Two years after the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Shoah, two years since our brothers and sisters were taken hostage, two years into the longest war Israel has known, two years of rising antisemitism and isolation of Israel, two years of reducing Gaza to rubble- all of these and more have left Israel and the Middle East, and Jews and Palestinians, changed in ways we are still only beginning to understand.
Others are more qualified to analyze the political, security, and societal consequences of October 7. But as we celebrate Sukkot, we turn to one of the holiday’s central symbols to consider our spiritual response.
The Torah commands us to gather four species – lulav, etrog, myrtle, and willow – and use them to rejoice before God. Though all four species are essential to the mitzvah, the blessing mentions only the lulav: “Blessed are You, God, who commanded us to lift up the lulav.” Why?
In the Talmud, Rabbi Zerika explains that the lulav is the tallest of the four species. Rabbi Yirmiya asks, “If so, then why not just lift the etrog higher?!” Rabbi Zerika responds, “No—the date tree from which the lulav comes is tall and prominent, making it the stand-out element of the four species” (Sukkot 37b).
I want to suggest several additional reasons why the lulav is singled out in the blessing:
Backbone. A midrash teaches that the lulav represents the human spine, reminding us to stand tall and proud as Jews. This is something Israeli and Diaspora Jews have had to practice these past two years- to stand firm in who we are and what we believe.
Resilience. While a willow may grow easily by a babbling brook, a myrtle in the mountain, and an etrog in fertile lowlands, the date tree of the lulav thrives despite its harsh desert environment. It has the very quality we need- the ability to survive and flourish under difficult conditions.
Support. When recite the blessing over the four species, we bind the lulav together with the myrtle and willow. The etrog stands alone. According to a midrash, the etrog represents Jews who have both learning and good deeds, making it self-sufficient. The other three species – representing Jews who have only learning or good deeds, or neither – are incomplete on their own. Yet when bound together, they bring individual strengths to support one another.
Independence. The lulav has long been a symbol of Jewish sovereignty. During the Jewish revolts against Rome (69 CE), rebels minted coins replacing Roman deities with motifs such as the lulav, celebrating Jewish life and asserting independence.
Rebirth. In 1960, Professor Yigal Yadin discovered date seeds while excavating Masada. The seeds had been buried under rubble for 2000 years. Since their discovery, they sat in a drawer until Dr. Sarah Sallon, a researcher in natural medicine at Hadassah Hospital, had the crazy idea of trying to grow them. And she did! Today the tree grows in Kibbutz Ketura and stands as a symbol of rebirth after destruction.
There is one final reason the lulav is highlighted in the blessing: in gematria, lulav equals chayim – life.
In the two years since Hamas’ massacre on October 7, we have been confronted with images of death and destruction. These images may overwhelm us, distress us, or numb us so that we hardly notice them anymore.
In the face of such devastation, more than ever, we must cling to life, lift up life, and choose life. The lulav calls on us to do just that: to stand tall, to grow strong, to support one another, and to celebrate life even in the shadow of tragedy.