Lulav

Ritual Objects

The Lulav is a closed palm frond shaken on Sukkot alongside willow (arava) and myrtle (hadas) branches, as well as with a citron (etrog). Although the word Lulav technically only means “palm branch,” it’s usually used to refer to all of the branches and sometimes the citron as well.

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Rejoicing with the Four Species

TANAKH

The commandment to take the four species and rejoice before God for seven days is a central ritual of the festival of Sukkot. The book of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah, outlines this commandment and its significance in the context of holiness and worship.

On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God יהוה seven days.

Leviticus 23:40

Children's Joy on Sukkot

MISHNAH

The joy of Sukkot is so profound that children express it by dismantling their lulavim and eating their etrogim after fulfilling the mitzvah. The Mishnah, an early third-century compilation of Jewish oral traditions, describes this unique custom during the festival of Sukkot.

Immediately after fulfilling the mitzva of taking the four species on the seventh day of the festival of Sukkot, children remove their lulavim from the binding and eat their etrogim as an expression of extreme joy.

Mishnah Sukkah 4:7

Continuing the Lulav Tradition

MIDRASH

After the destruction of the Second Temple, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai ensured the continuity of the lulav ritual for seven days outside of Jerusalem. This early rabbinic text explains how the observance of Sukkot was adapted to maintain Jewish traditions even after the Temple's destruction.

9) "and you shall rejoice before the L–rd your G d seven days": and not in the borders (i.e., outside of Jerusalem) all seven days (but only on the first). And after the destruction of the Temple, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai instituted that the lulav be taken in the country (i.e., outside of Jerusalem seven days, in commemoration of the Temple, and that the entire day of lifting (the omer) be forbidden (See Section 10:11-12).

Sifra, Emor, Chapter 16 9

Binding the Lulav

TOSEFTA

The rabbis debated whether the lulav must be bound with its own kind or if it can be tied with other materials, such as a cord or gold bands. The Tosefta, a late 2nd-century compilation of Jewish oral law, records this debate and reflects differing rabbinic opinions on the proper way to fulfill the commandment of the lulav.

A lulav, whether bound or not bound is valid. Rabbi Yehudah says, "One bound is valid, but one not bound is not valid." One must not tie it together on the day of the festival; but one can draw out a twig from it, and bind it. "They do not bind the lulav but with its own kind" - the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Meir says, "It may be tied even with a cord." He also says, "There is a story of the men of Jerusalem, that they were binding their lulavs with gold bands." They said to him, "Do you seek a proof from this?" The fact is…

Tosefta Sukkah 2:11

Divine Protection and Elevation

JEWISH THOUGHT

The lulav and sukkah are not just ritual objects but symbolize divine protection and the elevation of Israel above other nations. In Derekh Hashem, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto explains how the ritual actions associated with the lulav invoke God's light and power.

The sukkah and the lulav: The content of the sukkah and the lulav is [as follows]: Behold it is that the clouds of glory with which the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded Israel had a great spiritual effect - in addition to their physical purpose, which was to cover them and protect them. And it was that just like Israel found itself separated alone, and lifted up from the earth by these clouds; so too were they brought to an emanation that housed them separately from all the nations…

Derekh Hashem, Part Four, On Seasonal Commandments 2

Walking with the Lulav

HALAKHAH

The practice of walking around the altar with the lulavim during Sukkot commemorates the Temple service and connects us to our historical roots. In his monumental 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Rambam details the practice of Hoshanot, where congregants walk around the Torah ark holding lulavim and etrogim.

On each day of the festival, they would walk around the altar once, carrying their lulavim in their hands, reciting: "Please, God, save us. Please, God, grant us success" [Psalms 118:25]. On the seventh day, they would walk around the altar seven times.
It has become universally accepted Jewish custom to place the ark in the center of the synagogue and walk around it each day, as they walked around the altar in remembrance of the Temple [service].

Mishneh Torah, Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav 7:23

Rabbi Akiva's Unique Take

COMMENTARY

Rabbi Akiva's opinion on the Four Species challenges the accepted halakhah, offering a unique perspective on their precise observance. This Mishnah passage presents a debate between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael regarding the number of each species required for Sukkot.

Rabbi Akiva says: just as there is one lulav and one etrog, so too only one hadas and one aravah. Rabbi Akiva disagrees with Rabbi Ishmael concerning the number of each species. According to Rabbi Akiva one must only bring one of each species. The accepted halakhah with regard to the number of each species is according to Rabbi Ishmael.

English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah 3:4:4

The Ritual of Shaking the Lulav

HALAKHAH

The Ashkenazic custom of shaking the lulav during Hallel is rich with symbolic meaning and specific practices. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work explains the detailed reasoning behind the number of shakes and the particular verses involved in this custom.

According to Ashkenazic custom, the congregation shakes the lulav nine times, and the ḥazan seven, because according to this practice, the custom is to shake the lulav every time the verse of “Hodu” is recited. When the ḥazan recites “Hodu” and the next three verses (“Yomar Na,” “Yomru Na Beit Aharon,” and “Yomru Na Yir’ei Hashem”), the congregation responds with “Hodu.” The ḥazan shakes the lulav only to accompany the first two verses, “Hodu” and “Yomar Na”: the first because he is praising God…

Peninei Halakhah, Sukkot 5:5:6

The Art of Waving the Lulav

COMMENTARY

The specific times and manner of waving the lulav during Hallel are meticulously detailed, highlighting the dedication of some individuals who bless the lulav at dawn within the sukkah and wave it again during Hallel. The Mishnah Berurah, a comprehensive halakhic work by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, discusses the customs related to the waving of the lulav during Sukkot, particularly during the recitation of Hallel.

At the time of Hallel -- in order to wave it at "Hodu" and "Hoshia na". And some of the scrupulous are accustomed to bless on the lulav at neitz hachama within the sukkah and to wave it, and afterwards during Hallel to wave it again.

Mishnah Berurah 652:4

The Curvature of the Lulav

TALMUD

The physical condition of the lulav, especially its curvature, determines its fitness for use during Sukkot. The Talmudic tractate Sukkah specifies that a lulav curved like a sickle is unfit unless it curves backward toward the spine, which is its natural growth pattern.

The baraita continues: If it is curved to the extent that it is shaped like a sickle, it is unfit. Rava said: We said that it is unfit only when it is curved forward away from the spine; however, if it is curved backward, toward the spine, it is fit for use because that is its nature, and that is the way a lulav typically grows.

Sukkah 32a:2

Enhancing the Mitzvah of the Lulav

HALAKHAH

Maintaining the freshness and beauty of the lulav during Sukkot enhances the mitzvah. The Kitzur Shulchan Arukh provides practical guidelines for handling the lulav and willows, including replacing water on Yom Tov and purchasing fresh willows on Chol HaMoed.

You are permitted to replace the lulav in water on Yom Tov, and add water to the vessel [in which it is placed], but you may not change the water. However, on Chol Hamoed it is a mitzvah to change the water for the purpose of keeping the lulav fresh and beautiful. It is customary to buy fresh aravos on each day of Chol Hamoed, for the lulav; for thereby you enhance the beauty of the mitzvah.

Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 137:6

Beautifying the Commandments

TALMUD

The concept of 'hiddur mitzvah' teaches us to not only fulfill commandments but to do so in the most beautiful and praiseworthy manner possible. The Talmud interprets the verse 'This is my God and I will glorify Him' as a directive to beautify the performance of mitzvot, including making a beautiful lulav for Sukkot.

What is the source for the requirement of: “This is my God and I will glorify Him”? As it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “This is my God and I will glorify Him [anveihu], the Lord of my father and I will raise Him up.” The Sages interpreted anveihu homiletically as linguistically related to noi, beauty, and interpreted the verse: Beautify yourself before Him in mitzvot. Even if one fulfills the mitzva by performing it simply, it is nonetheless proper to perform the mitzva as beautifully as possible…

Shabbat 133b:5

Rejoicing Before the Lord

GUIDES

Rejoicing before the Lord with the lulav for seven days is a direct instruction from the Torah. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a renowned 20th-century Jewish scholar, explores the significance of this commandment as stated in Leviticus 23:40.

And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree, branches of a date palm, and boughs of a dense-leaved tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. (Leviticus 23:40)

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah, Introduction to Perek IV 1

The Minimum Measure of a Lulav

TALMUD

The lulav, an essential component of the Sukkot festival, must meet a specific minimum length to be considered fit for use. The Mishnah in Sukka 29b specifies that a lulav must be at least three handbreadths long, establishing a clear minimum requirement for this mitzvah.

But didn’t we learn in a mishna (Sukka 29b): A lulav that has three handbreadths in length, sufficient to enable one to wave with it, is fit for use in fulfilling the mitzva? This indicates that if the lulav is less than the measure, it is not fit. Rather, it must be that a lulav has no maximum measure, but it does have a minimum measure. So too, ritual fringes have no maximum measure, but they have a minimum measure.

Menachot 42a:2

Sukkot, Leopold Pilichowski 1894/95. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Gruss This painting may have belonged to Isser and Friedl Reifer, who fled their home in Vienna in 1938. The Jewish Museum, New York.

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