The holiday of Sukkot brings us one of the stranger Jewish customs: Carrying the “four species” of plants around, waving them in all directions as we pray. The Torah commands us to take these plants but doesn’t tell us why. The only clue we get is what the Torah says next: “And you shall rejoice before God” on this holiday. But what exactly are we rejoicing about? And why is holding these plants supposed to bring us so much happiness? Ami Silver and Imu Shalev explore some unexpected connections between this mitzvah and another story in the Torah… and uncover a deep insight into the true source of joy.

Enjoy the newly animated video version of this course on the Aleph Beta site! 

Start the year off right! Sign up for an annual Aleph Beta membership before October 20th and receive a free copy of Rabbi Fohrman's Genesis: A Parsha Companion: https://www.alephbeta.org/subscribe

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.

Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.

For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!

Follow us on your favorite social media.