(13) You shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days, in your ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat.
The seven days we spend in the sukkah allow us to interact with the environment around us in a way that our permanent homes do not. Eating and sleeping in sukkot force us to feel the wind, breathe the outside air, and gaze at the sun, moon, and stars, bringing us into closer connection--and deeper caring--for our natural environment.
באספך מגרנך ומיקבך, לִמֵּד שֶׁמְּסַכְּכִין אֶת הַסֻּכָּה בִּפְסֹלֶת גֹּרֶן וְיֶקֶב (ראש השנה י"ג; סוכה י"ב):
באספך מגרנך ומיקבך teaches that one should cover the Succah only with the פסולת (lit., the chips, — that which falls off) of the barn and the wine-press.
Rashi introduces us to the idea that we are supposed to use the "psolet" from our threshing floor (wheat stalks) and winepress (grape vines) as schach in our Sukkah. Why should this be?
"The stone that was despised by the builders has become the main cornerstone." Hallel 12
~because it is written (Psalms 104: 1): ‘You are clothed in glory and Hadar, beauty."
The citron is similar to the heart, which is the dwelling place of the intellect, to hint that all should serve the creator with their intellect. (Sefer HaChinukh 324:4)
"The fruit of a beautiful tree" - Just like this citron (etrog), which has taste and has smell, so too Israel has among them people that have Torah and have good deeds. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12)
Rashi tells us that the Hadar is a tree whose bark and fruit taste the same. This is the same tree as the etz hada'at. Ramban tells us that the Hadar is the most enticing tree. He reminds us that when Chava is thinking about eating from the tree, it is the tree itself that she desires. (Ramban on Leviticus 23:40:1)
"The fruit of a beautiful tree (ets hadar)" - this is [referring to] Sarah, who the Holy One, blessed be He, graced (hider) with a beauty in her old age (Vayikra Rabbah 30:10)
~because it is written (Psalms 92:13): ‘The righteous bloom like a date palm.’
The lulav is similar to the backbone, which is the essence of a person, to hint that they should straighten themself completely for G!d's service, blessed be the Holy One. (Sefer HaChinukh 324:4)
"The branches of a date palm" - Just like this date, which has taste and has no smell, so too Israel has among them those that have Torah but do not have good deeds. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12)
"The branches of a date palm" - this is [referring to] Rivka. Just like this date palm, it has food and it has thorns, so too Rivkah brought up a righteous one and an evildoer. " (Vayikra Rabbah 30:10)
~because it is written (Zechariah 1:8): ‘And he stood among the myrtle-trees.’
The myrtle [leaves are] similar to the eyes, to hint that they should not stray after their eyes 'on the day of the rejoicing of their heart'; (Sefer HaChinukh 324:4)
"And a branch of a braided tree (a myrtle)" - Just like this myrtle, which has smell and has no taste, so too Israel has among them those that have good deeds but do not have Torah. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12)
"And a branch of a braided tree (a myrtle)" - this is [referring to] Leah. Just like this myrtle bustles with leaves, so too was Leah bustling with children. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:10)
~because it is written (Psalms 68:5): ‘Extol G!d who rides on the clouds [aravot].
The willow [leaves are] similar to the lips, with which a person completes all of their acts of speech, to hint that they should ... calibrate their words and be in awe of G!d, even at a time of joy. (Sefer HaChinukh 324:4)
"And brook willows" - these are [referring to] Israel. Just like this willow, which has no smell and has no taste, so too Israel has among them people that have no Torah and have no good deeds. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12)
"And brook willows" - this is [referring to] Rachel. Just like this willow gets withered before these three [other] species, so too did Rachel die before her sister. (Vayikra Rabbah 30:10)
The four species we take on Sukkot symbolize four different forms in which water appears in the world. The aravot, or "brook willows," symbolize the water in brooks and streams. The lulav is taken from the palm tree, which grows near fountains of water. The etrog, as Chazal describe (Sukka 35a; Kiddushin 3a), "grows on any water," even through irrigation, and does not depend on proximity to a natural water source. Finally, the hadasim depend entirely on rainwater.
The first Mishnah in Rosh HaShanah teaches that Sukkot is the point of judgment for rain. On Sukkot water is apportioned for the entire year, and this theme dominates the holiday. Most of the rituals on Sukkot are either a petition for or a celebration of rain. There is a special libation of water in the Beit HaMikdash accompanied by a unique celebration, the arba minim are also used to indicate and pray for water. The historical experience of journeying through the desert and living in sukkahs was fundamentally about relying on God and our leaders for water.
We live in a place which has abundant rainfall. In cultivating a meaningful relationship with the land we live on, what might we be asking for, and how might our local arba-minim reflect our environmental need?
שבת קל״ג ב
עֲשֵׂה לְפָנָיו סוּכָּה נָאָה, וְלוּלָב נָאֶה, וְשׁוֹפָר נָאֶה, צִיצִית נָאָה, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה נָאֶה, וְכָתוּב בּוֹ לִשְׁמוֹ בִּדְיוֹ נָאֶה, בְּקוּלְמוֹס נָאֶה, בְּלַבְלָר אוּמָּן, וְכוֹרְכוֹ בְּשִׁירָאִין נָאִין.
Make before G!d a beautiful sukka, a beautiful lulav, a beautiful shofar, beautiful ritual fringes, beautiful parchment for a Torah scroll, and write in it in G!d's name in beautiful ink, with a beautiful quill by an expert scribe, and wrap the scroll in beautiful silk fabric.
(יד) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ... וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ׃
Vi-samachta, vi-chagecha
Vi-hayita, ach sameach!
You shall rejoice in your festival … and you shall have nothing but joy.