Why are we looking for a beautiful Etrog?
"The beautiful precept of the Four Species of Sukkot"
This time we will talk more about the Etrog.
It is written:
"On the first day you will take for yourselves the fruit of the beautiful tree (Etrog), a branch of palm trees (Lulav), branch of leafy trees (Hadas), and creek willows (Arava) and you you will rejoice before your God for seven days "
(Leviticus 23, 40)
"All my bones declare: Who is like You Hashem? (Psalms 35,10)
This verse refers to the Mitzva (Precept) of the Lulav, (that is, the four species) The central spine of the Lulav is like the backbone of man, (the other species, like their shape, allude to other organs) The Hadas is like the eye, the Arava is like the mouth, and the Etrog like the heart.
King David said: There are no more important parts than you are, since they are equivalent to the whole body. Thus, when taking the four species, we are expressing: "All my bones declare Who is like You? ..."
So when we select an Etrog we always look for the most perfect and cleanest possible since it resembles "the heart"
Our wise men teach:
You must strive to find a beautiful Etrog that has all the marks of beauty.
One must cry and cry out from the time of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to become worthy of a beautiful Etrog.
It is impossible to understand the great value and profound Holiness of the Eternal, the human mind is unable to delve into this.
One must know that complying with this great precept in all its beauty will be worthy of approaching the day when the Great Temple is built with all its splendor and glory, it is the will of the blessed Creator that it be rebuilt very soon and in our lives. days.
(Likutey Etzot, Sukkot)
In the Midrashim it is taught that the Etrog symbolizes the scholar of the Torah, (for the Etrog has good taste and good smell).
In the scholar of the Torah a good "Taste" refers to what people enjoy when they dialogue with him. Good "smell" refers to the fact that even those who do not dialogue with him are impregnated with his good behavior.
Another explanation tells us that good "taste" refers to their virtue and good "smell" refers to influencing other people to perfect their moral qualities.
It is for these and other profound reasons that we strive to find a beautiful and beautiful Etrog!
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