Sukkot, Torah & Jewish Teachings – What Kind Of Jew Does HaShem Want You To Be?

0:00 Three friends are leaving a Lavoyeur, a funeral. They start discussing what they would like people to say about them when they're lying in their coffins. The first says, I'd like someone to say he was a brilliant doctor. He saved thousands of lives and devoted himself completely to his patients. The second says I'd like someone to say he was a wonderful father and husband. His family adored him, and the world was better because he was in it. They turn to the third. What would you like people to say?

0:32 He thinks for a moment, then says Look he's moving. There's a famous midrash in Vikra Rubba, which says that the Arba Minim represent types of Jews. Taste represents Torah knowledge. Fragrance represents good deeds. So the etrog, which has taste and fragrance, represents the Jew who has Torah and good deeds. The Lulav, which has taste, but no fragrance, represents the Jew who has Torah but no good deeds. The Hadassim which has no taste but has fragrance represents the Jew with no Torah but with good deeds.

1:17 And finally the Aravot which has no taste and no fragrance represents the Jew with no Torah and no good deeds. We're very used to this model, but it leaves many questions. We're told the Lulav represents someone who has Torah but no good deeds. But how is that possible? How can a person learned in Torah have no good deeds? It doesn't make sense. So what exactly is the Lulav? Who is the Lulav Jew? If the Etrog is the complete Jew with both Torah and good deeds, why not just take the Etrog? Why do we need the others?

2:00 Surely we should all just try to be like the Etrog Jew. And if the Etrog is the most important and the most complete, why is the Bracha that we say on the Tilat Lulaf? Surely the Bracha should be on the most complete Jew, the Etrog. And why do we need the Aravot? It has no taste and no fragrance, no Torah or good deeds. So what is its purpose? Yet you can have the most beautiful etrog, the straightest Lulaf, perfect Hadasim. But if I'm missing the Aravot, I don't have a mitzvah. Perhaps we've misunderstood the midrash.

2:43 Perhaps these aren't four levels of Jews in the classic sense at all. Let's explore. So what is the Lulaf? Who is the Lulav Jew? How can a person who is learned in Torah have no good deeds? It doesn't make sense. The Rebbi Rav Manachim Mendel Schnerson, the last Rebbe of Chabad, explains. He says that the Lulav represents those Jews whose entire life is dedicated to learning. Of course, a person dedicated to Torah learning fulfills mitzvot. And the Rebbe quotes the Gomorrah in Yavamot, 109 Ahmed Bet, which says anyone who says he has nothing other than Torah does not even have Torah.

3:32 Because of course, learning is not enough. You have to learn and perform the mitzvot. Therefore, if the Lulav Jew did not perform mitzvot, they wouldn't have Torah at all. And so the Lulav Jew has to have some mitzvot. Because if they don't, they're actually the Aravot with no Torah and no mitzvot. What we're talking about here is emphasis. The Lulav Jew fulfills all their obligations of mitzvot, but they don't go out of their way to do mitzvot because their entire being and world is dedicated to Torah study.

4:11 So when the Midrash says the Lulav Jew possesses Torah but does not possess good deeds, it's talking of an ashamah that's dedication is to Torah study, as opposed to an ashamma that is dedicated to Sadaka and Gamelut Khasadim. So the Lulav represents a Jew whose defining Avodah is Torah, in contrast to the Etrog, for whom both Torah and Maasim Tovim, good deeds, are defining dimensions of his Avodah. The Etrog therefore represents someone who is deeply invested in both Torah and Mitzvot. The Lulav represents Torah scholars whose principal avodah is Torah study.

4:57 The Etrog Jew, therefore, in some respects is a more complete Jew because they have both Torah and Mitzvot. However, the Lulav Jew does have one advantage over the Etrog Jew. The Lulav Jew experiences a greater degree of Yichud, seclusion, togetherness with Hashem than the Etrog Jew does. So the Etrog Jew is more complete, the Lulav Jew is more concentrated. So what we start to see is that the categories of the Midrash are not best Jew worst Jew. They're different spiritual personalities. The Etrog represents completeness, the Lulav represents intensity.

5:46 Perhaps the biggest trap people fall into with the midrash is seeing it as a hierarchy, which we're already starting to see is not the case. Rav Aliezam Alamad points out that not only does the etrog have both taste and fragrance, Torah and good deeds, but from a halakhic perspective, greater care and effort are invested in obtaining a beautiful etrog than in beautifying the other species. We know when we go and pick out our Arba Minion, we go to a sukah shuk or something, we might spend some time trying to make sure the Lulav's straight, but we spend far more time looking at the etrog, whether it has marks, how smooth it is, the colour, the pitom and everything else.

6:31 Really, when we beautify the mitzvah, in many ways we're talking about the etrog. Nevertheless, says Rav Malamad, although the etrog is the most beautiful of all the species, when it comes to taste, one can ignore the fact that the dates that grow on the date palm are far superior. Similarly, when it comes to fragrance, the fragrance of the Hadassim is more pronounced, and the like the Luluf Jew does not have no good deeds, but is focused on Torah. The Hadas Jew will have some Torah, but of course is much more focused on good deeds.

7:15 Rav Mulamad suggests that although the Etrog Jews are extremely beautiful and have more balance, combining the full range of virtues, both Torah and Masim Tovim, good deeds, they do not excel in one particular area. The Lulav representing Torah scholars, and the Hadasim representing those without so much Torah, but who run to do good deeds are more one-dimensional, yet they do excel in what they do. This, of course, is not to diminish the specialness of the etrog in any way. And in fact, to reinforce this point, Rav Malamad quotes the Gemorrah in Brachot 57 Ahmad Alif, which talks about dreams and what dreams mean.

8:01 And it says that one who sees an etrog in a dream has seen a sign that he is honored before his creator. In other words, the etrog is so important that to dream of one means Hashem is bestowing honor on you. But it's not simply a hierarchy. If it were, the etchrog would not need the others. Yet you can't do the mitzvah mitzvah with the etrog alone. And you can't say the etrog has Torah too. Why do I need the Lulaf? The Torah of the Etrog is not identical to the Torah of the Lulaf. Similarly, we don't say, why do I need the Hadassim?

8:41 My Etrog has Masim Tovim, good deeds too. It seems the Masim Tovim of the Etrog are not identical to the good deeds of the Hadassim. It seems that Klalishrael don't need copies of the most complete Jew. Rather, Klalishrael requires different Jews. With this understanding, let's explore why we say Annatilat Lulaf. The Gomorrah in Sukha in 37 Ahmed Bet says that we say Annatilat Lulaf because it's the tallest of all the species that we take, and therefore the most prominent. We have an idea in Halacha that often when we've got a combination of things, the most prominent is the bracha, and everything else gets subsumed into it.

9:31 And this is what the Gomorrah's saying. For the benefit of the bracha, the other species are considered subsumed as part of the Lulaf. The idea of the other species being subsumed into the Lulav is also the opinion of the Rebbe, Ravanachimendushn, but he explains it in a different way. The Rebbe explains that someone whose occupation is Torah study can be exempt from certain mitzvot. However, someone whose principal occupation is performing mitzvot is not exempt from Torah study. This is because when I perform a mitzvah, I'm doing the will of Hashem, I'm doing what Hashem wants.

10:19 However, when I learn Torah, I'm engaging with the divine itself because Torah and Hashem are one. The Rebbe goes on to explain that the essential theme of Sukkot is unity, and its unity is achieved through Torah. Our unity with Hashem, our oneness with Hashem ultimately is created through Torah because when we learn Torah, when we engage with Torah, we're engaging with Hashem himself. Similarly, the unity amongst Klali Israel is created through Torah. Think about it, we've had Galut for 2,000 years.

11:04 Jews were scattered all over the world, and yet we managed to remain a people, a nation. But how? Because it didn't matter whether Jews were scattered in France or Germany or Britain or America or South Africa or Spain or anywhere else in the world. All Jews were keeping kosher, all Jews were keeping Shabaz, all Jews were keeping Khagim, all Jews were governing Shakret Minhramarev, all Jews were putting on tephillin, have mezuzara on their houses. It's Torah that united Khlalya Shrael. In this particular matter of unity, the Lulav, the person whose entire Avalda is dedicated to engaging with the divine itself is superior because Torah is the route to the greatest connection with the Hashem and the connection between Klalya Shrael.

12:02 So when we take the Arab Minim, the different types of june, which is both the uniting of Am Yishrael and a connection with Hashem, the greatest symbol of unity representing solely Torah is the Lulaf. Therefore, we specifically recite the Brah Amnati Laulav. The Ma'iri, Ravmanachim ben Shlomo Hamma'iri, who lived about 600 years or so before the Rebbe, has quite a different understanding of why we say the Bracha Anati La'lul Love. The Ma'iri points out that the species that we bind together all have deficiencies.

12:45 The Lulav has some lacking in good deeds. The Hadasim has some lacking in Torah, while the Aravot is lacking in both. The binding of these species alludes to the fact that they should become one unified group in the service of Hashem, because together they have no lacking. On their own they have deficiencies. The higher of the three species which are lacking, however, is the Lulaf. Therefore, we say the Bracha over the Lulaf. And then the Ma'iri says something amazing as to why we don't say the Bracha over the Etrog, which represents the complete Jew.

13:25 He says there are so few people who genuinely have this completeness that we don't say the bracha because the world is judged according to its majority. Since it's the Lulav which is on the highest level of the majority of people, because the majority of people and Jews in the world have some lacking. We don't have the completeness of the etrog. We recite the bracha over the Lulav. Whereas the Rebbe and Rav Malamad gives the Lulav superiority in the area of Torah. The Ma'iri sees the Etrog as superior.

14:03 But explains the Ma'iri. The Bracha is not constructed around a few exceptional human beings, it's constructed around the community of imperfect human beings. Judaism isn't built around exceptional individuals. Hashem doesn't build Khlishrael out of perfect Jews. He builds Khalishrael out of all Jews. And so with this understanding, let's try and understand the role of the Aravat. The Midrash tells us that the Lulav contributes Torah, the Hadasim contributes Masim Tovim, good deeds, and the Etchog contributes both.

14:47 But the Aravot has no taste or fragrance, no Torah or good deeds. So what does it bring to the table? The Rumbang, on his explanation about the Arba Minim, brings down another midrash in Vayikra Rabbah, which comes a little bit before the midrash we've been focusing on about the different types of Jews. That midrash says that all four species represent Hakadash Barakhu. The Lulav represents Hakadish Barakhu. The Etrog represents Hakadish Barakhu. The Hadash represents Hakadesh Barakhu. Even the Arava represents Hakadish Barakhu.

15:28 In the deeper Kabbalistic understanding of the Arba Minim, there are seven components, one etrog, one Lulaf, three hadasim and two Aravot. And these seven components correspond to the seven lower sephirat.

15:45 Notice what the Midrash has told us. Each one of the Arba Minim, if it corresponds to the seven lower sephirot, reveals something divine. The Arba Minim represent different ideas. We have an idea that the Arba Minim represent different types of Jews. We have an idea that the Arba Minim represent different body parts. We have an idea that the Arba Minim represents the seven lower sephirot. But it's not an all. It's not that the Arba Minim represent different body parts, or they represent different types of Jews, or they represent the lower seven sephirot.

16:27 It's that the Arba Minim represent different types of Jews and they represent the different body parts, and they represent the seven lower sephirot. In other words, all these ideas complement each other. Therefore, if each of the Arabaminim represent the lower seven sephirot, a manifestation of Hashem, and also represent each Jew, there is no Jew through whom Hashem cannot be revealed. No Jew is spiritually meaningless. No Jew can only be valued by the accomplishments that we can see. The Aravat's contribution is not nothing.

17:12 So what does the Aravar Jew contribute? The Etrog Jew can say they contribute Torah and Masim Tovim, Torah and good deeds. The Lulav Jew can point to Torah. The Hadash Jew can point to Masim Tovim, the good deeds. What does the Aravarju bring? What do they point to? The Aravar Jew brings themselves.

17:40 Every Jew has value. Every Jew has something of the divine. And that forces us to confront the most fundamental question of all. Is a person valuable because of what they have achieved? Or does a person's value precede achievement? Do they have value just because of who they are? If value only comes from achievement, then the Aravaju has to go. But Hashem tells us the opposite. You cannot perform the mitzvah without the Aravat. Hashem doesn't say be kind to the Aravaju. Hashem says you need them.

18:23 Of course, a person should strive and grow. Every single one of us should look to improve both our Torah understanding and the good deeds that we do. That's the journey we're all on. But the Arab Minim teach us that the divine Hashem is in every one of us. The divine Hashem can be revealed through every one of us. The Arava Jew isn't the Jew whom Klali Ishrael is gracious enough to include. The Arava is the Jew without whom Klali Ishrael is incomplete.

19:03 With this insight, perhaps we can now understand why Sukkot comes immediately after Yom Kippur. If you think about it, Sukkot really should come at Pesak time. We should do Seda in the sukhah. Because after all, when did this all start? When we left Egypt. And if we're not going to celebrate Sukkot at Pesak time, then we could almost celebrate it any time. After all, Hashem protected us in the Midbar for 40 years. So why does it come immediately after Yom Kippur? The Svat Emmet, quoting a Paset from Yeshayahu, which is, rather, it is in your iniquities that have separated between you and your God, explains that after Yom Kippur, the separation between us and Hashem has been taken away.

19:53 After all, we've been purified, the sins have disappeared, and so that separation has disappeared too. The Gomorrah in Sukkha, 11 Ahmad Bet, tells us that Rav Eliezer says that the sukkot that we dwell in represents the Anane Hakavod. The Gomorrah in Tanit in 9 Ahmad Alif tells us that the Anane Hakavad were in the merit of Aranhakoin, who was a Rodev Shalom. He was a pursuer of peace. So Yom Kippur restores the vertical relationship between As and Hashem, between As and Shemaim. Then we have Sukkot to restore the horizontal relationship between Klali Shrael.

20:42 We leave Yom Kippur purified, and Hashem immediately puts us inside Aram's Anane Haqavod and gives us the Arba Minim representing all the different types of Jews within Amy Shrael to create Achtut. Ahtut isn't sameness, it's unity. If Hashem wanted sameness, the mitzvah would be to take four etrogim. But Hashem specifically commands the Arba Minim, the Lulaf, the Etrog, the Hadasim, the Aravot, the difference among Khlalishrael is not the obstacle to the mitzvah, it's the structure of the mitzvah.

21:21 Because the underlying theme of Sukkot, as the Rebbe said, is unity. Unity between us and Hashem. Unity amongst Klali Israel. And that is why we say the bracha on the Lulaf. Because it's Torah that creates unity.

21:44 At the beginning of the Shir, perhaps we assume the etrog is the most important Jew. Then we learnt about the focus on Torah study. Thought maybe it was the Lulaf. The Torah gives us a much more radical answer. If you take away the etrog, there's no mitzvah. If you take away the Lulav, there's no mitzvah. If you take away the yadasim, there's no mitzvah. Even if you take away the Aravot that would seemingly contribute nothing, there's no mitzvah. The message of Sikkot, however, is not that every Jew has value.

22:25 It's much more demanding than that. It's that every Jew has something that Khlyishrael cannot replace. There might be times in our life when we look at someone else and think, they don't contribute much. There might be more moments when we look at ourselves and think, what do we bring? We look at someone and go, they've got more Torah than us. We look at someone else and think they do more good deeds than us. And we feel like the Aravot. There's no taste and no fragrance here. And Hashem says, Without you, I don't have the mitzvah.

23:04 The greatness of the Arba Minim is not that Hashem found room for every different type of Jew. It's that he created a mitzvah that cannot be performed without every one of us. So what kind of Jew does Hashem want you to be? Of course he wants us to grow. More Torah, more mitzvot, more chesed. We should never use our differences as an excuse for spiritual complacency. But the Arba Minin were created from an Eshrog, a Lulav, Hadasim, an Aravot. Your task is not to be like everyone else. Your task is to discover what Hashem has given you that Khalisrael needs.

23:49 The Arba Minin come to tell us that Hashem doesn't merely have room for you, but that Khalisrael needs you. That is Sukkot. That is Ahdat. And that is Am Yisrael.