The Jewish nation must be viewed as an aggregate, containing all types of Jew.
By SHLOMO RISKINarba minim for species sukkot 88(photo credit: )
The second Mishna in the fourth chapter of Tractate Succa (45a) opens: "How do we perform the commandment of the willow?" - the last of the four species we are commanded to wave in all directions as we chant the Hallel praises. The Mishna describes where the willow branches were gathered (Motza), how they were placed at the sides of the altar, and the special treatment they were given on the seventh day of the festival, Hoshana Raba.
In post-Temple times, we also take the four species, hold them aloft in one united bond as we chant Hallel, and then - on Hoshana Raba - after completing seven circuits around the bima (altar substitute), we put down three of the species and take up the willow alone for a special ritual. It is also my custom (which I heard from my teacher, Rabbi Soloveitchik) to wave the willow in all six directions by itself. Since Jewish law seems adamant about the "united bond," why separate out one of the four for individual treatment?
This question is especially strong when we remember the generally accepted symbolism of the four species: the etrog (citron) symbolizes the Jew who has both fragrance and taste, learning and good deeds; the lulav (palm branch) represents the Jew who has taste (dates) but no fragrance, good deeds without learning; the hadas (myrtle) represents the Jew who has fragrance but no taste, learning without good deeds; and the willow represents the Jew who has neither fragrance nor taste, neither learning nor good deeds.
The Jewish nation must be viewed as an aggregate, containing all types of Jew. Indeed, the very term tzibur, congregation, is hassidically interpreted as an acronym for tzaddikim, righteous, benonim, middling (in-between), and resha'im, wicked. A normal Jewish community must have all three! So why do we separate out the willow branches, the one devoid of positive characteristics?
Before I begin to develop my response, I must add that the historical background of our High Holy Day period intensifies the sweet allegory of the four species held together. Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei, is declared to be the day of forgiveness for all Jews because it was precisely on this day that the Almighty forgave Israel for worshiping the golden calf; the sign of Divine forgiveness was the Second Tablets of the Decalogue (which God gave Moses on the 10th of Tishrei) to replace the tablets which had been broken by the prophet when he saw the debauchery around the calf.
The Talmud describes a crucial dialogue between God and Moses at the moment of Israel's transgression. Moses is atop Mount Sinai. For the past 39-plus days he has been receiving the Divine Will. The panicked nation below, upset by Moses's continued absence, begins worshiping a golden calf, reverting to their Egyptian experience.
God then says to Moses (B.T. Brachot 32a): "Go down, because your nation is acting perversely." It's as if God had said: I only gave you greatness because of the nation Israel. Now that the nation is sinning, what need have I of you? In effect, God is telling Moses that He made a covenant not only with the intellectually elite, not only with the piously observant, but with the entire nation. Moses must leave the ivory tower of supernal spirituality and go down to his errant nation. So why do we isolate the willow - which seems most to need proximity to the etrog?
I believe there are two possible reasons why our tradition discourages an elitist, exclusivist attitude about entrance into a Jewish community. The first is that things, and especially people, are not always what they appear. The Talmud records a story about a sage who dreamt he was in paradise and records what he had seen: "It was a topsy-turvy world that I saw. Those who are on top in this world are on the bottom in that world, and those who are on the bottom in this world are on the top in that world."
God's criteria for goodness and greatness are much different from ours - and besides, God sees much deeper and further. Hence the individual who appears to us to be a "willow" may in truth be an "etrog"; his very modesty and humility may be the reason why he is generally overlooked by those who determine the "mizrah" (Eastern Wall) seats in the synagogue. Hence, we isolate the willow to teach ourselves and our community that he may be the true gadol (great person); it is not that he has neither fragrance nor taste but rather that he may be above fragrance and taste!
The second reason is because the wicked individual may have just the impudent and rebellious nature which - when utilized for good - could be the secret ingredient necessary for redemption. Rabbi A.Y. Kook boldly taught that the description of the days before the Messiah as a time when "arrogance (hutzpa) will be prevalent" may very well be a positive assessment. Sometimes the most religiously courageous thing to do is to challenge a misguided or corrupt religious establishment, a religious establishment which stops listening to the voice of the universal God of love and compassion and substitutes an insular God of uniformity and religious one-upmanship. Hence the willow has the power to beat down the corrupt forces of materialism and humanism, to overcome the political self interest which sometimes invades the hallowed halls of religious institutions, and lead us to the truly spiritual, simple Davidic succa of redemption.
The writer is the founder and chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone Colleges and Graduate Programs, and chief rabbi of Efrat.
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
