here the pitom is pointing up

After reciting the blessing, point the pitom of the etrog upwards (careful not to break it off) and unite it with the rest of the lulav set. Then wave it three times in each direction - east (toward Jerusalem), south, west, north, up, and down. The first time you do this, make sure to say the Shehecheyanu. 

Congratulations! You've just fulfilled another mitzvah. Remember to wave the lulav every morning for the rest of Sukkot (ask your local Messianic rabbi if it's your community's custom to abstain from waving the lulav on Shabbat).  

UMJC Rabbinic Counsel Rabbi Russ Resnik

Why does God ask us to engage in this funny ritual?

Rabbi Russ Resnik: "One midrash says that the fragrance of the four species represents knowledge of Torah and the fruit of the different species represents good deeds, thus portraying four types of Jews: the etrog is a fruit with fragrance, signifying those godly Jews who have both knowledge and good deeds; the palm has fruit and no fragrance, representing those with good deeds but no knowledge of Torah; the myrtle has fragrance (knowledge) and no fruit (good deeds); and the willow has neither. The four types are bound together and extended in praise before the Lord, representing all Israel united in acknowledging the true king and giver of life. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12)

"Another midrash compares the etrog to the heart, the palm to the spine, the myrtle leaves to the eyes, and the willow leaves to the lips. And so we each unite our soul in giving praise to the Lord, who is the source of all (Vayikra Rabbah 30:14). Waving in all six directions underlines the completeness of our worship, and waving three times in each direction yields the number 18, which signifies chai, or life, in Hebrew. We add to the four usual directions by waving the lulav set upwards toward the heavens, and downward, as a final direction, signifying our hope for blessings to descend from on high. After this extended blessing, the whole assembly recites Hallel (Psalms 113–118, all or part), while those with lulav sets continue to raise them up with joy."

“Halleluyah! Praise, O servants of Adonai, praise the Name of Adonai. Blessed be the Name of Adonai from now and forever. From the rising of the sun to its going down the Name of Adonai is to be praised. (Ps. 113:1–3, TLV)”

How to Build a Simple Sukkah

by Rabbi Russ Resnik, UMJC Rabbinic Counsel

Immediately after Yom Kippur is the time to build your Sukkah, in preparation for Sukkot, which begins this year on Sunday, September 23, at sundown. This gives you only three more days to build, but don’t worry—a kosher sukkah is supposed to be makeshift and flimsy. All you need is a structure shaped like one of the letters in the Hebrew word SUKKAH:

One of the walls (but no more) can be your house or another existing building. Sink corner posts in the ground, set them in cinder blocks, or prop them up any way you want. Nail boards, panels of plywood or particle board, fabric, or whatever you want, to your posts. The roof can be flimsy also; you need to be able to see the stars through it to be truly kosher. Make a rough frame of 1X boards, or something similar, and cover it with leafy branches. Size is up to you, as long as you can fit in a table and a few chairs. Hint: don’t make it too big or it will be hard to keep the roof from sagging.

Once you get your Sukkah up, make sure that it won’t fall down on your head. Then you can decorate it with pictures of Jerusalem, paper chains, hanging fruit, flowers, branches, and so on. Put in a little rug to make it cozier. Bring in an extension cord so you can have light at night. Remember that it might rain (especially since we pray for rain during Sukkot), so protect articles that could get damaged.

So, now it’s time to dwell in your booth already! Tradition says that if you eat your meals in the Sukkah, you are fulfilling the commandment. Some hardy souls sleep in their Sukkah also.

Here’s what you need for an 8 X 8 sukkah, based on the three-wall design above:

4          8 foot 2 x 3 or 2 X 4 boards

8          cinder blocks to prop them up, or use longer boards and sink them a foot or so into the ground, or get three additional boards and connect them together at ground level to make a free-standing structure, leaving the front of the sukkah open

10        1 X 2 boards: two are screwed or nailed into the heavier boards to form each of three sides, and four are laid across the top and attached

3          8’ X 8’ panels of cloth, light plywood, bamboo, etc. for sides, to be attached to 1 X 2s

And finally, plenty of tree trimmings, branches, or bamboo, cornstalks, etc., for the roof.

Chag sameach! 

Praying for Rain

by Rabbi Isaac S. Roussel - Congregation Zera Avraham, Ann Arbor, Michigan

We tend to think of the High Holy Days as its own unit, and that is true. But really it is a distinct segment of a whole season that begins with Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the month of Elul, and ends with Sukkot.

Traditionally, every day during Elul, people recite Psalm 27. It expresses our desire to be in deep communion and closeness to Hashem. Verse 4 says “Achat sha’alti me’et Adonai . . . One thing I ask of the Lord and this is what I desire, to dwell in the house of Adonai all the days of my life.” And the following verse contains God’s response, “He will surely give me shelter . . . he will hide me in his home.” The word “shelter” here is sukkah. Thus the ultimate goal of this whole season is to dwell with Hashem in his sukkah. This brings us joy.

But we must have done the hard work of Heshbon ha-Nefesh, self-introspection, and Teshuvah, repentance, during the Ten Days of Awe before we get there.

In Parashat Haazinu, we have a song that Moses sings to the people on his last day on earth. One of the opening verses is, “My lesson will drip like rain; my word will flow like dew; like storm winds on vegetation and like raindrops on grass” (Deut. 32:2). Rashi says that this points to Torah as the life-giving rain. But Rashbam points out that the word used for drip (ya’arof) can also mean “break.” He likens it to the egla arufah, the calf that has its neck broken to atone for an unsolved murder. (The word has the sense of falling down and so it also came to be used for bending something down to break it.) Rashbam, therefore, considers Torah as something that breaks us open, preparing us to receive the rain. This is similar to another comment that Rashi makes on this passage. He states that just as storm winds strengthen the grasses, so too Torah strengthens us as it challenges us.

This is what we must go through during the Ten Days to get to the sukkah. We must let the liturgy and the Torah readings break us open. It is a time when we look deep inside ourselves and ask God to reveal any hidden sins in our lives. How have we hardened our hearts towards God or others? We allow the “storm winds” to batter us because we know that it will strengthen us and bring us new life and new growth.

We resume praying for rain at Sukkot. Having done the hard work of “breaking open” during the Days of Awe, let us sit and soak in the life-giving rains of Torah and God’s blessings. The sukkah must have at least three walls. We can envision the walls of the sukkah as the body and arms of God embracing us as we dwell there. May we truly find the desire of our heart to dwell in the house of Adonai, and to be hidden in his home. May we experience Hashem’s forgiveness and inner healing. May we all find new growth in our relationship with God and others in this upcoming year.

Hag Sameach—a joyous Sukkot!