Why Purchase Expensive Items for Jewish Holidays?

Dear Rabbi,

I don’t get it. Someone in the synagogue told me that he spent over a hundred dollars on his lulav and etrog set for the holiday of Sukkot.

Surely, we cannot condone the spending of so much money on a citrus fruit and some other branches and leaves?!

Shouldn’t we give that money to charity instead?

Hi,

I just had this same thought when one of my congregants told me about the new iPhone that he purchased. I thought, wouldn’t it be enough to have a simple phone without a touch screen and even, G‑d forbid, without a high quality video camera?

The fact is, many millions of people believe that it is important to have the latest Apple sensation. And I am sure that they are enjoying their investments.

In our personal lives, we choose to spend immense amounts of money on things that are not necessarily essential to daily life. Our grandparents and great grandparents lived without iPhones or Blackberries, and rumor has it, many lived without a telephone, and they were content with what they had.

Our Sages teach that when it comes to G‑d’s commandments, we should do our utmost to do them in a beautiful way, i.e., the actual item that we are using to do the commandment should look nice.

In the words of Maimonides:

Everything given for the sake of G‑d who is good, should be of the most attractive and highest quality.

If one builds a house of prayer, it should be more attractive than his own dwelling. If he feeds a hungry person, he should feed him from the best and most tasty foods of his table. If he clothes one who is naked, he should clothe him with his attractive garments.

If he consecrates something, he should consecrate the best of his possession. As the verse states (Leviticus 3:16), “All of the superior quality should be given to G‑d.”1

Therefore, the etrog should also look as nice as possible (see The Complete “Four Kinds” Owner’s Manual).

When you are engaging in your Judaism, it should not be just to get it over with. you should be fulfilling the commandments with all of your heart. Yes, in truth you could purchase an etrog (the most expensive part of the four items of the set) for twenty dollars or less; however, many seek out the best etrog, the most beautiful one they can get their hands on. Because, to these people, fulfilling G‑d’s will is very important and dear to them, and they want do it the nicest way they can.

What about charity? I decided that this month I will purchase fewer gadgets for my iPhone and donate the money to charity.

See The Four Kinds: The the Lulav and Etrog from our Sukkot Holiday minisite.