In the משנה תורה/Mishneh Torah, in הלכות שופר וסוכה ולולב/Hilchot Shofar, Sukkah, and Lulav/Laws of Shofar, Sukkah, and Lulav, the רמב”ם/Rambam addresses these three ritual objects in precisely this order: 1) שופר 2) סוכה 3) לולב.
As I have been thinking about why these three are grouped together, and why they appear in this particular order, it seems clear that the entire month of תשרי/Tishrei—the month we are in—is a sacred month, and that the holidays within it are deeply connected, sharing a common thread.
Perhaps the order reflects the order in which these mitzvot are used, or even acquired. We begin the month with the שופר during ראש השנה/Rosh Hashana, and we concludeיום כיפור/Yom Kippur with the שופר as well. As soon as Yom Kippur ends, we are called upon to turn our attention toward סוכות/Sukkot, beginning with the preparation and construction of the סוכה. Once the סוכה is built, we busy ourselves with preparing for the holiday by acquiring a לולב and אתרוג/Etrog.
Perhaps the order also reflects the way these mitzvot are actually experienced. Clearly, the שופר is used first. But what about the סוכה and לולב?
The סוכה is the very first ritual element of Sukkot we encounter. At nightfall on the first night of the holiday, we begin the mitzvah of eating and dwelling in the סוכה. We do not use a לולב at night, nor do we use it on שבת/Shabbat—as is the case this year. And so, the לולב becomes the third of these three mitzvot to enter into our observance.
The eighth chapter of הלכות שופר וסוכה ולולב begins with a well-known law from the תלמוד/Talmud: we may not fulfill the mitzvah of לולב with a stolen לולב.
At first, this law seems almost unnecessary. It is difficult to imagine that anyone would think it appropriate to fulfill a sacred obligation by doing something wrong. And yet, the rabbis deliberately teach this principle because it allows them to convey a profound value: מִצְוָה הַבָּאָה בַּעֲבֵירָה/Mitzvah HaBa’ah B’Aveirah/A mitzvah fulfilled through a transgression.
The lesson of the stolen לולב is that we cannot fulfill a מצוה through negative means—through sinning, through violating another law, or through causing harm. We must be concerned not only with whether we have fulfilled the commandment, but also with how we have fulfilled it.
There is a positive dimension to this idea that connects with my sermon from כל נדרי/Kal Nidre. In fulfilling the קבע/Keva—the fixed requirements of Jewish law—we must also bring proper כוונה/Kavanah/intention. We should see the observance of every מצוה as an opportunity to bring sparks of the Divine into the world. But we must bring those sparks into the world in a way that honors the Divine and honors our world at the same time.
We have been on a sacred journey that began with ראש השנה, continued through יום כיפור, and now brings us to סוכות. Each step of this journey has been undertaken with intention and sanctity.
Our values matter. Our intentions matter. And the way in which we carry out our obligations matters.
If we are to build a better world—a world in which God can dwell—then we must be conscious not only of fulfilling our obligations, but of the way in which we fulfill them.
