Lulav and the Four Species הלכות לולב
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645The Laws of the LulavSiman 645 · 19 seifim
- 1.The Torah commands taking on the first day "the…
- 2.It is a mitzvah to begin preparing the lulav…
- 3.A lulav emerges from the palm as one arrow-like…
- 4.The lulav’s spine must be four tefachim, excluding leaves…
- 5.One tefach of the lulav spine must extend above…
- 6.A lulav only three tefachim long should not receive…
- 7.There is no maximum lulav length; even an exceptionally…
- 8.The Torah’s ‘palm branches’ refers to the lulav of…
- 9.Initially, lulav, myrtle, and willow should not remain submerged…
- 10.A lulav with most leaves dried is invalid because…
- 11.Some are stringent that leaf tips have no red…
- 12.A lulav whose top is severed—meaning most upper leaves…
- 13.A lulav whose spine bends at the top is…
- 14.A lulav curved forward—opposite the spine, giving it a…
- 15.Lulav leaves naturally grow in attached pairs, whose joined…
- 16.If a lulav leaf cracks and its two sides…
- 17.A lulav has no seventh-year sanctity, even when grown…
- 18.A lulav grown in Jerusalem is valid. Although Rambam…
- 19.A lulav, myrtle, or willow placed beneath a bed…
646The Laws of the MyrtleSiman 646 · 19 seifim
- 1.The Torah’s ‘branch of a leafy tree’ is a…
- 2.A myrtle with pairs of leaves at successive levels…
- 3.Myrtle and willow must be three tefachim and the…
- 4.Ideally the myrtle should be triple-leaved throughout its required…
- 5.An exceptionally long myrtle need not be triple-leaved over…
- 6.Pri Megadim doubts a myrtle that is triple over…
- 7.A leaf should be approximately the size of a…
- 8.Some invalidate a myrtle whose leaves do not cover…
- 9.A myrtle whose top was cut is valid, though…
- 10.It is good to trim the small shoots that…
- 11.If berry-like growths appear on a myrtle, it is…
- 12.As explained, under pressing circumstances a myrtle remains valid…
- 13.If the top leaves fell and expose the branch…
- 14.Later authorities dispute a grafted myrtle: some invalidate and…
- 15.A myrtle with dried leaves is invalid. Even if…
- 16.Myrtle invalidities apply equally on the first Yom Tov…
- 17.Some assign seventh-year sanctity to myrtles grown in Eretz…
- 18.Myrtles from a Jew’s field that was worked and…
- 19.During the sabbatical year, myrtles may be placed in…
647The Laws of the WillowSiman 647 · 19 seifim
- 1.The Torah’s ‘willows of the brook’ is the known…
- 2.Most willows grow near streams, hence the Torah’s name.…
- 3.A similar species with round leaves, sawlike edges, and…
- 4.Eucalyptus leaves are invalid as willow because their strong…
- 5.A plentiful willow may fulfill the mitzvah even when…
- 6.One may buy an etrog, lulav, or willow from…
- 7.A willow remains initially valid if its top leaf…
- 8.A willow is invalid if most leaves dry and…
- 9.A willow that loses most leaves is invalid whether…
- 10.In a rainy year, multiple holes found in willow…
- 11.It is best to keep the lulav and all…
- 12.It is good to enhance the mitzvah by replacing…
- 13.Do not force the willow into a tight lulav…
- 14.A willow with additional shoots growing from its stem…
- 15.If a non-Jew cuts a willow on the first…
- 16.Even if one triple myrtle was available before Yom…
- 17.Willow and myrtle grown in a pot may fulfill…
- 18.Nevertheless, it is proper to be stringent not to…
- 19.Willow has no seventh-year sanctity because it is used…
648Defects That Invalidate an EtrogSiman 648 · 63 seifim
- 1.An etrog must be at least an egg-volume; smaller…
- 2.An etrog that was an egg-volume when picked but…
- 3.According to most authorities, a grafted etrog is entirely…
- 4.One who sees another using a grafted etrog should…
- 5.The signs later authorities gave for identifying an ungrafted…
- 6.A God-fearing dealer who does not sell grafted etrogim…
- 7.A dealer who knowingly sells a beautiful grafted etrog…
- 8.During wartime, a ship carrying about one hundred Israeli…
- 9.There are trees — among them lemon trees —…
- 10.Moroccan etrogim, exceptionally beautiful, were used with blessings by…
- 11.The most beautiful etrog is neither exceptionally large nor…
- 12.One who has only an etrog of uncertain grafting…
- 13.Etrogim that naturally grow today without a dad or…
- 14.An etrog whose pitom—the wood atop the fruit with…
- 15.A removed pitom invalidates only when the dad, including…
- 16.If the pitom fell while the etrog was attached…
- 17.Black dots or other discoloration on the wood at…
- 18.As explained, loss of the shoshanta creates no invalidity,…
- 19.If an etrog’s bottom stem was removed and reattached…
- 20.An etrog punctured with any resulting loss of substance…
- 21.The rule that any missing amount invalidates applies only…
- 22.One authority says a puncture counts only when visible.…
- 23.An etrog need not be inspected with a magnifying…
- 25.If a thorn penetrated to the seed chambers without…
- 26.A perfectly ball-shaped etrog is invalid even with a…
- 27.A crooked or curved etrog is valid; that defect…
- 28.When only invalid species are available under pressing circumstances,…
- 29.According to Maran, a myrtle with more berries than…
- 30.All first-day defects, such as deficiency, also invalidate on…
- 31.A fruit from Hong Kong shaped and marked like…
- 32.One should seek a yellow etrog, the most beautiful…
- 33.Those who place apples near an etrog to yellow…
- 34.An etrog mottled black, white, or leek-green in one…
- 35.Therefore, a grass-green etrog placed near apples that begins…
- 36.Some invalidate commonly found etrogim whose green changes to…
- 37.A chazazit growth in two or three places invalidates…
- 38.If removing a chazazit reveals normal etrog color beneath,…
- 39.During Chol HaMoed, handling and frequent waving commonly create…
- 40.Common small dots are not the skin disease called…
- 41.An etrog with a thin film on its nose…
- 42.A dried etrog is invalid when it releases no…
- 43.An etrog swollen and spoiled so all inner flesh…
- 44.An etrog used for the mitzvah must have terumot…
- 45.Even etrogim grown in non-Jewish orchards become obligated in…
- 46.If one has only an untithed etrog, some validate…
- 47.If a Jew with permission cuts etrogim in a…
- 48.Terumot and ma’aserot may be separated from a grafted…
- 49.An orlah etrog, forbidden for eating and benefit, is…
- 50.If one orlah etrog mixes with one edible valid…
- 51.Some validate orlah from outside Eretz Yisrael when no…
- 52.Initially, Israeli etrogim should be bought from a reliable…
- 53.An etrog sprayed with toxic chemicals that health authorities…
- 54.Because etrog trees have thorns, some are planted as…
- 55.Dates from a palm planted solely to provide lulavim…
- 56.Myrtle and willow branches likewise have no orlah restriction…
- 57.A sabbatical-year etrog is valid but must be treated…
- 58.An etrog that was bean-sized in the sixth year,…
- 59.If a Jew sold his etrog orchard to a…
- 60.Etrogim grown during the sabbatical year in Israeli orchards…
- 61.A sabbatical-year etrog may be handled even though this…
- 62.An etrog grown in a nonperforated pot may receive…
- 63.Some say an etrog left beneath a bed while…
- 64.An etrog held before morning handwashing while impurity remains…
649Defects Affecting the Four SpeciesSiman 649 · 5 seifim
- 1.Although willows are plentiful today and two branches may…
- 2.Some say one buying willow from a tree on…
- 3.A lulav bound by a non-Jew is valid. Initially,…
- 4.If two people encounter two etrogim—one accepted by all…
- 5.If a wealthy person seeks a beautiful lulav for…
650The Required Length of Myrtle and WillowSiman 650 · 2 seifim
- 1.As explained in Siman 646:3, myrtle and willow must…
- 2.Longer myrtles are advantageous only if one tefach of…
651Taking the Lulav and Its BlessingSiman 651 · 55 seifim
- 1.It is a mitzvah to beautify the lulav under…
- 2.Ashkenazim customarily fashion decorative rings from lulav leaves and…
- 3.Taking through another object counts only when dignified. Placing…
- 4.The etrog should not be bound together with the…
- 5.Ideally bind lulav, myrtle, and willow with a full…
- 6.Bind the species before Yom Tov. If not, a…
- 7.Any material may bind the species; it need not…
- 8.The lulav may be bound by day or night…
- 9.When binding, place the lulav on a table with…
- 10.Place one myrtle on the right, one left, and…
- 11.Some recite Leshem Yichud before each mitzvah to awaken…
- 12.Those bringing lulav in a nylon case and etrog…
- 13.Some affectionately kiss the four species each time they…
- 14.To bless, stand and first take the bound lulav,…
- 15.Immediately after the blessing and taking the etrog, wave…
- 16.If one mistakenly said ‘litol lulav’ instead of ‘al…
- 17.If the blessing was forgotten before taking, it may…
- 18.Taking and blessing should be standing. This is linked…
- 19.Some say the etrog need not be raised three…
- 20.Hold the etrog upright with its bottom stem downward,…
- 21.Some take the etrog and bless before the lulav.…
- 22.Al Netilat Lulav is recited every day, even when…
- 23.If one blessed while holding the lulav left and…
- 24.A person with one paralyzed hand may take both…
- 25.A left-handed person takes the lulav in his right…
- 26.If Shehecheyanu was omitted the first day, recite it…
- 27.When reciting Shehecheyanu over lulav on the first day,…
- 28.One without a lulav does not recite Shehecheyanu. Nor…
- 29.One who becomes a mourner during Sukkot and will…
- 30.Hold the lulav at the binding, not above it.
- 31.Nothing should intervene between the hand and the species.…
- 32.Some say water should be dried from a wet…
- 33.The four species form one mitzvah and each is…
- 34.The mitzvah uses one etrog, one lulav, three myrtles,…
- 35.If one adds myrtle or willow because one branch…
- 36.If another species is taken with the four, one…
- 37.If after blessing and taking one discovers only one…
- 38.The taking obligation applies personally to every Jew, as…
- 39.If one species is missing, do not bless over…
- 40.Do not substitute another species resembling willow or myrtle…
- 41.If all four were present but taken one at…
- 42.Etrog, lulav, myrtle, and willow must be taken in…
- 43.Holding the lulav horizontally is not its growth direction…
- 44.If after blessing one sees that myrtle or willow…
- 45.After blessing, wave the species three times in each…
- 46.Maharil remained facing east and turned only his hands…
- 47.During Hallel waving, keep the species upright; do not…
- 48.During every wave, keep the lulav spine facing oneself,…
- 49.Full Hallel is recited with a blessing on all…
- 50.Each person waves four times during Hallel: once at…
- 51.At Ana Hashem Hoshiah Na, do not breathe within…
- 52.Do not wave while pronouncing God’s Name, when one…
- 53.The King is glorified among a multitude. The congregation…
- 54.If one lacked a lulav before Hallel or forgot…
- 55.A prisoner in a filthy place where blessings and…
652The Time for Taking the LulavSiman 652 · 8 seifim
- 1.Lulav applies by day, not night, as the Torah…
- 2.If one took the lulav before dawn and continued…
- 3.The entire day is valid, so one who missed…
- 4.Some especially observant people bless and wave in the…
- 5.Some prohibit carrying a lulav through a public domain…
- 6.One authority requires someone following Arizal by taking in…
- 7.If a lulav becomes available during our twilight after…
- 8.A meal may not be eaten before taking lulav,…
653Smelling the Four SpeciesSiman 653 · 6 seifim
- 1.On the Shabbat before Sukkot, an etrog may be…
- 2.A mitzvah myrtle may not be smelled throughout the…
- 3.An etrog is primarily food, so designation removes it…
- 4.Some forbid wrapping an etrog in cloth on Yom…
- 5.Some treat commercial mitzvah etrogim as muktzeh due to…
- 6.A designated etrog remains permitted for benefit until actually…
654Returning the Lulav to WaterSiman 654 · 2 seifim
Read this siman →655A Non-Jew Who Brought a LulavSiman 655 · 3 seifim
- 1.If a town has no etrog but one is…
- 2.If the first Yom Tov is Shabbat, a non-Jew…
- 3.A community that lacked an etrog on the first…
656Beautifying the Lulav MitzvahSiman 656 · 1 seifim
Read this siman →657A Minor Who Knows How to Wave a LulavSiman 657 · 3 seifim
- 1.A father must educate a child who knows how…
- 2.If the child has no lulav, the father gives…
- 3.Children should be educated in lulav even on Chol…
658The Lulav Mitzvah on Yom TovSiman 658 · 10 seifim
- 1.Every Jewish man has a Torah commandment to take…
- 2.Some go to the Western Wall on Chol HaMoed…
- 3.One authority requires Jerusalem residents today to observe first-day…
- 4.One careful in this mitzvah merits life in this…
- 5.Everyone should help neighbors and relatives fulfill this precious…
- 6.As explained, for Sephardim an etrog missing its pitom…
- 7.When the Temple stood, first-day lulav was taken even…
- 8.When the first day or any Chol HaMoed day…
- 9.The species may be moved on the first festival…
- 10.One authority treats a lulav put away after first-day…
+Taking the Lulav and Its Species on the First DayTaking the Lulav and Its Species on the First Day · 26 seifim
- 11.The Torah says: ‘And you shall take for yourselves…
- 12.Although another’s lulav can be used on the first…
- 13.According to the Kabbalists, one should not bless over…
- 14.A lulav given as a gift on the first…
- 15.One receiving a first-day lulav as a gift need…
- 16.A recipient on condition of return must fulfill the…
- 17.Giving one’s lulav without stated terms for another’s obligation…
- 18.If a recipient under a return condition gives it…
- 19.Just as a loan does not fulfill first day,…
- 20.If a man is away and his wife gives…
- 21.Some say one who drew a purchased lulav but…
- 22.A recipient of another’s first-day lulav gift should raise…
- 23.Before personally fulfilling on the first day, do not…
- 24.If the giver continues holding the lulav together with…
- 25.Therefore one should not buy lulav, etrog, myrtle, or…
- 26.One authority cautions in the Diaspora not to give…
- 27.A minor fulfills on the first day with a…
- 28.A boy thirteen years and one day may be…
- 29.As explained above, Sephardic women and women of the…
- 30.Partners who jointly buy an etrog and lulav cannot…
- 31.Where valid etrogim are scarce, communities collect funds for…
- 32.One who owns a legally valid but plain etrog…
- 33.If a seller conditioned a lulav sale on the…
- 34.If one stole an etrog from another’s garden on…
- 35.Some require a non-Jew, not a Jew, to cut…
- 36.If a court awards Reuven an etrog in a…
+Women Taking the LulavWomen Taking the Lulav · 5 seifim
- 1.Those obligated in shofar and sukkah are obligated in…
- 2.It is highly proper for Sephardic and Eastern women…
- 3.When an Ashkenazic woman follows her custom to bless…
- 4.When giving an Ashkenazic woman a lulav on which…
- 5.For women who take lulav, holding it and making…
659The Torah Reading on SukkotSiman 659 · 1 seifim
Read this siman →660The Order of Circling the Torah PlatformSiman 660 · 6 seifim
- 1.After Hallel, a Torah scroll is placed on the…
- 2.One without a lulav should wait for a friend…
- 3.An ill person unable to attend synagogue should place…
- 4.Our established custom recites the Hoshanot and the circuits…
- 5.On Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, do not circle with…
- 6.A person mourning a parent within twelve months circles…
661Kiddush on the Second Festival NightSiman 661 · 1 seifim
Read this siman →662Prayers on the Second Day and Chol HaMoedSiman 662 · 4 seifim
- 1.On Chol HaMoed, pray ordinary Shacharit with Ya’aleh VeYavo…
- 2.Those observing the second Yom Tov in the Diaspora…
- 3.On Shabbat Chol HaMoed, Ma'ariv, Shacharit, and Minchah use…
- 4.On Shabbat Chol HaMoed, two scrolls are taken out.…
+The Mitzvah of Festival JoyThe Mitzvah of Festival Joy · 6 seifim
- 1.The Rambam wrote in the Laws of Yom Tov:…
- 2.It is a mitzvah to rejoice with meat and…
- 3.Festival joy applies both on Yom Tov and Chol…
- 4.Although every festival requires joy, Sukkot had exceptional Temple…
- 5.Rambam calls joy in performing mitzvot and loving God…
- 6.Israeli custom celebrates every Sukkot night from after the…
664The Order of Hoshana RabbahSiman 664 · 20 seifim
- 1.Sukkot’s seventh day is Hoshana Rabbah, the last of…
- 2.Jewish custom stays awake studying on Hoshana Rabbah night.…
- 3.Jerusalem rabbis permitted one bereaved during the festival to…
- 4.After dawn, wash hands as daily but without the…
- 5.Do not pray before sunrise unless the exhausted congregation…
- 6.Take care not to doze during Shacharit and lose…
- 7.Circle the platform seven times, increase supplications, and pray…
- 8.After Musaf take five separate willow branches, not joined…
- 9.Following the Kabbalists, strike the willow branches on natural…
- 10.Beating until every leaf falls is a childish celebratory…
- 11.Rama MiFano says the branches should be unbound; Ramaz…
- 12.Initially do not unbind and use the lulav’s willows…
- 13.When needed, after one person strikes five times he…
- 14.The Hoshana willow is taken by itself, with no…
- 15.The willow must be three tefachim, like the lulav…
- 16.Women are exempt from willow striking because it is…
- 17.Jerusalem custom after Aleinu is to return to synagogue,…
- 18.On Hoshana Rabbah read VeZot HaBerachah twice in Hebrew…
- 19.The custom is to loosen the lulav’s upper binding…
- 20.The lulav and species, and the willow after striking,…
665The Etrog on the Seventh DaySiman 665 · 4 seifim
- 1.The etrog may not be eaten on the seventh…
- 2.If seven etrogim were designated, one for each day,…
- 3.Pregnant women customarily bite the etrog’s pitom on Hoshana…
- 4.The custom is to make etrog preserves with sugar…
666The Sukkah on the Seventh DaySiman 666 · 6 seifim
- 1.Even after finishing the seventh-day morning meal, do not…
- 2.Residents of Israel may not eat in the sukkah…
- 3.One who properly builds a festival sukkah may sleep…
- 4.Some say upon leaving the sukkah: ‘May it be…
- 5.To eat in the sukkah after Simchat Torah, no…
- 6.Even after Sukkot, do not step on sukkah wood…
667The Sukkah and Its Decorations on the Eighth DaySiman 667 · 2 seifim
- 1.The sukkah and its decorations remain forbidden for benefit…
- 2.If theft or rain is feared, decorations and fabrics…
668The Simchat Torah Prayer ServiceSiman 668 · 40 seifim
- 1.On Shemini Atzeret night recite Psalm 12, ‘For the…
- 2.On the night of Simchat Torah one says in…
- 3.If one said Atah Vechartanu and Ya’aleh VeYavo but…
- 4.On Shemini Atzeret night, which is Simchat Torah in…
- 5.After prayer, Jewish custom makes seven circuits around the…
- 6.Even on Simchat Torah one may not intentionally ring…
- 7.Before the circuits, place a Torah scroll on the…
- 8.Ashkenazim follow Rema by reading Torah passages about vows…
- 9.Wait until nightfall to recite Shemini Atzeret Kiddush. Although…
- 10.On Simchat Torah morning pray the Yom Tov service…
- 11.If a synagogue has three beloved cantors whose voices…
- 12.When the ark is opened on Shemini Atzeret, omit…
- 13.On Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, three scrolls are taken out.…
- 14.There are places where the custom is that when…
- 15.The custom is to call many children together for…
- 16.Our custom adds Chatan Meonah, who reads through ‘you…
- 17.Two or three Kohanim may receive consecutive roles—Chatan Torah,…
- 18.If the only Kohen received Chatan Torah, he may…
- 19.If everyone already received an aliyah and only someone…
- 20.Two brothers, or father and son, may receive Chatan…
- 21.Two Kohanim, who ordinarily are not called consecutively lest…
- 22.One who purchased Chatan Torah in advance and then…
- 23.The custom is to give Chatan Torah to a…
- 24.Some communities have Chatan Bereishit say ‘besimana tava’ between…
- 25.Following Maran Beit Yosef, our custom does not say…
- 26.If an error is found in the scroll used…
- 27.The customary Shemini Atzeret haftarah is ‘After the death…
- 28.Before Musaf after the haftarah, recite the rain prayer,…
- 29.One who prays in the summer and does not…
- 30.Ramban would say the seasonal mention slightly aloud during…
- 31.After Musaf make seven circuits and increase joy and…
- 32.Take care that celebration never becomes frivolity or mockery;…
- 33.Torah scrolls may be carried into city streets on…
- 34.When circuits and songs continue a long time, elderly…
- 35.When the scrolls return to the ark after the…
- 36.One bereaved during Chol HaMoed may participate in Simchat…
- 37.One mourning a parent within twelve months should circle…
- 38.One forced to pray alone on Shemini Atzeret should…
- 39.The custom is to make circuits after Minchah and…
- 40.Whoever increases his joy on Simchat Torah with dancing…
+Simchat Torah in the DiasporaSimchat Torah in the Diaspora · 10 seifim
- 41.In the Diaspora, Shemini Atzeret is treated as possibly…
- 42.A Diaspora resident visiting Israel with intent to return…
- 43.In the Diaspora, where two festival days are observed,…
- 44.Some Diaspora communities make Simchat Torah circuits and celebration…
- 45.An Israeli visiting abroad with intent to return treats…
- 46.Such an Israeli may not receive Chatan Torah abroad…
- 47.A Diaspora resident visiting Israel with intent to return…
- 48.Diaspora Jews observing second-day Simchat Torah may not desecrate…
- 49.Incense may not be burned before the Torah scroll,…
- 50.Confession and Tachanun are omitted after Sukkot through the…