Online four species sales to jump ahead of Sukkot due to COVID lockdown

Four species sets can also be purchased for the needy, with 1,600 such sets bought last year and distributed to disabled people, at risk youth and others.

By JEREMY SHARON
A Jewish worshipper holds the Four Species, used in rituals for the holiday of Sukkot which began last week, before the recitation of the priestly blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 30, 2015 (photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
A Jewish worshipper holds the Four Species, used in rituals for the holiday of Sukkot which began last week, before the recitation of the priestly blessing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City September 30, 2015
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
In ordinary times, religiously observant Jews will often engage in the most meticulous and painstaking examination of the Four Species, or Arba Minim in Hebrew, which are bound together and waved on the Sukkot holiday by worshipers during the festive prayer services.
And they will often perform this examination in large, outdoor markets, often covered from the sun, bumping, jostling and rubbing shoulders as they seek out the most perfect specimens they can find – and afford.
Resplendent citrons, or etrogim in Hebrew; young, unopened palm branches straight as an arrow; myrtle twigs heady with perfume; and earthy-smelling willow fronds are sought out by the faithful, in accordance with the instructions of Jewish law, to be held and waved on the days of the Sukkot holiday.
But the coronavirus pandemic looks set to put a stop to the mass markets and heavy deliberations of the discerning Four Species shopper this year, as the number of hospitalizations and severe COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
Online purchases and pickups appear to be the best solution for this conundrum.
And the Netinat Lulav nonprofit organization, which has been operating since 2013 and sells the Four Species online, is perfectly placed to help out.
The organization, which says it donates all profits to other nonprofits, is expecting a big increase in sales this year due to the current public health crisis.
Its sales have already surpassed total sales of years past, still 10 days from Sukkot, when the majority of people buy their Four Species sets after Yom Kippur.
The orders are delivered to hundreds of distribution points around the country, from where the sets can be collected, “in accordance with orderly principles which include the regulations of the Health Ministry.”
The sets will arrive closed and sealed with three grades of religious stringency available, with the kosher stamp of approval from Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss, a member of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate and municipal chief rabbi of Kfar Haroeh.
Four Species sets can also be purchased for the needy, with 1,600 such sets bought last year and distributed to disabled people, at-risk youth and others.
The initiative was initially set up to divert money that usually goes to large for-profit Four Species markets toward charitable causes – at cheaper prices.
“In recent years, we have tried to sell the Four Species at market prices, and, on the other hand, once we’ve sold them for reasonable prices, to donate the money to nonprofit organizations,” said Azriel Dotan, one of Netinat Lulav’s founders.
“We experience growth in purchases, and this year the expectation is that we will see a jump to an even higher level,” he added, saying that the organization expects NIS 1.6 million in sales this year.


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Sukkot
Yom Kippur