Aravah (, pl. aravot - ) is a leafy branch of the
willow tree. It is one of the
Four Species ( - ) used in a special waving ceremony during the
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
holiday of
Sukkot. The other species are the ''
lulav'' (
palm frond), ''
hadass'' (
myrtle), and ''
etrog'' (
citron).
The ''aravah'' is also used for a separate ceremony on
Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot, when five branches are beaten against the ground to the accompaniment of special verses.
The ''aravah'' tree typically grows by the side of a river, although in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
it grows wild in many people's backyards. The branches grow long and are lined with long, narrow leaves. Since this tree requires much water to grow, the picked branches dry out within two or three days. In order to keep them fresh as long as possible for the
mitzvah of the Four Species, they are kept in the refrigerator until use, or wrapped in a moist towel.
On each of the seven days of Sukkot (excluding
Shabbat), two ''aravah'' branches are bound together with the ''lulav'' and ''hadass'' (this bundle is also referred to as "the ''lulav''"). Together with the ''etrog'', these Four Species are then waved in all four directions, plus up and down, to attest to God's mastery over all of creation, and to symbolically voice a prayer for adequate rainfall over all the Earth's vegetation in the coming year. ''(See
Four Species for the complete description and symbolism of the waving ceremony.)''
During the morning prayer service in the
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
on Hoshanah Rabbah, after the waving of the Four Species, a separate bundle containing five ''aravah'' branches are taken in hand by each worshipper. A series of liturgical verses are read, ending with, ''"Kol mevasser, mevasser ve-omer"'' (A voice brings news, brings news and says)—expressing hope for the speedy coming of the
Messiah. Then the bundle of ''aravah'' branches are beaten against the ground until many of the leaves have fallen out. The reasons for this custom are steeped in
Kabbalah. The aravot may then be thrown away, used before
Passover to burn the
Chametz, or are sometimes placed in water in order to grow new aravot trees.
The Aravah ceremony in the Temple
According to the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
, In the days of the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
, willow branches were collected from Motsa near Jerusalem and piled upright on the sides of the Altar with their tops bent over the top of the Altar each day of Sukkot. The
shofar was sounded, and the worshippers walked about in procession and recited (as is done today as part of the ''Hashanot'' ceremony on ''Sukkot''), accompanied by musical instruments (except on
shabbat). In the days of the Temple, the Mishnah reports that after the ''Aravah'' ceremony on Hashana Rabba, "the children threw away their ''lulavim'' and ate their ''etrogim'' (citrons)."
See also
*
Four Species
References
*Kitov, Eliyahu (1978). ''The Book of Our Heritage''. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. .
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Sukkot
Four species (Sukkot)
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law