With Sukkot upon us it’s time for the Four Species. In Jewish communities around the world, especially in Israel, and specifically in Jerusalem, there are hundreds of booths selling the Four Species. There is a fragrance in the air: fresh cut wood and the citrusy etrog. Heaven!
In search of the perfect etrog, people are scrutinizing etrogim with eagle eyes. Like a baby swaddled and cradled, the etrog is wrapped in silky and golden gossamer flaxen threads.
Along with the building of the sukkah and cooking delicious autumn harvest foods, buying the Four Species is one of the pleasures of the pre-Sukkot holiday preparation.
Yet, this year I have been hearing grumblings about it.
Specifically, two complaints.
One, debating the legitimacy of keeping the profits from the sale of the Four Species.
Two, people who are against settlements struggling with purchasing Four Species that may have been grown in the West Bank.
I find both of these beefs with the Four Species puzzling.
About the profits.
If you would randomly ask me if I think it’s OK to profit from doing a mitzvah my gut reaction would be, no. Because what comes to mind would be mitzvot such as visiting the sick and the like. It’s true, linking money and mitzvot feels unsavory. Mitzvot are our obligation, and are there to elevate us, so the last association you’d want to have with a mitzvah is that of profit or money.
But acquiring necessary objects for celebrating a holiday and selling them — assuming there is no exploitation but rather a fair price for services rendered — is only right. Certainly a fund should be set up, and in most communities that is the case, to provide holiday necessities for those who cannot afford them.
Interestingly, in years past, it was common for certain European communities to share but a few precious sets of the Four Species. They were not indigenous to the area; their cost could be prohibitive. People would “gift” one set to each other on the first day of the holiday so that each person could recite the blessing. Today there is rich availability of the Four Species and hence the common custom of each person owning his own set.
Those individuals who spend the time growing, gathering, stocking and selling the Four Species should earn a living from it, just like anything else.
What is the point of profits from the sale of the Four Species being donated to a Lulav Charity Fund for the needy, when the needy can earn a living from selling the Four Species? This creates economic growth and mitigates the need for such a fund.
Monetizing a mitzvah is a delicate and sensitive subject that could often be inappropriate and distasteful. But when it is appropriate, as long as it is done fairly and with dignity, it is OK and at times even laudable.
The second concern I have come across is the purchase of the Four Species from the West Bank.
Seriously?
The halachic concern I heard regarding this transaction is working from the perspective that the West Bank is stolen land. How can one purchase a stolen Four Species? This is connected with the famous halachic discussion of the “lulav ha-gazul, the stolen lulav,” in Talmudic tractate Sukkah.
The discussion centers around the concept of “mitzvah ha-ba’ah be-aveirah,” the observance of a mitzvah through the committal of a sin; specifically, is it permitted to make a blessing over a stolen lulav?
The Talmud concludes that using a stolen ritual object for a mitzvah is not acceptable. So the question arose, is it appropriate to purchase a lulav from land that, to the questioner’s mind, is stolen? Is this not the ultimate case of lulav ha-gazul?
Personally, I wonder about people who struggle with this question. No doubt a minority of people who grapple with this might be wholly sincere and are as careful about observing this mitzvah as purely as many others. But quite honestly, most people are not so ethically consistent and careful with sourcing every purchase, and now suddenly regarding the Four Species, if it is linked to Jewish settlements, they are such meticulous observers of mitzvot?
That said, in my humble opinion, they need not worry. First of all, be honest with yourself, this is not a halachic struggle but a political one. At least call it what it is.
Second of all, the West Bank is not stolen land. Even if one’s perspective is that the territories are occupied and that the occupation should end, the settlements are legal from an Israeli legal point of view. Even from an international perspective, there is an ongoing dispute about the ownership of this land that is not in any way conclusive.
I admire the desire to live as ethically and nobly as possible. Be it money and mitzvot or be it the ethical source of ritual objects, these are crucial dimensions of living as Jews that we must all be mindful of. But taking them to extremes only serves to mock the mitzvah instead of increasing the sanctity surrounding it.
One final word about the land. Notably, Israel has just entered another seven year cycle of shemitah, when the land lies fallow. Farmers pause from harvesting their crops.
There is a national sense that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people because, historically, it is our land. I was raised on the simple triple mantra of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, Torat Yisrael, the People of Israel (the Jewish people worldwide), the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that Rashi, in his famous commentary on the very first verse in the Torah, basically explains that the land belongs to no one save G-d. Something to keep in mind as we proceed with this shemitah year.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
