Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

‘’The Succah and the Lulav’’

"In the succah shall you sit seven days…"

The numerology of the covering of the succah, the schach "סכך" is 100, referring to 100 blessings. This alludes to the fact that saying 100 blessings daily covers and protects a person, as it says in the Tur – David Hamelech set up the recitation of one hundred blessings daily and thereby stopped the plague that had spread in Israel, killing one hundred people daily.

We can add that, as we know, the numerology of the word succah "סוכה" is 91 like the word Amen "אמן". Just as the schach is supported by the succah, so the blessing is supported by the response of Amen that completes it. Rabbeinu Bicahaya said that a person who makes a blessing is likened to one witness and the one who answers Amen is like the second witness who completes the testimony of the first one – and thereby the testimony can exist.

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"And you should take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of the beauteous tree, leaves of palm branches…."

We must understand why we customarily call the Lulav by that name and do not use the words of the Torah "leaves of the palm branches".

Our Sages have explained that the date tree alludes to Israel. Just as the date tree has only "one heart" "לב אחד" (Compared to other trees where the "heart of the tree" branches into all the branches, the palm tree's core is only in the trunk-) – so the Children of Israel have only one heart directed towards their Father in Heaven.

We can also say that in order to remind us of the merit we call the "leaves of the palm branch"  Lulav "לולב" to teach us that besides the word including therein Lev, it also alludes in its initials to our request - "וטהר לבנו  לעבדך  באמת"  - "Purify our hearts to serve You truthfully".

SHABBAT SHALOM!!