Passing the Tradition to the Next Generation, 1991

This is a photograph of an older man showing a boy, maybe his son or grandson, how to check a lulav to see if it is suitable for use (kosher) as part of the Arba Minim (Four Species). The Arba Minim are one of the central mitzvot (commandments) of the festival of Sukkot. The man, wearing the attire of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews, is showing the boy how to examine the tip of the lulav to check if the leaves of are close together, as defined by halacha (Jewish law). The young boy, who is also holding a lulav in his hands, is looking closely and seems very interested in learning from the older man. This photograph was probably taken in an Arba Minim market where various components of the Arba Minim and sukkah decorations are sold. Buyers go around the different stalls in the market looking for the best specimens of each of the four species and combine them to create their own Arba Minim.

The lulav is the closed stem or frond of the date palm tree. In order for it to be kosher, it should be straight and not split along the leaves. It is used as one of the four species – the willow, myrtle, and etrog – to fulfill one of the major commandments of the festival of Sukkot. Each component of the Arba Minim has its own list of requirements making it kosher. While some people purchase the set as a whole, in Israel it is quite common for a person to select each species separately to ensure their quality.

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Discussion Questions:

Observation

• What catches your attention when you first look at the photograph?
• How many people are in the photograph?
• Describe the people in the photograph.
• Describe the surroundings.
• Describe the objects in the photographs.
• Write three adjectives to describe the photograph.

Reading Between the Lines

• What are the people in the photograph doing?
  What, in your opinion, is the relationship between the two people in the photograph?
  How do you think the boy feels about learning from the older man?
• For which festival are the people in the photograph preparing?
  What are they holding in their hands?
  How will the object be used?
• What is the verse from the Torah that commands the use of the Arba Minim?
  What are the requirements for a kosher (suitable) lulav?
  What do you think the people are looking for as they check the lulav?
• What are the other components of the Arba Minim?
  Do you think that the people in the photograph examine the other components as thoroughly as they check the lulav?
• What religious group do you think these people belong to?
  What aspects of the photograph helped you make a decision?

Connections

• What skills or lessons have you learned from your grandparents or older members of your family?
  Do you like being instructed by older relatives?
  How is learning from relatives different from learning from teachers?
• How does this photograph make you feel?
  Why do you think that is?
• Have you ever owned your own Arba Minim?

Creative Ideas

• ​Ask your grandparents or other relatives about how they celebrated Sukkot when they were younger.
  Is the way that they celebrate today different from then?
  In what way?
• Make a photocopy of the image and draw thought or speech bubbles above the heads of some of the figures.
  Fill the bubbles with what you think the subjects in the photograph are thinking or saying.

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