Mesechtas Ahavas Yisroel!
Chazal say that the Esrog is compared to the heart, the Lulav to the spine, the Hadasim to the eyes and the Arovoh to the lips. The Meforshim write that the deeper meaning in ולקחתם לכם is that you should use your heart, spine, eyes and lips to serve Hashem. So how exactly is this done?
The ספר כרם הצבי (סוכות נ"ז) explains that the Esrog represents the heart - having a Lev Tov - a good heart. Indeed, the Mishna in אבות (ב',ט) tells us that from amongst all good qualities, having a good heart is considered the epitome of good Middos since all good Middos emanate from the heart. The Lulav represents the spine - this teaches a person to avoid haughtiness and to act with humility - to bend down and pay attention to others, as the Ramban in his letter points out: “And every person should be greater than you in your eyes". The Hadasim symbolise the eyes and the importance of avoiding improper sights which bring to sin and jealousy and the Arovoh represents the lips - the need to avoid inappropriate speech which causes friction amongst people. It's interesting how the common denominator here is the importance of strengthening good Middos. By doing so and taking these Limudim to heart, this can bring about a great Chizuk in our Ahavas Yisroel.
Chazal also teach us in ויקרא רבה (ל',י"ב) that the different species represent different sorts of Yidden. When we fulfill the Mitzva of Arbah Minim, in essence we are combining different levels of Yidden together to become an “Aguda Achas" - one unit, and thereby we succeed in bringing atonement for each other. This highlights further the tremendous significance that this Mitzva has, since not only does it teach us to increase Ahavas Yisroel, but when we do so, it connects us all together and we reach the incredible level of being able to bring atonement for each other.
The question is, why in particular during the Yom Tov of Sukkos does the Torah give us a Mitzva of Arbah Minim which has the potential within it to vastly improve our Ahavas Yisroel and enable us to become an Aguda Achas?
The שם משמואל (סוכות קס"א) gives a profound answer. He writes Sukkos is a particularly auspicious time to strengthen Ahavas Yisroel due to the Avoda of the two goats that has just been performed on Yom Kippur. Why? Because the goat L'Azozel which we send away on Yom Kippur symbolises the power of Esov. Unfortunately, Esov has a great influence over Klal Yisroel throughout the year.
As a result of this influence, the beautiful Middos of Klal Yisroel become tarnished and dimmed and we find it more difficult to display Ahavas Yisroel to each other since the bad Middos of haughtiness, jealousy, Loshon Hora, etc. learnt from Esov's ways get in our way. This causes a breakdown in the natural Achdus that we feel for each other.
The remedy is the Avoda of the two goats. Because when we send away the goat L'Azozel on Yom Kippur which symbolises the power of Esov, this gives Klal Yisroel the opportunity to break free from his influence once again and truly shine. Indeed, the second goat which remains in the Beis HaMikdosh represents Klal Yisroel in their pristine state of beautiful Middos. Therefore, there is no better time than the Yom Tov of Sukkos to strengthen our Ahavas Yisroel since the influence of Esov's bad Middos is no longer upon us.
And so, especially on Sukkos, the Torah gives us Mitzvas Arbah Minim and Chazal reveal its connection to Ahavas Yisroel so that by strengthening this precious Limud now, the effect of the Ahavas Yisroel that we gain during these days can impact us during the rest of the year too, thus assuring that we remain an “Aguda Achas” throughout the year!
The ספר אוצרות פניני התורה (תכ"ו) brings the following story emphasising the greatness of Ahavas Yisroel. Reb Eliyohu Roth zt”l would tell over how he merited to participate in the first Knessia Gedola in Vienna in the year 1923. There, he had the zechus of seeing many Gedolei Yisroel. When one of the Gedolim entered the hall, the Godol Hador, Reb Chaim Ozer Grodzinski zt”l stood up to his full height in his honour. As a result, the entire hall of thousands of Yidden also stood to show honour to this Godol - the Tchortkover Rebbe, R' Yisroel zt”l. One of the Gedolei Yisroel who was sitting next to Reb Chaim Ozer asked him, “Why did you show such honour to the Tchortkover Rebbe?" Reb Chaim Ozer replied, “The Masechtos of Shas are divided into different Mitzvos. Masechtas Pesochim deals with the Mitzvos of Pesach, Masechtas Succa discusses the Mitzvos of Succa, and so on. However, there is one Masechta which includes all Mitzvos, the Masechta of Ahavas Yisroel which the Tchortkover Rebbe excels in, in a phenomenal way. Therefore, he is deserving of all this honour.”
What an amazing story to learn from, in how Gedolei Yisroel cherished each other for their achievements in Mitzvas Ahavas Yisroel! Especially now during the days of Sukkos when we spend so much time together with other Yidden, lets utilise the opportunity to be able to reach our own greatness in the Mitzva of Ahavas Yisroel!
