Aravot Smashing
Sep 26th, 2010 by Rabbi Simcha Weinberg in What is the Reason?
Anger
Xerxes was furious. His engineers had constructed a bridge across the Hellespont in 480 BC, and an act of God had taken out the bridge. Xerxes blamed both the sea and the hapless engineers:
“As soon as the strait had been bridged, a great storm fell upon it and cut the cables and broke them up. Xerxes commanded that the sea should be punished by lashing, branding, and cursing the water, and that the men who had supervised the bridging of the Hellespont should have their heads cut off.” (Herodotus, Histories 7.35)
I know exactly how Xerxes felt. The traffic lights in Manhattan were designed to turn red just before I reach an intersection, but only when I am in a terrible rush to an important appointment. Whoever programmed those lights would suffer the fate of Xerxes’ engineers, and the traffic signals would suffer the fate of the sea as it suffered Xerxes’ wrath. He may have been a despot, perhaps even insane, but Xerxes would have known how to deal with such aggravation.
If Xerxes could punish the sea, I can castigate the holes in my pockets that scheme to lose the quarters I need to feed a parking meter just ahead of the parking police. You know that person just ahead of you in line at Starbucks taking their time making a simple decision just because you are in a rush? Call in Xerxes! People who call to chat just as you are waiting for an important call; Xerxes for them!
I’m feeling better already. You may laugh, but I have watched people use the Xerxes approach with their Hoshanot – Bundle of Willows struck 7 times on the ground – on Hoshana Rabbah! They do a perfect Xerxes impersonation! At least my Xerxes fantasies are directed against real and dangerous enemies.
What are we doing when we strike our Hoshanot against the ground? The Radbaz (Ta’amei Hamitzvot) prefers that we a) use the same Aravot (Willows?) the entire Festival, and b) that we take the Aravot from our Lulav and add them to three fresh Aravot. The week old Aravot may look shabby in comparison, but they have been empowered by a week of prayers and being used as part of the Mitzvah of the Four Species. They are the strongest of the five willow branches.
A person must first recognize and appreciate the power of the two older Aravot to empower the three fresher branches, before he can effectively use his Hoshanot bundle! We begin by honoring the effect of our prayers and Mitzvot on the week old Aravot. We then use their power to raise the three fresh branches. Once we are aware of those powers, we are ready to confront the things that bring up the wrath of Xerxes: Our self-defeating patterns of behavior.
We do not strike in anger or frustration. Hitting the ground with five willow branches will no more destroy evil than Xerxes lashing, branding and cursing the sea hurt the water. We understand and celebrate that we have spiritual strength and power, and, as the Holy Breslaver taught: “If you have the ability to damage, you have the ability to fix!” (Likkutei Eitzot – Erech Tefillah: 3 Tikkunim of Prayer)
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Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.
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[...] & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish [...]
[...] & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish [...]
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R’Shlomo made an additional observation- What are we striking when we bring down the aravot?
We are actually bringing the aravot from on high down and striking the Earth. Do you know how much chessed the Earth is doing? It let’s all of creation step on it, walk all over.
What are we actually doing when we bring the aravot arcing downwards from the Heavens and touching the ground? We are bringing down all the abundance that G-d has in store for us and transferring it, as you will,from the Heavens to the Earth below.
That being the case why would you smash your conducting wand?
R’Shlomo instructed us to raise the aravot to our greatest reach and then to bring them down LIGHTLY and tap the ground GENTLY with the aravot, so as to bring the ’shefa’ – the abundance, down, in as gentle a manner as possible.
*Whipping* the earth – although prevalent – is a terrible misapprehension as to how to perform this treasured mystical practice and represents a fundamental misunderstanding in the absence of the above teachings. The custom was given to us from our prophets and is intended to sweeten the Judgement for the new year that is “delivered” on Hoshanah Rabbah.
On the Hoshanah Rabbah video, Reb Shlomo ztllh’h can be seen & heard as follows:
1. Sometimes we don’t have the vessels to receive the blessings G-d wishes to bestow upon us, so what does G-d do? On Hoshanah Rabbah the Master of the Universe gives us the five aravot – five extra fingers – as an extra hand with which to receive them.
2. As Reb Moshe explained, Reb Shlomo succinctly states: “The way you bring the Aravot from above down to earth indicates the way you wish to receive your blessings from G-d in during the year.” i.e., the two are mystically connected: do you want the blessings to smash down on you from Heaven?
Personally I follow the example of a former neighbor, a Ba’alat Teshuvah and extraordinary woman & mother. I’ll never forget how she held the aravot and let them ascend, slowly, slowly, up to the highest she could reach… and then, she let her arm holding the aravot float down to the ground and *caressed* the ground as a mother caresses a newborn baby, so tenderly, so lovingly, each of the five times. I’ll never forget the chill I felt and the overwhelming emotion that washes over me to this day at the memory. I had brought her the aravot to perform the ceremony, but she became my teacher when she demonstrated Reb Shlomo’s teaching par excellence.
An entire article spent on xerxes, with the title of why do we smash the aravos. Yet only one sentence to actually explain whats going on with the aravos smashing. I must say, quite anti-climactic.
Nevertheless, a nice idea. We just need to figure out why at this very time of succos, they felt it was necassery to put this idea forward
As i was reading the article to my wife she said something that I felt was powerful:” I desire the Shefa of Chesed and blessing to smash down on me, this is how I picture the powerful flow of Hashem’s goodness, just like a Niagara falls experience !! “.
I think I totally connect to that concept, I also picture the enormous amount of Shefa coming down to us on a constant bases… Hashem has his pipes completely opened for us if we are ready to receive it.
After all we have experienced Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we have connected ourself to the Gadlus and Awe of our King and the infinite Love of our Father, we have seen how we were greater than angels !!
On Succos now is the time to pour the water on the Mizbeach , we are ready to transform ourselves into a Mizbeach where a strong Esh Tamid (our desire for dveykus) is burning and on which the Water, the Shefa of Bracha will be evaporated and send a Reach Nichoach l’Hashem.
The Fire needs to be strong enough so that it doesn’t become extinguish by the water.
Therefore we need trumendous Joy which makes the heat of the fire become non-extinguishable.
This is maybe the teachings we can grasp from this spiritual practice, to remind ourselves that to be a Keli for intense blessing ,one needs to be intensly active and ready to receive with strength.
This way we can experience SHAMAYIM = ESH+MAYIM, we are reuniting the lower waters to it’s source.
We reunite the fire in our heart,and the water/chesed we receive in this world to the intense fire in heaven,the Torah, which is also described as water and fire.
And indeed this is maybe what Simcha Torah is: a dance with the tool that provide us with Fire and Water, the tool that bring us back to Shamayim, to the Source of all blessing, to Hashem (a burning fire)…
And as My Rebbe taught me, the Love and Awe of Hashem is not a Love or Awe that I know, it’s not from this world, it is much more intense.
How do I know I will be able to handle it ?!
It’s a gift, just like the Torah, the Torah was our first gift and it enable us to experience the unknown (gifts)without too much fear…
Hopefully after dancing and becoming one with the Torah, I will have the courage to say : Hashem ! I am ready ! pour it into me !
Fair question as to the timing of aravot tapping on Succot.
The second Mishna in Tractate Rosh HaShannah states there are 4 times a year when Judgement is being rendered (from Above)-the fourth of which “u’ba’Khag (=Succot) needoanim ‘al HaMayim” ==>and on Succot we are under Judgement for the year’s allotment of rainfall.
So what are we doing?
First we are showing G-d how much we rejoice in the infinite kindness of His providing us with water =Tractate Succah “Mee shelo ra’ah Simkhat Beit HaSho’eivah-lo ra’ah Simkha b’yamav”whosoever did not see the rejoicing at the ceremony of ‘The Drawing of the Water’did not understand the meaning of true joy.
But then we show G-d we don’t take the granting of Water for granted.For the supplication of Hosha’anot we employ the aravot, the willows that are all-dependent on the most basic need -water.
The willows also represent the most common denominator of humankind -that deep down we all share a basic humanity before we account for any ornamentation, whether it be our actions or connection to Torah.
On Hosha’ana Raba we are turning to G-d and beseeching “Master of the World, please please please, let me connect with You on the most elemental level, as an Aravah yid among Amcha Yisrael.Mat we all be privileged to make each other sweeter (Areivim)and be like the water where each drop makes space for the other drops.