"Abba!" Yehuda called out to where the men were busy building
the Succah, "Am I going to get my Arba Minim soon?"
"Tomorrow, Be'ezras Hashem," Abba answered.
Yehuda smiled. He opened his special notebook where he had
many pictures of the Lulav, Esrog, Hadassim and
Arovos. He imagined himself carefully choosing his
very own, making sure every detail was right, just as his
rebbe had taught. He slowly drifted off to sleep dreaming of
his very own Arba Minim.
Yehuda awoke very early the next morning. He washed negel
vasser, said Modeh Ani and Brochos. It was
still a while before minyan, so he took out his
notebook and read it over and over until Abba called him to
go to shul. He was so excited about getting his own Arba
Minim that he had a hard time keeping his mind on his
davening!
At breakfast, Yehuda asked Abba when they would be going to
choose their Arba Minim. Abba said he was planning to
leave right after breakfast to buy the Arba Minim for
the two of them.
"What about me?" asked Yehuda.
"What do you mean, `What about me?' You know I'm planning on
getting a set for you, too."
"I wanted to choose my own!"
Just then, his little sister Chavi tripped and caught herself
at the edge of the table, managing to spill Yehuda's
breakfast all over his lap. Yehuda's face turned red as he
yelled at his sister, "Why can't you be careful! Look what a
mess you made!"
Abba and Imma gave each other one of those looks. Then they
both turned to look at Yehuda. He knew what that meant. His
temper again. It was so hard to control. He took a deep
breath, apologized to Chavi for yelling and brushed off his
clothes.
Abba smiled. He remembered how proud Yehuda was of his
notebook with all the detailed descriptions and pictures. "I
hadn't realized that you thought you would be choosing your
own."
"Yeah — I wanted to compare the pictures in my notebook
with the Arba Minim at the booths, and pick out nice
kosher ones for myself."
Abba told Yehuda, "I'll tell you what. You can come with me
to choose your Arba Minim, but you may not bring your
notebook, because it could get lost in the crowd."
Yehuda jumped up from the kitchen table, stuffed his notebook
back in his schoolbag, ran back out to the living room, and
yelled, "Let's go!"
Together, they boarded the bus to Geula. More and more people
filled the bus as they got closer. The street filled with
traffic and the bus slowed down.
Abba told Yehuda about the booths with the Arba Minim
and the crowds of people in the streets. He instructed
Yehuda, "There are lots of exciting things to see, but make
sure to stay by me the whole time."
Yehuda's eyes glowed in anticipation.
Yehuda jumped up and down in his seat. Abba suggested, "Let's
get off the bus and walk the rest of the way."
The streets were filled with people all around booths selling
succah decorations, long plastic cases and . . . the Arba
Minim! Yehuda accompanied Abba from booth to booth.
Yehuda picked up a nice round yellow Esrog. "Abba, is
this a good one?" he asked eagerly.
He remembered most of what was in the notebook, but wanted to
make sure. He found a long green Lulav, and they
examined it together.
"This is great!" shouted Yehuda.
Abba gave him a big grin. "On to the Hadassim and
Arovos!"
Abba inspected the branches and discussed their halachos with
Yehuda. All the many shapes, colors and the many intricate
details Yehuda had learned about in cheder were coming
alive in the Arba Minim Shuk with Abba. He felt as if
he could continue like this forever!
Finally, they each got all of their Arba Minim, and
Yehuda even got his own case for them. It was time to go.
On the bus on their way home, he looked at each of his
Arba Minim again. "Careful with those!" reminded
Abba.
Yehuda couldn't wait to show everyone his very own Arba
Minim that he had picked out himself! (With Abba's help,
of course.)
When they arrived home, Abba gently wrapped his Arba Minim
and put them away, and collapsed on a chair. "I'm wiped
out, Yehuda! That was exhausting! Come, sit with me," invited
Abba. But Yehuda was still full of energy and excitement.
"Soon, Abba," he said. He ran around the apartment looking
for everyone to tell them to come and look at his Arba
Minim.
As the family came in to the living room, he showed the
minim off one by one, explaining why they had chosen
them according to the notes and pictures in his notebook.
"Slow down!" cried Imma, "I can hardly follow what you're
saying!"
Little Chavi couldn't see the Esrog very well and
climbed on to a chair to look at it more closely. She picked
it up. It was so wonderful to hold!
. . . Yehuda turned around and saw the precious Esrog
as it slipped out of her hand and landed on the floor.
He wanted to scream at Chavi! Didn't she know how precious
and important the Esrog was to him? Didn't she
understand how carefully it had to be handled? He had chosen
it so carefully! How could she do such a thing?
Chavi saw his face turning redder and redder. She ran to hide
behind Imma's skirt.
Yehuda was so stunned and hurt he didn't know what to say.
Abba called from his chair, "Yehuda," he said, "come
here."
Yehuda looked at Abba, back at the Esrog, and slowly
walked over to Abba. "Remember the mishna in Pirkei
Ovos that we learned together Pesach time?" Abba asked.
"Think carefully before you judge her. Maybe she really
didn't understand. She is so little. And it did look like it
was an accident."
She looked so scared! Yehuda held his tongue and thought
about what Abba said. He was right. It probably was an
accident. Yelling at Chavi wouldn't help fix his Esrog.
It would just make her feel bad.
Yehuda took a deep breath. "I'm not angry at you, Chavi," he
told her. She slowly came out from her hiding place behind
Imma's skirt.
But the Esrog he had so carefully chosen! Even if he
wasn't angry at Chavi any more, he was still worried about
his Esrog. He went over to where it fell and brought
it to Abba to find out if it was still kosher.
Abba inspected it closely. "Yehuda," he said, "tell me what
we learn from the Arba Minim."
Yehuda explained, "The Lulav is like the spine, the
Esrog the heart, the Hadas leaf the eye, and
the Arovoh leaf the mouth."
"What else?" asked Abba. Yehuda looked in his notebook, and
told Abba how each of the Arba Minim are like the
different types of Jews. We hold them together on Succos to
show our togetherness.
"Yehuda," Abba continued, "you looked with your eye —
like the Hadas leaf — and saw that the Esrog
had fallen on the floor. You judged with your heart
— like the Esrog — that Chavi dropped it
by accident. Even though you were upset, you held your tongue
and kept your mouth — like the Arovoh leaf —
closed and didn't yell at her. And then you straightened your
spine — like the Lulav — to ask me about
the kashrus of the Esrog.
"Look at Chavi. She isn't running away any more because she
is scared that you are angry with her. Because you used each
of the parts of your body in the correct way, you reacted in
a way that brings us together, instead of pushing us
apart."
Yehuda thought about what Abba said. He was very proud of how
he had considered Chavi's feelings, and how he had controlled
himself. He straightened up even taller. "And you know what,
Abba," he said, "even if the Esrog isn't kosher
anymore, there is still time to get another one!"
He wrapped up his Arba Minim and put them away with
his Abba's.
On the first day of Yom Tov, Yehuda recited the
brochoh . . . Al Netilas Lulav . . . and
Shehecheyonu and as he picked up his very own Arba
Minim for the first time for the mitzvah, he smiled to
himself.
