We read in the Torah, “You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days” (Lev. 23:40). 

This is not just agricultural celebration, it is holy rehearsal, choreographing a feast to come. The lulav and etrog are not just symbols; they are instruments of prophetic memory and eschatological longing.

Historically, Sukkot/ סֻכּוֹת recalls the wilderness journey, the fragile shelters (sukkah/ סֻכָּה) that housed Israel under the canopy of divine presence. It is a feast of vulnerability and provision, of wandering and worship. The fruit of the good tree (פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר), traditionally the etrog (citron, no, not a lemon), represents the heart: fragrant, beautiful, and whole. The palm branch, tall and straight, speaks of the spine in uprightness and victory. Together with the myrtle and willow, they form a fourfold testimony of the human condition and the divine invitation: to rejoice in dependence, to wave in worship, to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. These elements represent the bouquet of the Body of Messiah, joined together, and brought before Him. 

But Sukkot is not only retrospective, it is prophetic.

We find a final echo of this feast at the end of time, in the Book of Revelation, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands” (Rev. 7:9). This is the ultimate ingathering, the eschatological fulfillment of the feast. The nations, once scattered, now redeemed and assembled. The palm branches, once waved in Jerusalem, now lifted in the heavenly Zion. The Lamb, once hidden in the wilderness, now enthroned before us.

Here, the lulav (palm branch) becomes a liturgical bridge between Sinai and the New Jerusalem. The waving of branches is no longer just a ritual, it is a declaration: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:10). The fruit of the good tree is no longer just a symbol, it is the fruit of righteousness borne by those adopted, grafted and reattached to the covenant through Messiah.

Rabbinic tradition teaches that the sukkah represents the Clouds of Glory that surrounded Israel. Apostolic teaching reveals that we now dwell in Messiah, our Emmanuel and our true shelter. Sukkot thus becomes a rehearsal for the wedding feast of the Lamb, where every tribe and tongue will tabernacle in joy (וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, Lev. 23:40).

So we wave the lulav not only in remembrance, but in anticipation. We dwell in the sukkah not only to recall the wilderness, but to proclaim the coming Kingdom. We rejoice not only for seven days, but with eternal gladness.

Let us then take up the fruit of the good tree. Let us wave the palm in worship. Let us dwell in the shelter of the Most High. For this feast is not over, it is just beginning.

Maranatha. Shalom. 

 

Sukkot, Tabernacles, is the final feast of Ingathering (Leviticus 23:34-36, 40-43). It is a prophetic picture of eternal joy: z’man simchateinu/time of our rejoicing. It is a time to remember the 40 years in the wilderness, sharing with family and friends in the present, while looking ahead to the Renewed Jerusalem.

Sukkot is one of two mitzvot, commandments, that we can fully immerse our bodies in, the other being baptism. These two immersive moments allow us to physically feel our life in Him, even for just a moment. Yet, along with the command to observe Sukkot, we are given a rather unusual command.

The command is to take what are called the four species – the fruit of the goodly tree, the palm branch, a branch of a willow, and a branch of myrtle, and rejoice before the Lord.

Brought together they form a beautiful bouquet, like that carried by a betrothed woman approaching her bridegroom, as we appear before the Lord.

The Lulav (palm branch) and Etrog (citron) are waved before the Lord a total of 18 times, in all six directions, which in Hebrew is equal to חי, meaning life – rejoicing with the fullness of our life before Him.

Each element also represents believers at different points of maturity, growth and faith.

1. Estrog (citron): represents one with head and heart knowledge – smell and taste.

2. Lulav (palm branch): represents one with head knowledge but limited heart knowledge – no smell, but taste.

3. Hadassim (myrtle): represents one with heart knowledge and limited head knowledge – smell but not taste.

4. Aravot (willow): represents one with limited head and heart knowledge – no smell or taste.

All of these, brought together, represent another beautiful picture of the Lord bringing His people together. Still, there is another beautiful picture developing.

On the last day of Sukkot, called Hosanna Rabbah, the day of the Great Salvation, not only was the water libation ceremony unfolding at the Temple Altar, but worshippers were circling the Altar itself.

Hosanna Rabbah is also known as “the day of the Aravah.” Traditionally, it is understood that on Hosanna Rabbah one did not circle the Altar with all four species, just the aravah – the willow.

On that day you circled the Altar of God with just the willow, as you prayed for rain, why? There are opinions regarding this that depended on whether the willow was waved, or beat against the ground while circling the Altar.

First, it is the most thirsty of the four species, as it is a river willow. Second, it represents our limited ability to serve the Lord, see above. Third, we understand from Midrashic texts that the four species relate to different organs of the body: the palm is the spine; the myrtles the eyes; the citron the heart; and the willow, the mouth: and the mouth is connected to prayer.

Beating the willow branches on the ground symbolized both our prostration, and also our need for rain to smite and penetrate the ground; and in this smiting of the willow our affliction and our need would be evident.

It was in the midst of this event that Messiah Yeshua/Jesus stood up and said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink’” (Jn. 7:37).

He cries out to those who are “thirsty” for God, to come to Him (God the Son), and in Him believing, receive the river of living water – the refreshing, cleansing and empowering Holy Spirit.

Here, Yeshua stands up in the midst of Israel, and beckons all who will believe, and all in need, to come and drink of Him.

In the wilderness, Israel received water from the Rock for nearly 40 years. The apostle Paul tells us, “for they were drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the Rock was Messiah” (I Cor. 10:4). Here, once again, Yeshua stood in the midst of the children of Israel and promised to provide living water in the drought if only we will go to Him, the Rock. Further, in Exodus 17, the Lord promised to “stand upon the Rock at Horeb” and give water.

Yeshua, the Rock again stands and promises living water during the Feast of Sukkot on the day of the Great Salvation – Hoshiana Rabba – as He is the Great Salvation.

On the last day of Sukkot, even in our time of rejoicing, we strip the external glory, the beauty of the bouquet, and stand thirsty before Him, revealing our need, and our longing for the marriage feast of the Lamb, where we will never be separated again.

Be well. Shalom.