The Essence

THE FRUIT OF DESIRE

Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman

"And ye shall take you on the first day, 'pri etz hadar' (the fruit of the goodly tree)"(Lev. 23:40)

By the way of the Truth [the mystic teachings of the Kabbala], 'pri etz hadar' (the fruit of the goodly tree) is the fruit in which there is a great deal of desire, and the first man sinned with it, as it is said, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat. Thus the sin consisted of taking the etrog alone, and we obtain His favor by taking the etrog together with the other species….

From here you can understand that the etrog is not bound up with the other three species, and yet it invalidates [the performance of the commandment] if it is not taken together with them. It is comparable to Atzeret (the eighth day of Sukkot), which is a festival of its own, and yet is supplementary to the first days. They are one in potentiality but not in actuality.

(adapted from the 13th century classic by the illustrious scholar, philosopher and defender of the faith, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman--known as 'RAMBAN' or 'Nachmanides', a master kabbalist in his own right and a major link in the transmission of Jewish mysticism--based on the excellent annotated English translation by Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel)