Tuesday
13 Tishrei, 5785
Today is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Maharash. He passed away in 5643 (1882) and is buried in Lubavitch.
The Rebbe would farbreng on this day.
Wednesday
14 Tishrei, Erev Sukkos, 5785
Give extra tzedakah today. Additionally, give tzedakah for the two days of Yom Tov and for Shabbos.
Do not eat bread during the last three halachic hours of the day, so you will have an appetite when eating in the sukkah tonight. Limited quantities of other foods may be eaten.
Binding the arba minim
It is customary to bind the arba minim together today, and to do so in the sukkah.
Make sure to remove all strings/rubber bands from the hadassim and aravos before binding them to the lulav.
Bind the lulav itself with two rings (made of lulav leaves). Position them that they will be covered by the hadassim and aravos. Try to ensure the top ring will also be covered, at least partially.
Additionally, bind the hadassim and aravos to the lulav using three rings, all positioned within one tefach.
Make sure the hadassim and aravos are bound in their upright position.
With the lulav’s spine facing you, position one hadas to the lulav’s right, one to its left, and one in the center, bent toward the right. Position one aravah to the lulav’s right and one to its left. Try to ensure the aravos aren’t that conspicuous.
Bind the hadassim and aravos at the bottom of the lulav, so that when you will hold the lulav, you will hold them as well.
Eruv tavshilin
Since Yom Tov leads directly into Shabbos, it is necessary to make an eruv tavshilin to enable preparation on Friday for Shabbos.
Take a loaf of bread or challah (at least the size of a kebeitzah, i.e., 2 oz.) and a piece of fish or meat (at least the size of a kezayis, i.e., 0.9 oz.). Give them to another adult (if possible, an individual who is a non-dependent) and say the sentence of Ani mezakeh (as printed in the siddur).
Next, the other person lifts the bread and cooked dish a tefach high (approximately three inches) and returns them to you. Finally, make the berachah and say the sentence of Bedein yehei shara lana (as printed in the siddur). If you do not understand this final sentence in Aramaic, say it in English (for the English text, visit www.chabad.org/2327).
The bread and cooked dish should not be eaten until all the necessary Shabbos preparations have been completed.
If your sukkah is equipped with a cover for rain, leave it open when Yom Tov begins, to allow the kedushah of Yom Tov to rest on the sukkah.
If your sukkah is equipped with a cover for rain that is located below the sechach, or if it is above the sechach but a tefach of space separates it from the sechach, when rolling up the cover make sure at least one tefach remains unrolled. This will allow it to be opened on Yom Tov. However, if the cover is directly above the sechach, it may be rolled up completely.
Before Yom Tov, light a long-burning candle, from which the Yom Tov and Shabbos candles can be lit tomorrow night and Friday night.
Ideally, women and girls should light candles before shekiah. Two berachos are said: Lehadlik Ner Shel Yom Tov and Shehecheyanu.
If possible, the candles should be lit in the sukkah and should remain there for the meal.
