[Jewish] Sushi (and more) in the Sukkah - Thursday 10/16@ 5pm!

[Steven Nathan]

As we celebrate the fall harvest festival of Sukkot, please join us in 
the Hampshire sukkah (on the Merrill Quad underneath the Spiritual Life 
Office window) from 5-6:30 pm tomorrow (Thursday) for our 2nd annual 
Sushi (and more) in the sukkah.  We will be serving veggie (and some 
fish) sushi plus tea rolls from Fresh Side.  Come early so you'll get 
the best selection of food!  I look forward to seeing many of you 
there.  There will also be a lulav and etrog for those who would like to 
say the blessing and shake your lulav (If you have no idea what I'm 
talking about, just look below my signature for an explanation!).

Chag Sameakh/Happy Holiday,

SPN
-- 

Steven P. Nathan
Campus Rabbi


<mailto:snathan at hampshire.edu>

*Lulav and Etrog: The Four Species*


      What they are and what to do with them

/The commandment regarding the four species 
<javascript:showILG('four_species.htm');> is found in the Torah. After 
discussing the week-long Sukkot <javascript:showILG('Sukkot.htm');> 
//festival//(fall harvest festival of thanksgiving) , specific 
instructions for how to celebrate the holiday are given. Leviticus 
<javascript:showILG('Leviticus.htm');> 23:40 instructs: "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 Adonai <javascript:showILG('Adonai.htm');> your God seven days." 
These are the four species that form the lulav and etrog 
<javascript:showILG('etrog.htm');>.  The four species are waved in the 
synagogue <javascript:showILG('synagogue.htm');> as part of the service 
during the holiday of Sukkot. While it is customary for each individual 
to have a lulav and etrog, many synagogues leave some sets in the 
synagogue sukkah <javascript:showILG('sukkah.htm');> for the use of 
their members. The lulav and etrog may also be waved at home./
/
Reprinted with permission from /The Jewish Catalogue: A Do-It-Yourself 
Kit/, edited by Richard Siegel, Michael Strassfeld and Sharon 
Strassfeld, published by the Jewish Publication Society 
<http://www.myjewishlearning.com/redirect/redir.php?U=http://www.jewishpub.org/>./

It is a positive commandment (Hebrew: /mitzvah/) from the Torah 
[Leviticus 23:40] to gather together the Four Species during Sukkot:

"The first day" refers to the first day of Sukkot. "Fruit of goodly 
trees" refers to the /etrog <javascript:showILG('etrog.htm');> 
/(citron). "Branches of palm trees" refers to the /lulav/. "Boughs of 
leafy trees" refers to the myrtle <javascript:showILG('myrtle.htm');>. 
"Willows of the brook" refers to the /aravot/.

The four are lumped together under the inclusive term lulav, since the 
lulav is the largest and most prominent. Thus, while the mitzvah is to 
wave the lulav, this actually refers to the four taken together as one.


      How the Four Fit Together

The lulav is a single palm branch and occupies the central position in 
the grouping. It comes with a holder-like contraption (made from its own 
leaves) which has two extensions. With the backbone (the solid spine) of 
the lulav facing you and this holder in place near the bottom, two 
willow branches are placed in the left extension and three myrtle 
branches are placed in the right. The myrtle should extend to a greater 
height than the willows.

This whole cluster is held in the right hand, the etrog is held in the 
left, and the two should be touching one another. Some have the custom 
of picking up the etrog first and then the lulav--reversing the order 
when putting them down--because the etrog is referred to before the 
others in the biblical verse.


      Waving the Lulav

It is a mitzvah <javascript:showILG('mitzvah.htm');> (commandment) to 
wave the lulav on each of the first seven days of Sukkot. The proper 
time is in the morning--either before the Morning service 
<javascript:showILG('morning_service.htm');> or during the service 
immediately before the Hallel <javascript:showILG('hallel.htm');>. A 
meditation (found in the Siddur) is recited prior to the blessing (this 
has many kabbalistic secrets concealed within it). The blessing is:

 
"Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has 
sanctified us with Divine commandments and has commanded us concerning 
the waving of the lulav."

Before the blessing, the etrog is held with its pittam (stemlike 
protrusion) pointed downward. After the blessing, it is inverted so that 
the pittam faces up. At this point you wave/shake the lulav (together 
with the other three) in  following manner:

 
1. Stand facing east.

2. Hold the lulav out to the east (in front of you) and shake it three 
times. Each time the motion of shaking should be a drawing in to 
you--reach and draw in, reach out and draw in, reach out and draw in.

3. Repeat the same motion three times to your right (south), behind over 
your shoulder (west), to your left (north), raising it up above you, 
lowering it down below you.

4. All of these should be done slowly and deliberately--concentrating 
the symbolisms and intentions of the act. 

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