subject: Customs, Plant Life, Esrog And The Planet [print this page] Each culture, religion, race, really any denomination of person find ways to use various plant life in their customs and cultures. As these customs evolve special meaning is assigned to a given fruit, leave, or even sometimes the whole plant. These items become inextricably significant to the culture and a vital touchstone for people trying to cultivate their connection to their roots for as long as possible. Even the phrase "roots" as in "getting back to our roots" ties directly to plant life. The reasons that plants come to be so important in cultures is that they define life cycles and seasons. As a result it is hard to separate a given season and place from whatever crops the land is giving up at a particular time.
Everything from oranges and evergreen trees to esrogs and elaborate varieties squash, can play important rolls in various cultures and ceremonies. Sometimes the connections are direct from historical documents or religious texts. Sometimes there is simply a habit that develops around a different ceremony. In the United States the holiday of Thanksgiving is built around the overflow of crops from the fall. Pumpkins and cranberries have specific places on people's dinner tables and become things that generation after generation folks identify with the holiday.
Similarly though clearly more significantly the lulav and etrog hold important places in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The references that have lead to cultural uses of the esrog and lulav are found throughout the Torah in significant passages dictating certain traditions.
"On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an unopened palm frond (lulav), myrtle branches, and willows [that grow near] the brook. You shall rejoice before God even days."
These passages come from a very significant place for the Jewish people so the connections are not so much seasonal as they are eternal. No matter where a dutiful and serious Jewish person might find his or herself on Sukkot they are likely to go out of their way to acquire some esrog and lulav.
A connection to the earth is something we should expect from any and all religions and cultures. They can help us to build an appreciation for all that G-d has given to us. We can truly be thankful and we can know that to keep our important traditions alive we must also keep the planet strong. It is hard to argue that these cultural customs are not some part of a larger plan to guide us all towards appreciating and protecting the world around us.
by: Mark Etinger
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