Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Straight As An S Curve

בס"ד

There are an incredible number of hiddurim to look for when selecting the arbaa minim. Above and beyond the basic requirements – we search high and low to find the nicest and most pleasing set. The tallest, greenest, lulav, or the haddasim with the tightest weave of perfectly triangulated leaves. The arava, with the most flowing lavluv (a new leaf growing at the tip) or the reddest stems. And the esrog, oh boy, the esrog – you could fill a book on the amount of things people look for!

Yet, in all the hiddurim that are out there – there is one that remains conspicuously absent in most of the four minim. The mishna states that a lulav which is bent is passul (depending on the orientation). While there are those who are particular that the esrog line up in a straight fashion – from pitom to okeitz – this is not a requirement. But nowhere is it mentioned, or even looked for, regarding the aravos or the haddasim.

Why don’t the haddasim or aravos need to be straight ?

The medrash teaches us that the arbaa minim also represent four major limbs – and that they all unite to serve Hashem. The lulav represents the spine, the esrog - the heart, the aravos are similar to lips and the haddasim's leaves are like eyes. All four minim need to be fresh and not dried out – we can't let our avodas Hashem wilt in any of these areas! But our avodah is qualitatively different in each of these arenas – and that accounts for the different hiddurim we look for.

The esrog that beats in each one of our chests should be as perfect as we can make it – after all "Rachmana leeba ba'ei" (The Merciful One desires you to serve him with your heart). The lulav should be straight – to teach us that we should be proud to wear the mantle of servants to the king. But the haddasim and aravos have no business being straight.

When chazal tell us that a good person possesses an ayin tova (Avos 2:9) what do they mean? That they see everything as it is ? No! Chazal are praising someone for being able to see the good in every Jew they meet. Sometimes that requires a little creativity – not straight at all.

What about the lips? Shouldn't they be straight? At least three ideas come to mind.

Firstly, that sometimes not saying something is more valuable than saying it – and that is not always so straight forward. Secondly, we need to be sensitive to our friends' needs and if need be, talk around an issue rather than mention it directly.

Lastly – the arava does not represent the mouth – but specifically the lips. What is a tremendous avodah that our lips perform, and in a crooked fashion no less?

They smile!

And when we interject simcha into Hashem's world, He is surely looking down upon us and smiling too.

Hatzlacha !!

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