Midrash sur Néhémie 8:15

Because you said: Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves under the tree (Gen. 18:4), I will give the precept of the paschal lamb to thy descendants, as it is said: They shall fetch to them every man a lamb (Exod. 12:3). Because you said to them Let now (na), I will give your descendants the ordinance of the Passover: You shall not eat of it raw (na) (ibid., v. 20). Because you did say A little, I will drive their enemies away little by little, as it is said: By little and little I will drive them out from before you (ibid. 23:30). Inasmuch as you said water, I will give them a well in the desert, as is said: Spring up, O well (Num. 21:7). Since you said wash your feet, I will wash away all the impurity of your descendants, as it is said: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughter of Zion (Isa. 4:4). Because you did say: Recline yourselves under a tree, I will give them the precept of the sukkah, as it is written: Go forth unto the mount and fetch olive branches (Neh. 8:15). In return for your saying: I will fetch a morsel of bread, I will cause to rain bread from heaven (Exod. 16:4). And inasmuch as you offered curd and milk, I will give you curd of kine and milk of sheep (Deut. 32:14).

11) And thus does Ezra say (Nechemiah 8:15) "and that they must announce and proclaim throughout all their cities and Jerusalem, saying: Go out to the mountains and bring olive leaves, and olive-tree leaves and hadas leaves, and date-palm leaves, and plaited-tree leaves to make succoth, as it is written" (Vayikra 23:43) "So that your generations know that I caused the children of Israel to dwell in succoth when I took them out of the land of Egypt." R. Eliezer says that they were booths, literally; R. Akiva says that they were clouds of glory. "when I took them out of the land of Egypt." We are hereby taught that even the succah is a reminder of the exodus from Egypt.

(Lev. 23:40:) “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day.” After all the wisdom which is ascribed to Solomon (since according to I Kings 5:11), “He was the wisest of all people,”⁹³See PRK 4:3; PR 14:9. he left everything and sat wondering about these four species.⁹⁴Lev. R. 30:15. This is related (to Prov. 30:18), “Three things are too difficult for me; and four I do not understand.” These are the four species which are in the lulav, which he sought to understand. Now if you say that (in Lev. 23:40) the “beautiful tree fruit” is an ethrog, all trees bear fruit. (Ibid., cont.:) “Branches of palm trees.” One needs to take two branches and their hearts, but one only takes the heart of the palm, i.e., the lulav. (Ibid., cont.:) “Boughs of dense trees.” Who says to you that it is the myrtle, since it is written in another place (i.e., in Neh. 8:15), “Go out to the mountain and bring leafy branches of olive trees, leafy branches of oil-giving trees, leafy branches of myrtle, leafy branches of palms, and leafy branches of dense trees to make the sukkot (huts), as is written.” (Lev. 23:40, cont.:) “And willows of the brook”; [yet] all the trees grow in the water. (Prov. 30:18:) “And four I do not understand.” But in another place it says (i.e., in Prov. 30:29), “Three things have a stately stride, and four have a stately walk.” These are the four species which are in the lulav, for each and every person from Israel goes running to buy one of them for himself in order to give praise to the Lord, so that he be acceptable to Him and make atonement for all his sins. “A stately walk.” The one who sees these same four species, disparages them, and [yet] they loom large before the Holy One, blessed be He. (Prov. 30:24:) “Four things are tiny on earth.” They are these four species. (Ibid., cont.:) “But they are the wisest of the wise,” because they deal wisely, when they plead merit and wisdom before the One who spoke and the world came into being. Another interpretation (of Prov. 30:24), “But they are the wisest of the wise”: And who gave us the interpretation that these four species are ethrog, lulav, myrtle, and willow? The rabbinic sages (hakhamim), “but they are the wisest (hakhamim) of the wise.”