ומנחתו שני עשרונים, “with its meal offering including two tenth parts of an eyphah of fine flour;” our sages point out that this meal offering was different from all other meal offerings offered as an adjunct to offerings consisting of sheep which were only accompanied by meal offerings containing one tenth of an eypha of fine flour; although it was accompanied by a larger meal offering than other similar offerings, the libation that accompanied it was not larger than the normal one quarter of a hin of wine. This is also why when we recite in our Mussaph on the festivals that offerings of bullocks were accompanied by three measures of fine meal for such offering, whereas two measures accompanied offers consisting of a ram, and one such measure accompanying offerings consisting of a sheep. When listing the accompanying libation offerings in that same prayer, the text does not mention the amount of wine for the libations of each such sacrifice beyond saying “the appropriate amount for each.” When speaking of the libation for the “omer” offering, the Torah writes: ונסכה in the feminine mode instead of ונסכו, for Its libation offering” in the masculine mode as it refers to the whole meal offering, the word for that offering being מנחה, a feminine noun. In our prayers we do not refer to this distinction as it is the only exception. Actually, one half of the meal offering is intended to belong to the omer firstling of the barley harvest offering, whereas the other half is intended to be the meal offering which belongs to the sheep offering. The size of the libation accompanying this offering is the same as usual.

אך בעשור לחודש, “but on the tenth of the month, etc.;” why do we need the word: “אך?” Seeing that all the other festival days are known as מקרא קודש, “holy convocation,” i.e. days for eating drinking and general enjoyment, whereas this is a day on which all these things are forbidden, the word אך introduces Yom Kippur as a contrast by letting us know that it is no less of a festival, מועד, although the emphasis is the atonement that is granted to the entire nation on that day. It is still called מקרא קודש on account of the day being honoured by the sacrifices being offered and by the abstaining from the normal weekday activities. On that day, we subject ourselves to afflictions and at the end of the day we all feel even better than at the end of any of the other days called מקרא קודש.

אך בחמשה עשר יום, “but on the fifteenth day, etc.; the introductory word אך here is justified, as on Sukko,t when the harvests have all been brought in and stored, the degree of joy is much greater than on Pessach and Shavuot, the former being a festival when the word שמחה, joy, is not even mentioned, as no part of the year’s crops have as yet been harvested. On Sukkot we celebrate not only the material blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us but also the spiritual blessings, seeing that only four days before its beginning we have become relieved of the burdens of our sins. On this festival the expression שמחה is associated with these days no fewer than three times (including Deuteronomy 15,14). This joy is due to the harvests of our fields, orchards, and the forgiveness of our sins. This is why the Torah is able to urge us: והיית אך שמח, “you shall be joyous without any reservations.”

ולקחתם לכם, “you shall take for yourselves, etc.” the sages explain the word לכם here as equivalent to מלכם, “from something that is yours;” these plants must neither be stolen or borrowed. If they were not legally yours, they would act as accusers rather than as advocates on your behalf. Tanchuma section 18 on this verse illustrates by the following parable: The king sent out one of his officers to collect taxes due to him. The officer proceeded to this but was waylaid on the way after having collected a considerable sum, and he was robbed both of his and of the king’s money. Some time later that same robber showed up at the entrance of the king’s palace where the official who had been robbed by him stood guard. He enquired what brought this man to the palace and was told that he had a problem that he wished to submit to the king’s judgment and he begged the official to support his request, or to hire someone to do so. He was then told by that official that as long as he had not made restitution for what he had stolen from him, there could be no question of his receiving any assistance. Thereupon the thief returned what he had stolen from this official. When on the morrow the erstwhile thief submitted his case to the king, the king asked him if he had anyone who could support his request. The petitioner pointed to the official and suggested that he could give testimony as to his character. When the king heard this, he turned to that official and asked him what he could have to say in favour of the petitioner. So the official proceeded to tell the king all that had happened between him and the petitioner. He pointed to some of the vessels that he had been robbed of, and which had been the king’s property originally and which had been returned to him on the understanding that he, this official, would plead on the petitioner’s behalf. All the people present then joined in saying: “woe to the accuser and woe to the accused who both have changed their role.”

ביום הראשון, “on the first day (of the festival).” The palm frond, lulav, which we shake on that day is to symbolise the fact that we have been found deserving of atonement on the recent Day of Atonement. This is what the psalmist had in mind when he said in Psalms 96,12: אז ירננו עצי היער, “then all the trees in the forest shall shout for joy.” Who does this verse speak of? Of the Jewish people in the desert as well as the nations of the earth whom G–d had sat in judgment of on the Day of atonement, see verse 13 in the same chapter of Psalms: לפני ה' כי בא לשפוט הארץ, ישפוט תבל בצדק ועמים באמונתו, “in the presence of the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to rule the Earth; He will judge the world fairly and its people in faithfulness.” Both the Jewish people and the gentile nations have come up for judgment on that day, and we do not know which ones are the victors. G–d advises us to hold the lulav in our hands, so that everyone will know that we have been acquitted. Tanchuma on this verse illustrates this by a parable. Two men appear before the king for judgment. The people on the outside have no idea which one of them was successful. All they know is that if one of them holds a cane or an apple in his hand when he emerges from the palace, he is the victor. The Jewish people, being modest, waited for five days before showing that they had been the victors in their confrontation with the gentiles. (Tanchuma, section 18)

פרי עץ הדר, “the fruit of the goodly tree;” the four species of fruit which we use on this festival differ in basic attributes, The citron, etrog, is the fruit of a tree which provides taste as well as a pleasant fragrance. It symbolises the righteous person who has both Torah learning and good deeds to his credit. The tree from which the palm frond has been taken provides fruit but does not provide fragrance. (Date palm) It symbolises the average Israelite, who, while having the performances of many commandments to his credit, has failed to acquire Torah knowledge, i.e. he does not exude fragrance. The myrtle branch, hadass, does not bear any fruit but provides us with a pleasant fragrance. It symbolises the person who did acquire Torah knowledge but did not translate it into the performance of its commandments. Finally, the willow branch, aravah, comes from a tree that neither provides fruit nor fragrance, (except shade). It symbolises the Jew who has neither acquired Torah knowledge nor acquired a list of merits for having performed good deeds. The reason that we bind all these four plants together before performing our ritual with them is, to demonstrate that we are aware that the Almighty does not really look down upon us with favour until we have managed to coexist peacefully, regardless of any shortcomings we perceive in one another. The prophet Amos 9,6 alludes to this concept when he wrote: הבונה בשמים מעלותיו ואגדתו על ארץ יסדה, למי הים וישפכם על פני הארץ, ה' שמו, “Who built His chambers in heaven and founded His vault on earth; Who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the land.” On this verse, Midrash Rabbah comments that G–d does all this when we, His people, form a united union. (Vayikra rabbah 30,12) Our author adds that it appears to him that this is also the reason why, on Rosh Hashanah, New Year’s day, in our prayer describing the essence of the day we insert the line: ויעשו כולם אגודה אחת, “they will all form a single band.” A different explanation: The lulav symbolises the human backbone, שדרה. The myrtle branch is a symbol of the eye, whereas the willow branch is a symbol of the lips. The citron, etrog, symbolises the heart, the most import part of the human body.