אַרְבָּ֣עָה הֵ֭ם קְטַנֵּי־אָ֑רֶץ וְ֝הֵ֗מָּה חֲכָמִ֥ים מְחֻכָּמִֽים׃
Quatro coisas há na terra que são pequenas, entretanto são extremamente sábias;
Ibn Ezra
משען ומשענה. The stay and the staff. Poetically said for every kind of staff. 1The repetition of a noun with or without the variation of its form is often used for כל, all; for instance, איש איש every man, Lev. 15:2, חכם מחכם wise in every respect (Prov. 30:24), שממה ומשמה all kinds of desolation (Ez. 6:14, comp. Job 30:3). The explanation of the figure follows immediately, The whole stay of bread and water.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Yet another Midrash found in Vayikra Rabbah 30,12 comments on the words פרי עץ הדר by saying that the reason the etrog tree is called הדר, is that it is the epitome of beauty in that it dispenses fruit, good taste, and a pleasant fragrance. The species listed next to it in the Torah, i.e. the lulav, the palm frond, while not providing us with its fragrance does yield fruit. The third species listed in the Torah, the myrtle, while giving off a pleasant fragrance does not provide us with any fruit. Finally, the willow is a plant which does not offer us either fruit or fragrance. The etrog is taken to represent the righteous person who is both a scholar and performs deeds of loving kindness and observes the commandments. The lulav represents the Torah scholars (fruit) who do not however, excel in the performance of good deeds. The third plant, the myrtle is symbolic of people who do perform good deeds (fragrance) but who have not acquired a proficiency in Torah. Finally, the last plant, the willow, represents the Jews who have neither Torah knowledge nor good deeds to their credit. G’d said here: ‘let them all come and form one bunch in My presence and I will pardon them for all their sins.”
We find a similar approach expressed by our sages when they examined the eleven spices which made up the incense offered in the Temple both mornings and evenings. The function of the incense was, of course, to provide a pleasant fragrance and for this purpose the Torah listed 11 different ingredients as well as the proportion in which these were to be mixed. Nonetheless, one of these ingredients is evil-smelling, not adding but detracting from the overall fragrance. The ingredient is known as חלבנה, galbanum. We have it on the authority of Keritot 6 that by itself this galbanum was exuding a bad smell. According to our sages there the reason that G’d wanted this ingredient to be part of the incense was to symbolise the fact that when sinners are part of a group of righteous people and surrounded by them, the fragrance of the good deeds performed by the righteous will neutralise the evil smell exuded by the sinner. When this is the case, G’d will accept the repentance from both the righteous and the sinners, each for the sins they are guilty of.
Another exegesis by our sages in connection with these four species of plants: they are an allusion to the four kingdoms which host the Jewish people in exile. The author of that Midrash says that the four species waved by the Jewish people on Sukkot atone for the sins which resulted in the four exiles which we have been subjected to, and performance of that commandment redeems us from the respective exiles. The etrog represents the Babylonian Empire. Just as the etrog is the colour of gold, so the Babylonians set much stock by gold. Daniel 2,38 describes King Nevuchadnezzar by addressing him as “the head of gold.” The second species, the palm frond of the date palm, is symbolic of the kingdom of the Medes (exile under Achashverosh). The lulav is a long branch of the tree; Haman was hung on a gallows (tree) fifty cubits high. The third species, the myrtle branches, are symbolic of the exile under the Greeks. Just as the myrtle branch gives the appearance of consisting of a variety of plaits, so the Greek Empire was composed of a variety of fabrics. (i.e. each province was allowed its own king). The fourth species, the willow branches represent the Roman Empire, our present exile. Just as the colour of the willow branch (stem) is red, the Roman Empire is perceived of as “red,” i.e. the kingdom descended from the “red one,” Esau.
Tanchuma Emor 20 in interpreting the somewhat enigmatic verse in Proverbs 30,18 that “four are amongst the things I do not know,” explains that Solomon speaks of the four species. [He meant that the significance of precisely the selection of these four plants as the ones with which we perform the commandment escaped him. Ed.] In Proverbs 30,24 Solomon adds the words: “four are the smallest of the world yet they are the wisest of the wise.” The Midrash understands these enigmatic comments to mean that although these four plants are seemingly some of the most insignificant phenomena on earth they are at the same time the most sophisticated, as by means of them the merits or demerits of people are deeply affected. They influence the decision made by the Creator regarding His creatures’ future lives.
Still another comment based on this type of approach: etrog and lulav respectively are an allusion to the reward we can expect for performance of G’d’s commandments both here on earth and in the world to come, respectively. The myrtle and the willow branch are symbols of different ways of repentance, submitting to painful affliction and humbling oneself. The fruit of the tree called hadar points to the reward received for the commandments performed in this world as the tree grows from year to year, (compare Sukkah 35, that the fruit does not fall off the tree if not harvested). The words כפות תמרים are an allusion to the reward for merits accumulated in this life in the world after death, seeing that the lulav is so much bigger than the etrog and we have been assured that the reward in this life equals only dividends as compared to the capital payable in the life in the future. The leaves of the lulav grow in an ever upwardly direction, reminiscent of the greater value of the rewards it represents being so much greater in the hereafter. Moreover, the date palm does not yield fruit till after seventy years, a clear indication that it symbolises man’s reaping the “fruits” of a meritorious life in the hereafter. The average life span of man is seventy years as we know from Psalms 90,10.
The myrtle branches (leaves) contain some bitter ingredient although its fragrance is very sweet; this is an allusion to the path of repentance containing painful episodes. Man is to afflict himself by means of fasting and self-flagellation. He who employs these means to assist in his path of repentance will ensure that his “fragrance” will waft heavenward. The willow branch is an allusion to humility and self-deprecation; to symbolise this we do not find the willow growing in mountainous parts of the earth; it grows only near water, low-lying areas. This is to remind the repentant sinner to humble himself as a result of which he will achieve atonement and will be forgiven. In accordance with this whole approach it is appropriate that one holds the three species lulav, myrtle, and willow in the right hand in order to point at the great reward in store for us in the hereafter, the eternal life; by the same token, the etrog which symbolises reward for our good deeds in this world is to be held in our left hand. Traditionally, the “left” describes the terrestrial world, whereas the “right” symbolises the celestial regions in which our souls will dwell after they leave our bodies. This is the way the Talmud Shabbat 63 interprets Proverbs 3,16: “Length of days is in the right hand, in her left hand riches and honour.” The way our sages arrive at this interpretation is by saying that those people who do the “right” things deserve to enjoy eternal life; the ones who concentrate on subordinate values, i.e. “leftists,” will be rewarded only with material rewards such as riches and honour in this world.
We find a similar approach expressed by our sages when they examined the eleven spices which made up the incense offered in the Temple both mornings and evenings. The function of the incense was, of course, to provide a pleasant fragrance and for this purpose the Torah listed 11 different ingredients as well as the proportion in which these were to be mixed. Nonetheless, one of these ingredients is evil-smelling, not adding but detracting from the overall fragrance. The ingredient is known as חלבנה, galbanum. We have it on the authority of Keritot 6 that by itself this galbanum was exuding a bad smell. According to our sages there the reason that G’d wanted this ingredient to be part of the incense was to symbolise the fact that when sinners are part of a group of righteous people and surrounded by them, the fragrance of the good deeds performed by the righteous will neutralise the evil smell exuded by the sinner. When this is the case, G’d will accept the repentance from both the righteous and the sinners, each for the sins they are guilty of.
Another exegesis by our sages in connection with these four species of plants: they are an allusion to the four kingdoms which host the Jewish people in exile. The author of that Midrash says that the four species waved by the Jewish people on Sukkot atone for the sins which resulted in the four exiles which we have been subjected to, and performance of that commandment redeems us from the respective exiles. The etrog represents the Babylonian Empire. Just as the etrog is the colour of gold, so the Babylonians set much stock by gold. Daniel 2,38 describes King Nevuchadnezzar by addressing him as “the head of gold.” The second species, the palm frond of the date palm, is symbolic of the kingdom of the Medes (exile under Achashverosh). The lulav is a long branch of the tree; Haman was hung on a gallows (tree) fifty cubits high. The third species, the myrtle branches, are symbolic of the exile under the Greeks. Just as the myrtle branch gives the appearance of consisting of a variety of plaits, so the Greek Empire was composed of a variety of fabrics. (i.e. each province was allowed its own king). The fourth species, the willow branches represent the Roman Empire, our present exile. Just as the colour of the willow branch (stem) is red, the Roman Empire is perceived of as “red,” i.e. the kingdom descended from the “red one,” Esau.
Tanchuma Emor 20 in interpreting the somewhat enigmatic verse in Proverbs 30,18 that “four are amongst the things I do not know,” explains that Solomon speaks of the four species. [He meant that the significance of precisely the selection of these four plants as the ones with which we perform the commandment escaped him. Ed.] In Proverbs 30,24 Solomon adds the words: “four are the smallest of the world yet they are the wisest of the wise.” The Midrash understands these enigmatic comments to mean that although these four plants are seemingly some of the most insignificant phenomena on earth they are at the same time the most sophisticated, as by means of them the merits or demerits of people are deeply affected. They influence the decision made by the Creator regarding His creatures’ future lives.
Still another comment based on this type of approach: etrog and lulav respectively are an allusion to the reward we can expect for performance of G’d’s commandments both here on earth and in the world to come, respectively. The myrtle and the willow branch are symbols of different ways of repentance, submitting to painful affliction and humbling oneself. The fruit of the tree called hadar points to the reward received for the commandments performed in this world as the tree grows from year to year, (compare Sukkah 35, that the fruit does not fall off the tree if not harvested). The words כפות תמרים are an allusion to the reward for merits accumulated in this life in the world after death, seeing that the lulav is so much bigger than the etrog and we have been assured that the reward in this life equals only dividends as compared to the capital payable in the life in the future. The leaves of the lulav grow in an ever upwardly direction, reminiscent of the greater value of the rewards it represents being so much greater in the hereafter. Moreover, the date palm does not yield fruit till after seventy years, a clear indication that it symbolises man’s reaping the “fruits” of a meritorious life in the hereafter. The average life span of man is seventy years as we know from Psalms 90,10.
The myrtle branches (leaves) contain some bitter ingredient although its fragrance is very sweet; this is an allusion to the path of repentance containing painful episodes. Man is to afflict himself by means of fasting and self-flagellation. He who employs these means to assist in his path of repentance will ensure that his “fragrance” will waft heavenward. The willow branch is an allusion to humility and self-deprecation; to symbolise this we do not find the willow growing in mountainous parts of the earth; it grows only near water, low-lying areas. This is to remind the repentant sinner to humble himself as a result of which he will achieve atonement and will be forgiven. In accordance with this whole approach it is appropriate that one holds the three species lulav, myrtle, and willow in the right hand in order to point at the great reward in store for us in the hereafter, the eternal life; by the same token, the etrog which symbolises reward for our good deeds in this world is to be held in our left hand. Traditionally, the “left” describes the terrestrial world, whereas the “right” symbolises the celestial regions in which our souls will dwell after they leave our bodies. This is the way the Talmud Shabbat 63 interprets Proverbs 3,16: “Length of days is in the right hand, in her left hand riches and honour.” The way our sages arrive at this interpretation is by saying that those people who do the “right” things deserve to enjoy eternal life; the ones who concentrate on subordinate values, i.e. “leftists,” will be rewarded only with material rewards such as riches and honour in this world.
Rabbeinu Bahya
We have already referred to Tanchuma Emor 20 in connection with Proverbs 30,24 and shown how the Midrash views the mystique in the “four” items which Solomon did not understand as the fact that the four species really represent the number seven, and how that number seven symbolises the wisdom which we derive from the seven emanations below that of חכמה. Performing the ritual reinforces the spiritual power of these attributes (emanations).
The Talmud Sukkah 38 quotes Rava as saying that just as it is generally important to fulfill the commandments in all its details so also the performance of the commandment of the lulav (and other species) in all its details has direct beneficial results. [He meant that if one waves the lulav only twice in each direction instead of three times one does not shortchange G’d, but oneself, as we do not know precisely which benefit is the result of which waving. Ed.]
The Talmud Sukkah 38 quotes Rava as saying that just as it is generally important to fulfill the commandments in all its details so also the performance of the commandment of the lulav (and other species) in all its details has direct beneficial results. [He meant that if one waves the lulav only twice in each direction instead of three times one does not shortchange G’d, but oneself, as we do not know precisely which benefit is the result of which waving. Ed.]