Sukkot - Feast of the Tabernacle - "Mitzvot"
‘Mitzvot’ – as I mentioned in the last post, the 1st ‘mitzva’ (commandment) is to live in the ‘Sukkah’ for 7 days.
The 2nd ‘mitzva’ is to bless on the 4 species. As you’ll see in the video, you should hold all 4 species together and wave them in all directions. At the same time you pray for peace & goodness for all the people.
And why the 4 different species?
‘Etrog’ (Citron): this fruit smells good and tastes good.
‘Lulav’ (branch of a Palm tree): the fruit of the Palm tree, the date, tastes very good but has no smell.
‘Hadas’ (Myrtle) – smells good but has no taste
‘Arava’ (Willow) – has no taste, no smell
These 4 very different species represent the People of Israel who likewise are totally different one from the other.
Again, when we pray with the 4 species, we gather them in our hand and wave them to all directions to bless all the People of the World.
In my next post we’ll be observing the Feast of the Tabernacles from a slightly different perspective. Stay tuned.
Enjoy the video.