עֵרוּב תַּבְשִׁילִין. אֵין מוֹסִיפִין עַל שְׁתֵּי עֲרָבוֹת, מַה שֶׁאֵין כֵּן בַּהֲדַסִים. מְהַדְּרִים לֶאֱגוֹד הַלּוּלָב בַּסּוּכָּה וּבְעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב. עַל הַלּוּלָב שְׁתֵּי כְּרִיכוֹת - וּמִשְׁתַּדְּלִים שֶׁשְׁתֵּיהֶם תִּהְיֶינָה מְכוּסוֹת בַּהֲדַסִים וַעֲרָבוֹת, גַּם כְּרִיכָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה בִּמְעַט עַל כָּל פָּנִים - וּמִלְּבַד זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ כְּרִיכוֹת שֶׁבָּהֶם אוֹגֵד הַהֲדַסִים וְהָעֲרָבוֹת עִם הַלּוּלָב, שָׁלֹשׁ אֵלּוּ בְּמֶשֶׁךְ טֶפַח אֶחָד.

[Today] an Eruv Tavshilin is made.1

No more than two willow twigs2 are taken. One may, however, take more than three myrtle twigs.3

To perform the mitzvah in its optimum manner, one makes a point of binding the lulav [with the hadassim and aravos] in the sukkah on erev Sukkos.4

Two rings [made of leaves of the lulav] are bound around the lulav alone, [higher than the other three rings that will bind the lower ends of the hadassim and aravos to its base]. One should endeavor to see that these two rings are hidden by the [upper ends of] the hadassim and aravos. Even the upper ring should be at least partly concealed. In addition to these two rings, the hadassim and aravos are bound to [the base of] the lulav by three rings, which should all be tied within the space of a tefach.5

Delving Deeply

The custom of binding the lulav in the sukkah on the eve of the holiday, and the custom of shaking the lulav in the sukkah during the holiday itself, are together intended to unite two opposing spiritual motifs.6

On the one hand, just as a sukkah encompasses a person entirely, the essence of this mitzvah is a spiritual light that is above and beyond us: it utterly transcends our minds and hearts. In the language of the Kabbalah:7 The smoke of the incense offering rises from the Beis HaMikdash on Yom Kippur and is transformed into the Clouds of Glory, which are the source for the mitzvah of sukkah.8 That smoke was a manifestation of the heartfelt teshuvah of the Jewish people — a revelation of the soul’s highest dimension, which transcends our conscious minds. Similarly, the mitzvah of sukkah is a transcendent one, for the Divine energies that come in response to this teshuvah are not easily internalized.

On the other hand, these energies are not intended to remain transcendent: the goal is to draw them down into our consciousness and emotions. This is accomplished by the lulav. Each back-and-forth movement of the lulav elicits a different spiritual force, and after each such motion, the base of the lulav is brought back to our hearts.

Hence, to highlight this transition, to internalize the transcendent power of the sukkah, we bind the lulav in the sukkah.