TAKING THE ARBA MINIM

The Arba Minim are taken every day of Succot, except on Shabbat. Whilst there is nothing intrinsically Shabbat-unfriendly about a Lulav, the rabbis of the Talmud decreed, that just like a shofar, a Lulav and Etrog are not taken on Shabbat. The concern is that individuals may carry their Lulav in the public thoroughfare and thereby break Shabbat. Even though many places now have an Eruv, the restriction on taking the Lulav still applies

The mitzva of taking the Lulav is fulfilled simply by picking up the Lulav and the other species. Nevertheless, there is an ideal way of doing it described as follows:

When bound together, they should be held, all 4 species touching, with the Lulav in the right hand and the Etrog in the left. The 3 Hadassim (myrtle twigs) should be on the right-hand side of the Lulav’s spine and should be slightly higher than the Aravot (willow twigs) which are placed on the left. Left-handed people like myself take the Lulav in the left hand and the Etrog in the right. The Lulav is held with the spine facing you.

When they are first taken on Sunday, the Etrog should be held upside down with the pitam facing downwards. The blessings al netilat lulav + shehecheyanu are said. The Etrog is reversed and all 4 species are shaken. On the subsequent days of Succot, the procedure is the same, except that the shehecheyanu blessing is omitted.

In addition to the basic shaking of the Lulav when one makes the beracha, the species are waved in the six directions of 3-dimensional space during the Hallel prayer.

The species are waved during Hallel at the 7-word verse, Hodu LaShem Ki Tov, Ki LeOlam Chasdo (Thank the L-d for He is good, His lovingkindness is for ever) and the 4-word phrase, Ana HaShem Hoshia Na (L-d, please save us) in the following way:

Hodu – FORWARD, LaShem – NO WAVING.  Ki – RIGHT,

Tov – BEHIND, Ki – LEFT, LeOlam – UP, Chasdo – DOWN

Ana – FORWARD AND RIGHT, HaShem – NO WAVING.

Hoshia – BACK AND LEFT, Na – UP AND DOWN

When these four species were still attached to their place of growth, they would bend and move in all directions as they were buffeted by wind and rain. In shaking them in all 6 directions we acknowledge G-d’s mastery over the entire world. We thank G-d for His help in the past (Hodu LaShem – Thank the L-d…) and we pray for His help in the present and the future (Ana HaShem – L-d, please save us.)