Sukkot and Embracing Feminine Diversity

Jews have always faced the struggle of being different’. It was destined to Avraham right at the start of his journey that his “children will be strangers in a land not their own”¹, and while this particular message was for the generations being enslaved, it’s easy to extend this prophecy throughout history. Even today with many Jews integrated into broader secular society, some groups are branded “other” and painted with broad brush strokes. While diversity within Am Yisrael can raise many arguments, we cannot, and should not, deny that it exists. Instead, we should see that diversity is celebrated in many areas of the Torah, notably with the arba’at haminim. 

Commonly called the mitzvah of “lulav”, women are technically exempt from shaking the four species as it is a classic positive, time-bound mitzvah according to a famous baraita in Kiddushin². Still, it has been the common practice for women to voluntarily fulfill this mitzvah, with Ashkenazi poskim universally permitting women to recite the bracha over it³. Sephardi poskim offer more debate on the bracha, though the matter of shaking the arba’at haminim is not generally contested⁴. As with all mitzvot from which women are exempt though have willingly taken upon themselves, there is clearly a deeper spiritual understanding that connects women to this mitzvah.

“The fruit of a pleasant [hadar] tree” – this is Israel; just as the citron has taste and has fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah and have good deeds. “Branches of date palms” – this is Israel; just as the date palm has taste but has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah but do not have good deeds. “A bough of a leafy tree” – this is Israel; just as the myrtle has fragrance but has no taste, so Israel has people among them who have good deeds but do not have Torah. “Willows of the brook” – this is Israel; just as the willow has no taste and has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who do not have Torah and do not have good deeds.

Looking at the arba’at haminim on a more spiritual level, the Midrash expounds on the symbolism of each species:

“The fruit of a pleasant [hadar] tree” – this is Israel; just as the citron has taste and has fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah and have good deeds. “Branches of date palms” – this is Israel; just as the date palm has taste but has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah but do not have good deeds. “A bough of a leafy tree” – this is Israel; just as the myrtle has fragrance but has no taste, so Israel has people among them who have good deeds but do not have Torah. “Willows of the brook” – this is Israel; just as the willow has no taste and has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who do not have Torah and do not have good deeds. What does the Holy One blessed be He do to them? To eradicate them is not possible. Rather, the Holy One blessed be He said: Let them all be bound together in a single bundle and they will atone for one another⁵. 

“The fruit of a pleasant [hadar] tree” – this is Israel; just as the citron has taste and has fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah and have good deeds. “Branches of date palms” – this is Israel; just as the date palm has taste but has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah but do not have good deeds. “A bough of a leafy tree” – this is Israel; just as the myrtle has fragrance but has no taste, so Israel has people among them who have good deeds but do not have Torah. “Willows of the brook” – this is Israel; just as the willow has no taste and has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who do not have Torah and do not have good deeds.

After each species is named, it is explicitly written, “this is Israel”. Yes, it then specifies that we are talking about a specific segment of Am Yisrael, but there is no primary distinction at the beginning. Whether they have Torah or not, do mitzvot or not, a Jew is a Jew. It further emphasizes that while having no Torah and no mitzvot is not ideal, Hashem does not give up on them. Instead, He encourages kiruv. There is an interdependence among the Jews set up from the start, because there is always a common connection. In another interpretation of the arba’at haminim, Rabbi Levi writes that the Jewish people are likened to a lulav because “[j]ust as the date palm has only one heart, as branches do not grow from its trunk but rather the trunk rises and branches emerge only at the top, so too, the Jewish people have only one heart directed toward their Father in Heaven.”⁶

What can women take from the lessons of the arba’at haminim? I would suggest tapping into this power of recognizing differences and similarities inherent in women from the start. In Bereishit, it was Sarah who saw the differences between Yishmael and Yitzchak where Avraham couldn’t⁷. In Shemot, it was Miriam who pointed out to her father that his actions were akin to, even worse, than Paroh’s⁸. In Bamidbar, it was Bnot Tzelaphchad who showed Moshe that their status as women still halachically allotted them their father’s portion, and Moshe had to consult Hashem for a ruling⁹. Women have always been attuned to finer details, and it is this skill that has propelled us forward as a nation. 

The arba’at haminim are a microcosm of the Jewish people in all their deficiencies and glory. We each need to examine our own strengths and weaknesses, and see how we can atone for others using those strengths, and for the harder challenge of acknowledging our weaknesses, both pray to and thank Hashem that we have our fellow Jews to lean on. 

1. Bereishit 15:13 ↩︎
2. Kiddushin 33b ↩︎
3. Machzor Vitry 359 ↩︎
4. Responsa Yabi’a Omer I Orach HaChaim 42 ↩︎
5. Vayikra Rabbah 30:12 ↩︎
6. Sukkah 45b ↩︎
7. Bereishit 21:10 ↩︎
8. Shemot Rabbah 1:13 ↩︎
9. Bamidbar 27:1-7 ↩︎