647 - תרמז דיני ערבה ובו ו' סעיפים

Laws of the Willow (Aravah)

1. The "willows of the brook" mentioned in the Torah refer to a specific species known by this name. Its identifying sign is that its stem is red. Even when it is still green, one fulfills his obligation with it, since it will eventually turn red when exposed to the sun.

The leaf is not round, but rather elongated like a brook. The tip of the leaf, meaning its point, is smooth, and it does not have jagged or serrated edges.

The majority of this species grows along streams of water, which is why it is called "willows of the brook."

Even a minority that grows in the desert or in the mountains is also valid for the mitzvah of aravah in the lulav, as long as it has all these identifying signs.

2. There is a type of willow whose stem is red and whose leaf is elongated like a brook, but the edge of the leaf is not smooth. Still, it does not resemble a saw (meaning a file, whose serrations are somewhat large); rather, it has very tiny grooves, like the edge of a small sickle—and this too is valid.

3. However, there is a species that resembles the willow, but its stem is not red, its leaf is round, and the edge of the leaf is like a saw. This is called "tzafzafah," and it is invalid even in pressing circumstances, as will be explained in siman 389.

All these matters are a halachah given to Moshe at Sinai.

4. If the tip of the willow is cut off—that is, the tip of the actual branch from which the leaves grow is cut—it is invalid, since this is not its proper beauty.

Therefore, one must be very careful: when the willow branches are too long and one wishes to shorten them, he should not cut them from the top, but rather from the bottom, at the point where they join the stem.

5. If most of its leaves have fallen off, it is invalid. One must be very careful about this, for sometimes the leaves fall off when inserting the willow into the lulav, or through shaking. But if only a few leaves have fallen off, it is valid.

Nevertheless, ideally, one should not take such a willow if he can easily find another complete one from which no leaves have fallen, for a complete one is the preferred way to fulfill the mitzvah.

6. If most of its leaves have dried out, it is invalid, for this is not its proper beauty.

What is the measure of dryness? When the faces of the leaves have turned white. But if the leaves have not reached this degree of dryness, even if they have already wilted, it is still valid.

If most of the leaves have become loose and detached from their connection to the stem, even if they have not fallen off since they are still somewhat attached, or if most of the leaves have split and divided into two along most of their length, it is as if most of the leaves have fallen off, and it is invalid.