Walking back from Shul last sunday, second day of Yom Tov Succos, 5770, Rifka, Yair, and I were doing the nice Chabad thing of asking people along the way if they are Jewish and if so, offering them out Lulav bundle and Esrog for the chance to do the Mitzvah of putting them together, that only comes 7 times per year. We asked many people and most were not Jewish – or said so anyway. We then came across a group of three guys who when asked “Are you by any chance Jews”, one responded “We all are”. We immediately began to unpack the Lulav and Esrog and as I was about to hand it to one of of them I started explaining that this is a special Mitzvah that has to do with Jewish unity.
I explained that there are four different species each which represent different types of Jews and they all come together and this is the unity that is expressed by this special Miztvah. One of them remarked he remembered something like this from Hebrew School. As I took out the Esrog one of them said “We actually have a review session to get to”. I said “this will only take about 30 seconds”, but they decided not to do it anyway. I wished them a Chag Samaech and we put away the Lulav bundle and Esrog and kept on our way.
I said to Rifka on the way back that I feel like I should have just handed them the Lulav and Esrog to do the Mitzvah and tried to explain stuff later. She pointed out that what I was trying to explain to them was possibly the reason why this was OK. The Midrash explains that each of the species represents a different type of Jew – the Jew who knows Torah, but does not do Mitzvos, the Jew who does Mitzos but does not know Torah, the Jew who knows Torah and does Mitzvos, and the Jew who does not know Torah and does not do Miztvos. The lesson in bringing them together is that without one, there cannot be the Mitzvah! The Jew who does not know Torah and does not do Mitzvos needs to be there!
This was the point. These Jews did not do the MItzvah of the taking the Lulav and Esrog, and yet that was OK, because we NEED them as much as they need us and we all need eachother in the service of Hashem! Sure, it would have been neat if I could get them to do this Mitzvah, but just by them being around and identifying as Jews – by being able to wish them a Chag Samaech – we are connecting and doing something very important.
There was an article I noticed recently on IsraelNN.com that some Jews, in defiance of a “religious” Sukkah built in a “secular” neighborhood to try to Mikarev them, this community built two “secular” Sukkos. In defiance, they built Sukkos! Baruch Hashem!
We need all Jews to be together in unity!