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Mishna משנה
מִצְוַת עֲרָבָה כֵּיצַד?
מָקוֹם הָיָה לְמַטָּה מִירוּשָׁלַיִם, וְנִקְרָא מוֹצָא. יוֹרְדִין לְשָׁם וּמְלַקְּטִין מִשָּׁם מֻרְבִּיּוֹת שֶׁל עֲרָבָה, וּבָאִין וְזוֹקְפִין אוֹתָן בְּצִדֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וְרָאשֵׁיהֶן כְּפוּפִין עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.
תָּקְעוּ וְהֵרִיעוּ וְתָקָעוּ.
בְּכָל יוֹם מַקִּיפִין אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ פַּעַם אַחַת, וְאוֹמְרִים, "אָנָּא ה' הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא, אָנָּא ה' הַצְלִיחָה נָּא." …
וְאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם מַקִּיפִין אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים.
בִּשְׁעַת פְּטִירָתָן, מָה הֵן אוֹמְרִים, יֹפִי לְךָ מִזְבֵּחַ, יֹפִי לְךָ מִזְבֵּחַ.
How was the mitzvah of the aravah (willow) branches performed?
There was a place below Yerushalayim called Motza. People would go there and gather large aravah branches. They would bring them to the Beit HaMikdash and stand them around the mizbei’ah (altar), with the tops of the branches bending over it.
The shofar was sounded.
Every day of Sukkot, they would circle the mizbei’ah once and say: "Please, God, save us. Please, God, bring us success" (Tehillim 118:25) …
On the seventh day of Sukkot, aka Hoshana Rabbah, they would circle the mizbei’ah seven times.
When they finished, they would say: "Beauty is yours, O mizbei’ah! Beauty is yours, O mizbei’ah!"
רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן בְּרוֹקָה אוֹמֵר: חֲרִיּוֹת שֶׁל דֶּקֶל הָיוּ מְבִיאִין, וְחוֹבְטִין אוֹתָן בַּקַּרְקַע בְּצִדֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וְאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם נִקְרָא יוֹם חִבּוּט חֲרִיּוֹת.
R. Yohanan ben Berokah says: People would bring palm branches and strike them on the ground beside the mizbei’ah. Because of this, the day was called "The Day of Beating the Branches."
- Why is it important to perform rituals that remind us of the Beit HaMikdash? What might Sukkot have to do with the Beit HaMikdash?
- Why is rain so important to pray for? At the end of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot—after all the prayers we make all month long—why is rain the final thing we pray for?
- Now that there’s no Beit HaMikdash or mizbei’ah, what’s special about the tradition of striking the bundles of aravah branches on the ground on Hoshanah Rabbah?
Click here to return to the Table of Contents for Sukkot from Devash
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