Four species as four paths of devotion

ליום הו"ר ושמ"ע.

For the day of Hoshana Rabbah and Shemini Atzeres.

The Sefas Emes presents this piece for Hoshana Rabbah and Shemini Atzeres / Simchas Torah.

בענין הד' מינים דרשו חז"ל על החילוקים שיש מבנ"י שיש בהם טעם וריח או אחד מהם או ולא כלום ע"ש.

Regarding the four minim (species), Chazal expounded on the distinctions that exist among Bnei Yisrael: there are those who have taste and fragrance, or one of them, or nothing at all — see there.

The Midrash compares the four species (esrog, lulav, hadas, aravah) to four types of Jew: those with both Torah and good deeds ("taste and fragrance"), those with only one, and those with neither.

ובודאי יש לכל המינים חלק ושורש בתורה.

And certainly every one of the species has a portion and a root in the Torah.

Even the "lowest" type corresponds to something real and rooted within Torah itself.

דיש תורה ומצות חוקים ומשפטים והם הד' חילוקים כי התורה עיקרו הטעם.

For there are Torah, mitzvos, chukim (statutes), and mishpatim (laws) — and these are the four distinctions; for Torah's essence is "taste."

The four categories within Torah — Torah-study, mitzvos, chukim, mishpatim — parallel the four species. Torah learning, which can be understood and savored, is "taste."

ומצות בחי' הריח.

And mitzvos are the aspect of "fragrance."

The performance of mitzvos is "fragrance" — a sweet effect that radiates outward even beyond what the mind grasps.

ומשפטים טעם וריח.

And mishpatim possess both taste and fragrance.

Rational laws (mishpatim) combine both: they are comprehensible (taste) and they are also fulfilled as Hashem's mitzvos (fragrance) — like the esrog.

וחוקים רמז לערבה.

And chukim allude to the aravah (willow).

The chukim — decrees with no apparent reason, neither taste nor fragrance — correspond to the aravah, which has neither.

ואלה המינים ממש נמצאו בבנ"י שהוא בחי' תורה שבע"פ שיש ג"כ תקנות וסייגים מכל אלה המינים.

And these very "species" are found within Bnei Yisrael, who are the aspect of Torah she-be'al peh (the Oral Torah), in which there are likewise enactments and safeguards of all these kinds.

Klal Yisrael themselves embody the Oral Torah, which contains its own four parallel categories — including rabbinic takanos and gezeiros that function like chukim.

ונמצא מנהג ישראל תורה.

And it emerges that "the custom of Yisrael is Torah."

Even a minhag (custom) of Klal Yisrael carries the binding force and holiness of Torah.

וכמו ערבה בהושענא רבה שהוא מנהג נביאים וכמו חוקה.

Like the aravah on Hoshana Rabbah, which is a "custom of the prophets," and is like a chukah.

Taking the aravah on Hoshana Rabbah is a practice instituted by the Nevi'im, observed without a stated reason — functioning just like a chok.

וזה העדות ביותר על בנ"י שמכוונים לדעת עליון אפילו בלי טעם וריח.

And this is the greatest testimony to Bnei Yisrael — that they align themselves to the supernal will even without taste or fragrance.

Keeping a reasonless practice like the aravah is the strongest proof of Bnei Yisrael's devotion: they bind themselves to the da'as elyon (the higher Will) purely out of loyalty, with no rationale to motivate them.

ונאמר עוד כי לכן נקרא זה היום הושענא רבה כי יש ד' גליות וזה לעומת זה עשה, וכמו שיש בקדושה הד' מינים כמו כן יש ג' עבירות ע"ז וג"ע וש"ד.

It may further be said that this is why the day is called "Hoshana Rabbah" (the Great Salvation): for there are four exiles, and "this corresponding to that He made" — just as on the side of kedushah there are the four species, so too there are the three cardinal sins: avodah zarah (idolatry), gilui arayos (immorality), and shefichus damim (bloodshed).

History's four galuyos parallel the four species. Hashem set up the realm of impurity opposite the realm of holiness; corresponding to the holy "minim" are the three grave aveiros that drive exile.

וגלות האחרון שהוא על שנאת חנם הוא שאין בו טעם ולא ריח והיא הגדולה מכולן, ולכן בזכות הערבה יכולין להוושע בדורות אלו השפלים.

And the final exile, which is on account of sinas chinam (baseless hatred), has neither taste nor fragrance, and it is the greatest of them all; therefore, through the merit of the aravah we can be saved in these lowly generations.

The present, longest galus stems from baseless hatred — a sin with no "taste or fragrance," utterly groundless. Precisely the aravah, which itself has neither taste nor fragrance, is the vessel of yeshuah for our low generations, who cling to Hashem with no merit to lean on but bare loyalty.

ועושין שמחת תורה אחר החג להודיע כי כל המינים הללו נמצא בנו בכח התורה כנ"ל.

And we make Simchas Torah after the festival, to make known that all these "species" are found within us through the power of the Torah, as explained above.

Concluding Yom Tov with Simchas Torah declares that all four types — and the strength even of the "aravah" Jew — are contained in us by virtue of the Torah we rejoice with.

והד' ענינים שנרמז בפסוק ה' מסיני בא כו' משעיר כו' מהר פארן כו' מרבבות קודש.

And the four matters hinted at in the verse, "Hashem came from Sinai… from Se'ir… from Mount Paran… from the holy myriads" (Devarim 33:2).

The four phrases describing the giving of the Torah likewise hint at a fourfold structure.

בודאי רומז ג"כ על ד' מינים הנ"ל תורה מצות חוקים ומשפטים.

Surely these too allude to the four categories mentioned above: Torah, mitzvos, chukim, and mishpatim.

The four expressions of Mattan Torah map onto the same four divisions.

והם הד' פירושים פרד"ס שבתורה ועמ"ש בפ' בראשית מזה:

And these are the four levels of interpretation, PaRDeS, within the Torah; and see what I wrote on this in parshas Bereishis.

The same fourfold pattern appears as the four layers of Torah interpretation — Peshat, Remez, Derush, Sod (PaRDeS) — and the Sefas Emes refers the reader to his remarks on parshas Bereishis.

Summary: The four minim correspond to four categories within Torah (Torah, mitzvos, chukim, mishpatim), to four types of Jew, to the four galuyos opposite them, and to PaRDeS. The aravah — with neither taste nor fragrance — represents pure, reasonless devotion to Hashem's will; precisely this is the strength of our lowly generation, mired in the galus of sinas chinam, and it is the merit through which we are saved on Hoshana Rabbah, culminating in the joy of Simchas Torah.