Among the essential observances of Sukkot is the gathering of natural items endemic to the land of Israel. The Torah commands:

On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God יהוה seven days. (Leviticus 23:40)

Though we’ve come to identify these items as the three leafy items in the lulav (a palm frond, myrtle and willow branches) as well as the etrog, that connection was not always clear. Over time, however, the association strengthened and by the time of Bar Kochba (132-135 CE) those symbols were stamped on coins minted during the ill-fated yet legendary rebellion.

Holding these natural objects in our hands, waving them in six directions (south, north, east, west, up, down) has unknown origins and yet we’ve accumulated a host of interpretations to give meaning to the action. Some suggest the beautiful notion that it reminds us that God is all around us. Others hold on to the idea that standing in the Sukkah, with the bounty of nature so evident, the sun and stars above, the gifts of nature in our hands, the ritual reminds us of our connection to the natural world. Clearly, being aware that these items are connected so closely to Israel, our thoughts are drawn to the deep connection to our homeland.

Over the previous several decades, Sukkot has also become a holiday symbolic of our role as nature’s shepherds. It even links us city-dwellers to the natural world. It’s also called Hag Ha-Asif, the feast of ingathering, it reminds us of the bounty of the summer harvests, the upcoming rains, and our dependence on the natural world’s order for our very survival.

This year, as you enjoy your time in the Sukkah—let its many connections to the natural world and the gifts of nature remind you of your role in the protection of our world and climate so that the generations that follow us will also be able to enjoy its bounty.

—Rabbi Ron Stern