{"id":69980,"date":"2022-10-14T18:10:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T23:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=69980"},"modified":"2022-10-14T18:10:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T23:10:20","slug":"shake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/shake\/","title":{"rendered":"Shake!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER<\/p>\n

Each day of Succot (except Shabbat) we take the Lulav (\u201cthe Four Species\u201d \u2013 a palm frond bound together with willow and myrtle branches, and an etrog\/citron), recite a blessing for the Mitzvah, and ceremoniously shake (or wave) the Lulav in six directions: North, East, South, West, up and down \u2013 celebrating the ubiquitous immanence of God. Customs vary, even within my own family, as to the order of the directions in which the Lulav is to be shaken!<\/p>\n

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It is entirely possible that the six points of the Magen David (Star of David) are designed to convey very much the same theological perspective.<\/p>\n

These recurrent \u201csix directions\u201d suggest a message of moral responsibility, articulated by children\u2019s author, Dr. Seuss:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Succot… shake up your routine.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the editor of \u201cMasorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism<\/em>.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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