The mitzvah of lulav speaks to us of the fellowship that can only be true when we have been purified by obedience to the Word:
1Pet. 1:22 Having purified your souls by obeying the truth to have sincere brotherly love, love one another ardently with all your heart,
1Pet. 1:23 since you have been regenerated, not by corruptible seed, but by incorruptible seed, by the living and abiding word of God.
Leviticus 23:40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees etz hadarעֵץ הָדָר, branches of palm trees capot tmarim כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים, the boughs of leafy trees anaf etz ‘avot עֲנַף עֵץ עָבֹת, and willows of the brook arvei nachal נָחַל עַרְבֵי; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
In the Midrash Rabba[1], the four plants represent the human body.
· The lulav is the spine.
· Myrtle, hadas is like the eye.
· The willow, ‘arav looks like a mouth.
· The etrog has the shape of the heart.
Note that the four species in the lulav are associated to the four elements: water, fire, earth and wind[sd1]:
· The etrog is called "fruit of beautiful trees etz hadarעֵץ הָדָר". The Talmud teaches that "beautiful hadar הָדָר" can be linked to "hydros, water" in Greek. The etrog is linked to water.
· Myrtle, with its good aroma "reach" is linked to the wind "ruach".
· The loulav or palm tree needs a lot of sun. It represents the sun, fire.
· The willow, tasteless and without smell, is like the ground.
· The four elements are also related to certain traits of the human character[2]: fire is the source of pride; water: the source of desire; wind: the strength of words; earth: the source of laziness and sadness, or also materialism.
We study all these elements in our Training for the Restoration of the Soul according to Jewish Sources according to Jewish Sources. It's the first of its kind in the Christian world!
Together, the elements form a body that must praise HaShem and form indivisible unity:
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Messiah[sd1].
Sukkoth is a calling to brotherly union; it is one’s duty to invite one another under the sukkah and to rejoice together for the goodness of the Almighty. It is the Festival of love and BROTHERLY unity!
[sd1]Read 1 Corinthians 12 [1] VaYikra, chapter 30 [2] Rav ‘Haïm Vital, Cha’arè Kédoucha, cité dans la Guématria, Rav M. Glazerson Chlomo Choukroun
[sd1]Leviticus 23:40 And you shall take for yourselves lachem לָכֶם on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees etz hadar עֵץ הָדָר, branches of palm trees capot tmarim כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים, the boughs of leafy trees anaf etz ‘avot עֲנַף עֵץ עָבֹת, and willows of the brook arvei nachal עַרְבֵי נָחַל …
