Putting a lulav in water on Yom Tov

Hi,

May I put a lulav in water to keep it fresh on Yom Tov?

One may put a lulav in water; we are not concerned about the forbidden melachah of "planting", because placing the lulav in water will not lead to any detectible growth.

However, inappropriate exertion on Yom Tov is prohibited. Therefore, one may only place a lulav in water which was prepared before Yom Tov; ideally, the lulav should actually be in that water before Yom Tov begins. One may add water on Yom Tov, so long as the majority of the water was there before Yom Tov.

One may not handle a lulav at all on Shabbat.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 336:11, 654:1; Mishneh Berurah 336:54, 654:3; Shaar haTziyyun 336:48; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 26:27)

חג סוכות שמח,

Mordechai

Mitzvah training

Hi,

When training children in performing mitzvot, one must train them to fulfill each mitzvah fully. Therefore, one may not provide them with an invalid lulav or an invalid set of tefillin, lest they think that these are actually valid.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:30:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shemitah etrogim

Hello,

One who lives outside of Israel may use an Israeli etrog which grew during shemitah and was sold, using the heter mechirah, to a non-Jew. Indeed, use of such etrogim should be encouraged, as we always encourage use of Israeli etrogim, and there is no problem with their export from Israel.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 5:42)

מועדים לשמחה,
Mordechai

When do we recite the berachah for the arba minim?

Hi,

Those who are careful to hold their arba minim (lulav, etrog, hadasim and aravot) all day on Succot (as recorded in Succah 41b) should recite the berachah in the morning before davening.

Those who are not careful to hold these species all day should wait until after Shemoneh Esreih to recite the berachah, because the more frequent mitzvah of davening has precedence. If they wish to observe the Sh"lah's practice of reciting the berachah in the succah, they should depart to the succah at that point to do so.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:99:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Arba Minim [Four Species] for a minor

Hi,

One who can afford to purchase sets of Arba Minim [lulav, etrog, hadasim and aravot] for his minor children should do so, rather than rely on the minority view that they can fulfill the mitzvah with a borrowed set, and train them to recite a berachah with it.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:95)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Using someone else's lulav, Part II

Hi,

We have said that one may use someone else's lulav without asking, albeit only gently, since we believe that people are happy to have others use their property for a mitzvah.

One may only do this with a minor's lulav, though, if there would be absolutely no damage to the lulav. This is because children are incapable of forgiving harm done to them, in the eyes of the law.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:107)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Using someone else's lulav

Hi,

[This is too late for this Succos, but it still teaches an important lesson.]

A man may use someone else's lulav without asking, albeit only gently, since we believe that people are happy to have others use their property for a mitzvah.

A woman may similarly use someone else's lulav without asking. Even though she is not obligated in the mitzvah, it is still meritorious for her to fulfill the mitzvah.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:106)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A frozen etrog

Hi,

An etrog which has been frozen may still be valid, if one knew that the insides had not been damaged, and would not display damage before the end of Yom Tov. Of course, one would need to experiment in order to determine this.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:185)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Retired Arba Minim

Hi,

After we have finished using the four species (lulav, etrog, hadas and aravah), we still treat them with respect. Their mitzvah is concluded, but they were mitzvah-items at one point.

Some extend this to the Hoshannot branches of Hoshana Rabbah as well, even though it was not used for a biblical mitzvah. One should not step on it, even if it is on the ground from its mitzvah use.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 664:8; Mishneh Berurah 664:28)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

Smelling the Hadasim

Hi,

The hadas branches are dedicated for their mitzvah, for the seven days of Succot. Therefore, one is not permitted to smell them intentionally.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 653:1; Mishneh Berurah 653:1)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

Bentching Lulav in the Succah

Hi,

Some have the practice of reciting the blessing on the Arba Minim in the Succah, before Shacharit. This is cited from the Ari z"l, without explanation.

One offered explanation is that this comes from the practice of sleeping in the Succah. One would rise in the morning and perform this mitzvah of the Arba Minim as soon as possible, in the Succah, before davening.

(Mishneh Berurah 651:34; Shaar haTziyyun 651:43)

Gmar chatimah tovah,
Mordechai

Binding the Arba Minim (Four Species) on Yom Tov

Hi,

We tie the Arba Minim (Lulav, Etrog, Hadas, Aravah) before Succot, since the ideal is to use them when they are bound together. We generally use rings made of lulav-leaves.

Should the rings come undone on Yom Tov, one may not re-tie them with a knot; better to wrap the un-done ring around the Arba Minim and simply tuck in the end.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 651:1; Mishneh Berurah 651:11)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

Havdalah spices from Succot?

Hi,

There is an appropriate custom of using ths Hadas (myrtle branch) from Succot for a Havdalah spice, so long as it retains a strong scent, thereby using it for multiple Mitzvot.

One may not do this during Succot itself, though, when the Hadas is dedicated for its regular Mitzvah.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 297:4; Mishneh Berurah 297:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Planting aravot

Hi,

One who wishes to plant his Aravot [the willow branches held with the Lulav] (and this is most commendable; the more bushes around, the merrier!) should not do so on Chol haMoed, because one is not supposed to plant on Chol haMoed. One may put the base of the Aravot in a water-filled receptacle, and plant them after Yom Tov.

Moadim l'Simchah,
Mordechai

Lulav ownership

Hi,

In order to fulfill the mitzvah of lulav/etrog on the first day of Succot, one must use his own set.

However, one may receive a set from someone else as a gift; one is permitted to give a gift on Yom Tov, if the gift will be used for a mitzvah.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 658)

Have a great day,
Mordechai