Taking the lulav is taking Hashem

בענין הלולב דכתיב ולקחתם לכם.

Concerning the lulav, as it is written: "And you shall take for yourselves" (Vayikra 23:40).

The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of the four minim, taken on Sukkos, and the wording "ulkachtem lachem" — "you shall take for yourselves."

כי סוכה בחי' אהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא שמקרב בנ"י להקב"ה לחסות בצלו.

For the sukkah is the aspect of Aharon, the "best man of the Queen" (shoshvina d'matronisa), who draws Bnei Yisrael close to Hashem to take shelter in His shade.

The sukkah corresponds to Aharon HaKohen, called the attendant who escorts the Shechinah (the "Queen"). Like Aharon, who through love brought people close to Torah, the sukkah gathers Bnei Yisrael in under the protective shade of Hashem's presence.

והלולב הוא בחי' משה רע"ה שושבינא דמלכא שהוריד תורה לנו מן השמים.

And the lulav is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, the "best man of the King" (shoshvina d'malka), who brought down the Torah to us from heaven.

The lulav corresponds to Moshe Rabbeinu, the attendant of the King — Hashem Himself — for Moshe is the one who drew the Torah down from Shomayim to Bnei Yisrael.

ואורייתא וקוב"ה כולא חד.

And the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one (Oraisa v'Kudsha Brich Hu kula chad).

The Zohar teaches that the Torah and Hashem are completely unified — there is no separation between the Giver and what He gave.

וע"י הלולב כביכול לוקחין להקב"ה.

And so, through the lulav, one is, as it were, "taking" Hashem Himself.

Since Torah and Hashem are one, and the lulav embodies Moshe and the Torah, when we take the lulav we are — in a sense — taking hold of Hashem Himself. This is the deeper force of "ulkachtem" — "you shall take."

כדאיתא במד' תרומה לקח טוב נתתי לכם ע"ש יש לך מקח יש בו זהב וכסף כו'.

As it is brought in the Midrash (on Terumah): "A good acquisition I have given you" (Mishlei 4:2) — there is a kind of purchase that contains gold and silver, etc.

The Midrash on the verse "a good acquisition (lekach tov) I have given you" notes that an ordinary purchase consists of valuables like gold and silver that one acquires separately from the seller.

מסתמא רומז לכל אלה המינים שבלולב.

Presumably this alludes to all these species of the lulav.

The Sefas Emes suggests that the Midrash's mention of a precious "acquisition" hints at the four minim taken together with the lulav.

ומסיים המוכר נמכר עמו.

And it concludes: "the Seller is sold along with it."

Unlike a normal sale, where the seller parts from his goods, here Hashem — the "Seller" who gave us the Torah — gives Himself along with the gift. Taking the Torah means receiving Hashem Himself.

ואיתא במד' פרי עץ זה הקב"ה כו' כפות תמרים הקב"ה ע"ש.

And it is brought in the Midrash: "the fruit of a beautiful tree (pri eitz hadar)" — this refers to Hashem… "the branches of date palms (kapos temarim)" — Hashem, see there.

The Midrash reads the names of the four species as alluding to Hashem Himself — the esrog ("fruit of a beautiful tree") and the lulav ("branches of date palms") both point to the Divine.

ואח"כ דורש על חלוקי נפשות בנ"י.

And afterward the Midrash expounds the same verses as referring to the different categories of the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

The same Midrash then offers a second reading: the four species also represent the various types of Jews — those with Torah and good deeds, those with one but not the other, and so on.

וכל זה ענין אחד הוא.

And all of this is one single idea.

The two interpretations — that the minim allude to Hashem, and that they allude to the souls of Bnei Yisrael — are not two separate teachings but one unified concept.

כי הקב"ה בחכמה יסד ארץ.

For "Hashem founded the earth with wisdom" (Mishlei 3:19).

Hashem built the world with chochmah, embedding hints of Himself within creation. Nothing in the physical world is arbitrary; everything mirrors the Divine.

ובודאי יש רמזים במינים הללו שאין נמצאים כזה רק בנפשות בנ"י.

And certainly there are allusions in these species that are found nowhere else except in the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

The unique qualities hinted at in the four minim correspond to qualities found only in the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael, and nowhere else in creation.

וכמו כן בשמים אין נמצאים בשום שר רק בהקב"ה.

And likewise in the heavens above, these qualities are not found in any heavenly minister (sar) but only in Hashem Himself.

Just as among the nations no people possesses these qualities, so too in the upper worlds no celestial power or guardian angel embodies them — they belong to Hashem alone. This is why the minim can simultaneously allude to Hashem and to Bnei Yisrael.

ולכן הוא עדות על דביקות בנ"י בהקב"ה כי חלק ה' עמו.

Therefore it is testimony to the deveikus (attachment) of Bnei Yisrael to Hashem, for "the portion of Hashem is His people" (Devarim 32:9).

Because the same minim point both to Hashem and to His people, taking them bears witness to the intimate bond between Bnei Yisrael and Hashem — Yisrael are literally Hashem's own portion, cleaving to Him.

וכ"כ בר"מ פ' אמור בפי' ולקחתם לכם ע"ש:

And so it is written in the Ra'aya Mehemna (parshas Emor) in explanation of "ulkachtem lachem" — see there.

The Sefas Emes notes that the Ra'aya Mehemna, the section of the Zohar on parshas Emor, says the same regarding the verse "you shall take for yourselves," supporting this whole idea.

Summary: The sukkah corresponds to Aharon (who shelters us in Hashem's shade) and the lulav to Moshe (who brought down the Torah). Since the Torah and Hashem are one, taking the lulav is, as it were, "taking" Hashem Himself — the Seller given along with the sale. The Midrash reads the four species both as allusions to Hashem and as the varied souls of Bnei Yisrael, and these are one idea: the unique qualities of the minim exist only in Hashem above and in Bnei Yisrael below, testifying to the deep deveikus between them, for Yisrael are Hashem's own portion.