F4: Succot

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The Four Species

No piece on Succot would be complete without
looking at the 'Arba'ah Minim', or The Four
Species as they are known in English (no, we're
not talking about a 70's soul band!). This is the
term used to describe the 3 branches and a fruit
that are arranged into a kind of bouquet and
shaken around at various times during Succot. The first thing to know about them is that despite what it might look like, they are not just shaken randomly. They are actually shaken in all four directions of the compass as well as up and down, to signify that God's power and sovereignty is everywhere.

The 4 species are bound together to symbolise the importance of unity and to emphasise the agricultural aspect of this festival. The species used are:

1. Lulav - an unopened branch of a palm tree
2. Etrog - a yellow citrus fruit similar to a lemon
3. Hadassim - three branches from the myrtle tree
4. Aravot - two branches of the willow tree

There are various pieces of symbolism which relate to these four. The first is that they represent the four elements: The etrog is yellow and so symbolises fire; the lulav represents air as it grows straight up in the air; the myrtle grows close to the ground therefore symbolising earth; and the willow is normally found growing by a stream and so represents the fourth element - water.

They also represent 4 parts of a person: The etrog is the heart; the straight lulav is the spine; the eye-shaped leaf of the myrtle is the eyes; and the long mouth-shaped leaf of the willow is the mouth. Just as all 4 species are bound together on Succot, so every part of a person should work together to serve God (what we feel, do, read and say).

Probably the most popular interpretation of the symbolism of the 4 species, is that they represent 4 types of Jew, who are all held together as a united force. The four are:

1. The etrog that combines both taste and fragrance is like the person who combines knowledge with good deeds.

2. The lulav that has taste but no fragrance is like those that have learning but do no good deeds.

3. The myrtle with its fragrance but no taste is like those who do good but have no Jewish knowledge.

4. The willow that has neither taste nor fragrance is like the many people who not only lack knowledge, but do no good deeds neither.

The idea is that God combines all 4 types of Jews in an eternal bond and lets each one help and seek help from the other three.

Imaginary guests...

In the first few lines at the top of the front page of this chapter, we mentioned something about sitting in the succah with '7 imaginary guests'. For those of you who wondered what on earth that was all about and have had the patience to read this far (!) we can now reveal the final piece of our Succot secrets. According to Jewish folklore, there are 7 hidden hosts called the Ushpizin ('guests') who visit each succah during the 7-day festival. The 7 Ushpizin are Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Each one represents one of the 7 qualities of God, namely: loving-kindess; courage/power; beauty/glory; victory/essence; splendour/excellence; eternity; and sovereignty. Each Ushpiz can be said to represent one aspect of human perfection. Therefore together, they make a model of a human with all the potential perfection.

The origins of this tradition can be found in a verse in the 16th century book of Kabbalah (a type of Jewish mysticism), called The Zohar: 'When a person is seated in his succah, Abraham and six distinguished visitors partake of his company.' (Zohar 5:103b)

This custom, originally practised by Kabbalists only and then later by the Hassidim, has in time been adopted by Jews all over the world. This means that when many people enter their succah, they begin by invinting in the Ushpizin by reciting a prayer before they sit down. However, Jewish learned men of the 16th and 17th century specified that to deserve the company of such important guests, one must invite other, living, guests into the succah. From this developed the tradition of inviting visitors - especially students and poorer members of the community - to share a meal in the succah.

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