Etrog

This was at the beginning of the terrible Holocaust, at a time when no one had yet imagined the cruel catastrophe that was coming. World War II began on the 17th of Elul 1939, with the invasion of Poland by the German army. Within a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of people fled from all the cities and suburbs, and reached the capital, Warsaw, the last Polish stronghold. Tens of thousands of Jews fled from all over Poland and concentrated in Warsaw. They hid there from the horror of the incessant German bombardment. The sound of the noise was deafening, tons of explosives 'fell' from the German planes flying in the sky, and all those who wanted to live fled to a nearby bunker whenever they could, to stay alive and not join the growing death toll...

On the eve of Sukkot, Poland surrendered. The German army withdrew its heavy bombardments; the sound of the cannons fell silent. There was a tense silence in Warsaw, and the people slowly began to emerge from their holes, examining their wounds and looking at the ruins of their homes. It was a day of surprising calm after weeks of shocking bombings, and on the other hand, a day of immense pain in the revelation of the extent of the destruction and the enormous damage to homes and property. Among the Jewish refugees in Warsaw was Maran HaRav Z of Brisk, zt"l. He too fled here in the midst of the crisis, and he, like his fellow Jews, came out of the basement where he was hiding on the afternoon of Sukkot. Robbery and vandalism were unfolding before his eyes; hundreds of Jews were murdered, and no one even knew when, enormous damage. And then, in the midst of the inferno, in the midst of the horror, we saw a rare and astonishing sight. While the foreigners were busy controlling the damage and wanting to rebuild their destroyed homes a little, a large group of Jews was busy with something else entirely. No more and no less, when they came out of the bunkers and despite the horrific scenes of destruction that were revealed to them, none of them went to take care of their homes or their wounds... One thing was at the top of their minds, in which kept them busy. The survivors rushed through the rubble, eagerly searching for parts of sides or fallen curtains, greenish branches, and beams that had survived the bombings. Their eyes sparkled when they found kosher thatch, and their injured legs danced lightly in the construction of the sukkah.

At sunset and the beginning of the holiday, the spectacle was unbelievable: a city punctured by the bombings, destroyed, and despite this, hundreds of sukkahs were scattered about to fall, built with the remnants of the strength of the survivors of the heavy bombings. As the twinkling stars came out in the velvety festive sky of Sukkot, thousands of Jews stood in their sukkahs, sanctifying over wine or bread, and blessing with sparkling eyes, "Sit in the sukkah!" as if they had not just come out of the inferno. As if they had not been injured, as if they had not been damaged, and large parts of their property had been lost permanently. They stood in Sukkot with shining eyes, reciting the Shehechiyanu blessing with devotion, and their faces lit up with full and sparkling holiday joy. Because Sukkot is today! Then, the Rav noticed a Jew, whose expression told him that he was not satisfied, who was happy with him and onwards. "What do you have, Rabbi Yehudi," the rabbi of Brisk Baruch asked him, "why is your face drooping, and isn't it a holiday of G-d for us? True, the loss is hard, the information about the many Jews who have fallen is heartbreaking, the situation is not at all brilliant. Still, it is the holiday of Sukkot today!" "That's why I'm sorry," replied the Jew. "Do I mourn my house that was destroyed or my many wounds? I'm sorry that I don't have an etrog, and I don't know anyone who has an etrog! I want to recite the blessing on the four species tomorrow morning, but I am missing an etrog! And how can I not cry and be sorry?!" "Rest assured," replied the Rav, "I brought an etrog with me; it is kept with me, it is kosher and even elegant, and it was not damaged at all. There is an etrog!" When the Jew heard this news, he jumped with joy and went out dancing. "What do I have the sword of my house, what am I in the midst of a cruel war? I have an etrog, A-T-R-O-G!" he repeated the name of the fruit of the citrus tree that is so inhaled...

In the blink of an eye, the Jew went out into the streets of a city, passed through the Jewish sukkahs, and told them that the rabbi of Brisk, unbelievable to be told, had an etrog! Who would have believed! And then, when the joy in the homes of the Jews abounded again, they felt comfort in the very news, a refreshing spirit hovered over them: Behold, even in the midst of the inferno and in the midst of the terror, they would have the right to recite the blessing on the rare and precious etrog... And then, a scene occurred again, which was really said to be more surprising than the first. After midnight, Jews began to sneak in the darkness into the courtyard of the house where the rabbi of Brest was staying. So intense was their desire to recite the blessing on the etrog, so great was their desire to hold the four species in their hands, that in the middle of the night, after a tiring day in which they came out of the bunkers, repaired some of the damage, built sukkahs and prepared for the holiday as much as they could, none of them went to sleep... One by one, in the dark, in the dark, they came out of their sukkahs, reached the rabbi's courtyard, and stood in a long line. Even before dawn, when darkness reigned over the horizon, hundreds of Jews stood with only their eyes twinkling in the darkness, glittering in the thick darkness. True, they are in the middle of a war, they are going through difficult days, but they want to merit the blessing on the etrog!

At dawn, the Jews began to pass one by one into the rabbi's room, wanting to caress the four holy species with their touch, holding the lulav and the etrog with the myrtle and the willow in their hands. With great joy they stood up and recited the blessing "On the Taking of the Lulav" and "Shehechiyanu," and almost went out in a joint dance for the great merit...

By looking closely at this moving story, which appears in the book Days of Lights, we will be able to discover the light emanating from the holiday of Sukkot. Because the only thing that can motivate Jews in the midst of the inferno to true joy, the only engine that can lead wounded and damaged Jews to dedicate themselves to rejoicing in the fallen Sukkot and in rare etrogs, is only their joy in their Creator, in their connection with their Father in heaven, in the fact that on this holiday they prove their love for Him with all their souls! Because when a Jew merits true closeness to God, it is precisely in difficult situations that he jumps at his connection with his Father in heaven, he longs for the opportunity to rejoice with his Creator. The more we rejoice in this holiday, and internalize that it is the time when we express our connection and connection with our Father in heaven with joy and happiness, the more we will truly merit to strengthen our connection with Him and continue our connection with Him throughout the year, out of joy and happiness!