Dear TBZ Community:
What wonderful weeks, celebrating the beginning of the New Year and the holidays together! It always amazes me that Sukkot comes so fast, just after Yom Kippur: with almost no room to breathe, sometimes struggling to be ready, but always in awe of the powerful rhythms and the teachings within this flow of our calendar. (Though I often joke that “whoever” planned the calendar was not a working parent and definitely not a pulpit rabbi.)
On Yom Kippur we faced mortality and celebrated the gift of being alive, of having the potential and opportunity to change and grow. Joyfully, as we do here at TBZ, we expressed our gratitude for the blessings of life even in times of darkness, even when hard.
Then, quickly, as soon as we hear the shofar blow at the end of Ne’ila, we leave Yom Kippur and start to get ready for Sukkot. The beauty of this moment, the celebration of Ne’ila’s new start, comes with the embracing of fragility, the construction of something that is temporary and that the wind will blow. Just like our sukkot (temporary huts), the new beginnings of this season could fail, could fall apart. We embrace the fragility of life and existence as we welcome new beginnings – balancing both is powerful in itself.
But what makes it even more meaningful to me, is that we also call this holiday Zman Simchateinu (Time of Our Joy). The embracing of fragility and brokenness is done with joy, with acceptance, with gratitude, with song and dance – and not with fear. It is not an easy task to hold that sense of impermanence and lack of control joyfully and without fear.
Yesterday we had our first Beit Rabban (TBZ’s educational program for elementary school-age children) class of the year and we all gathered in the sukkah for blessing, song, and the shaking of the lulav (palm, myrtle, and willow bound together). It was a joyous moment, a moment of beginning, as many learners are joining Beit Rabban for the first time (we have 14 learners in Shorashim Alef, our kindergarten and first grade class!!). As we prepared to shake the arba’at ha’minim (the four species used during Sukkot: lulav together with an etrog or citron), I shared one of my favorite explanations of what each of the species symbolizes:
Etrog (citron): represents the heart
Lulav (palm branch): represents the spine
Haddas (myrtle): represents the eyes
Arava (willow): represents the mouth
As we learn from Vayikrah Rabbah 30:14:
רַבִּי מָנֵי פָּתַח (תהלים לה, י):
כָּל עַצְמֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה ה’ מִי כָמוֹךָ
לֹא נֶאֱמַר פָּסוּק זֶה אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל לוּלָב
הַשִּׁדְרָה שֶׁל לוּלָב דּוֹמָה לַשִּׁדְרָה שֶׁל אָדָם
וְהַהֲדַס דּוֹמֶה לָעַיִן
וַעֲרָבָה דּוֹמָה לַפֶּה
וְהָאֶתְרוֹג דּוֹמֶה לַלֵּב
אָמַר דָּוִד אֵין בְּכָל הָאֵיבָרִים גָּדוֹל מֵאֵלּוּ, שֶׁהֵן שְׁקוּלִין כְּנֶגֶד כָּל הַגּוּף
הֱוֵי: כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה
Rabbi Mani opened,
“All of my bones shall say, ‘Lord, who is like you’”’ (Psalms 35:10).
This verse was only stated for the sake of the lulav (the four species).
The spine of the palm branch is similar to the spine of a person.
And the myrtle is similar to the eye.
And the willow is similar to the mouth.
And the etrog (citron), is similar to the heart.
David said, “In all of the limbs, there are no greater ones than these, as they are compared to the entire body.”
This is [what is meant] by “All of my bones shall say.”
This midrash (rabbinic interpretation) makes this beautiful connection with the verse of Psalm saying that it is with all our members, all our parts, that we praise God. The way that I understand this (and how I explained it to our young TBZ members and their families yesterday), is that we show up in the world, hopefully, with all our parts. We hope and pray that we can show up, standing tall (metaphorically) in the world, fully ourselves, bringing our full selves, coming as we are to this world (lulav). We hope and pray that we can witness the beauty and generosity that surrounds us (haddas). We hope and pray that we can speak and share words of kindness and generosity, and express ourselves in the world with love (arava). And finally, we hope that our full selves, our hearts that give us life and pump life through us, can be a source of blessing in this world (etrog). We show up in this world fully. With all our parts.
The chapter in the midrash that includes this explanation has many others on the symbolism of the four species. And I want to share one more. From Vayikra Rabbah 30:9, we learn:
דָּבָר אַחֵר
פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר, זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ (תהלים קד, א)
הוֹד וְהָדָר לָבָשְׁתָּ
כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים, זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ (תהלים צב, יג)
צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח
וַעֲנַף עֵץ עָבֹת
זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, דִּכְתִיב (זכריה א, ח)
וְהוּא עֹמֵד בֵּין הַהֲדַסִּים
וְעַרְבֵי נָחַל, זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, דִּכְתִיב בֵּיהּ (תהלים סח, ה)
סֹלּוּ לָרֹכֵב בָּעֲרָבוֹת בְּיָהּ שְׁמוֹ
Another explanation:
“The fruit of a beautiful tree (ets hadar)”
this is referring to the Holy One,
as it is written (Psalms 104:1),
“You were dressed in splendor and beauty (hadar).”
“The branches of a date palm”
this is referring to the Holy One,
as it is written (Psalms 92:13),
“The righteous One flourishes like a date palm.”
“And a branch of a braided tree (a myrtle)”
this is referring to the Holy One,
as it is written (Zechariah 1:8),
“and God is standing among the myrtles.”
“And brook willows (arvei nachal)”
this is referring to the Holy One,
as it is written (Psalms 68:5),
“praise the One that rides in the skies (aravot), with God’s name”
This explanation says that each of the four species are God!! So, if we connect the midrash about each species being a part of ourselves and the one that says that each species is God, we could say that each part of ourselves is GOD! All our parts, our physical parts, our spiritual parts. All of it, that which we like, that which we don’t like, that which is a “wonderful” part of who we are, and that which is a more challenging part of who we are. All these parts are God. We hold in ourselves, in our spine, eyes, lips, heart (and all in between), God. What a powerful teaching.
Can we walk through life holding that awareness? Can we at least try? Can we hold that awareness not only about ourselves but about others?
As we are about to end the holiday of Sukkot, and enter the last days of holidays (Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah), I invite you to ponder on these questions and remind ourselves that we come as we are to this world, to this community and all is God.
May this be a sweet end of the holidays for you.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Looking forward to seeing you at all our celebrations this weekend!
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Rav Claudia