Etrog

The movements we make with the Four Kinds each day of Sukkot are a meditation on bringing our emotions into balanced harmony. This meditation is grounded in the kavanot of the Ari, as explained in the siddur of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.

The Midrash teaches that each of the Four Species on Sukkos represents one kind of Jew and concludes: “On Sukkos, all four Jews must join together, for each one completes the others.”

The beauty of “the four kinds” is the etrog, the citron fruit. What distinguishes the etrog from an ordinary lemon?

“The word ‘Esrog’ forms an acronym for the verse: ‘Let not the foot of arrogance overtake me.’ This is especially pertinent to a successful doctor, that he should never claim: ‘My own strength has brought me my success.’”