Taking the Four Species this Year Rabbi Dr . Matthew Goldstone
As we approach the end of Sukkot and mark one year since October 7 th there is a deep sense of sadness about the past year and the prospects for the months ahead . 20 This is the season when we look forward to what the year will bring ; we strive to select the freshest branches and the yellowest of citrons for our four species to make our plea for a prosperous , bountiful year . And yet , in order to procure plants for this rite , we must cut them from their source of nourishment – meaning that , as the holiday progresses and our prayers grow towards a culmination , our plants increasingly shrivel and lose their vitality .
By the end of the holiday , especially after beating our willow branches against the ground , we stand with forlorn sticks largely devoid of their prior splendor . As we enter Sukkot this year , perhaps we too feel withered and beaten down by events of the past twelve months . But our tradition offers guidance that might help us navigate this emotionally challenging season . The early rabbinic work known as the Tosefta 21 preserves a debate regarding the permissibility of using non-optimal produce for the four species that can give us insight into thinking about looking to the future while keeping the past in mind :
20
Thanks to Rabbi Peter Stein for his helpful suggeszons .
21
Sukkah 2:9
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