{"id":666,"date":"2012-09-23T00:16:42","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T22:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/wordpress\/?p=666"},"modified":"2012-09-26T23:19:44","modified_gmt":"2012-09-26T21:19:44","slug":"a-practical-guide-to-selecting-the-arba-minim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/?p=666","title":{"rendered":"A Practical Guide to Selecting the Arba Minim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I see many individuals who are completely lost when shopping for their Arba Minim<\/em><\/span><\/span>. To aid and facilitate your purchase of the <\/span>Lulav<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>Esrog<\/span><\/em>\u00a0etc, I am posting general guidelines. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me. Even better, ask your personal Rav to check your <\/span>Lulav<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>Esrog<\/span><\/em> before <\/span>Yom\u00a0Tov<\/span><\/em>, as many issues are difficult to describe and must be seen.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
5 Things To Look For When Buying An Esrog<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Top Section is Crucial<\/strong> – Always start checking from the top, the side of the Pitom<\/span><\/em> or where the Pitom<\/span><\/em> would be. A black dot on the top that is easily noticeable renders the Esrog<\/span><\/em> Pasul<\/span><\/em>. A white dot would also invalidate the Esrog<\/span><\/em>, but most light colored dots are beige, not white. This is the most common problem to look for.<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Whole Body<\/strong> – Next, the entire Esrog<\/span><\/em> should be examined for holes or scratches that would make the Esrog<\/span><\/em> Chaser, <\/span><\/em>lacking. <\/span><\/em>Also, numerous discolorations that can be seen from all sides while examining the Esrog<\/span><\/em> render it Menumar<\/span><\/em>, spotted, and Pasul<\/span><\/em> even if they are all only on the bottom of the Esrog<\/span><\/em>. Furthermore, brown spots may indicate a recent bruise which is likely to darken and turn black over the course of the next few days.<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Stem<\/strong> – The stem should be checked to make sure it is firmly attached and not likely to fall off.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Pitom<\/strong> – The Pitom<\/span><\/em>\u00a0should also be inspected to insure\u00a0that it is free of blemishes and that it is strong enough to last the week of Sukkos. If the Esrog<\/span><\/em> does not have a Pitom<\/span><\/em>, the place where the Pitom<\/span><\/em> would usually be should be checked to verify that it did not break off, but rather grew without a Pitom<\/span><\/em>.<\/li>\n
  5. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Overall Beauty – <\/strong>Of course it adds to the beauty of the Esrog<\/span><\/em> if it is a good size and has an attractive shape and color, but these are of secondary concern.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6 Things To Look For When Buying A Lulav<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Closed – <\/strong>The primary issue is to insure that the middle leaf is completely closed all the way to its tip. Preferably, one should not even be able to see two separate points.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not Dry – <\/strong>Also, it is important that the Lulav<\/span><\/em> has not dried out and shriveled, but a little brown on the tip is natural.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0 Complete – <\/strong>Furthermore, care must be taken that the tip has not broken off.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Covered In Brown – <\/strong>Some prefer to take a Lulav<\/span><\/em> where the tip is covered with brown Korah<\/span><\/em> insuring its complete closure, while others avoid such a Lulav<\/span><\/em> out of concern for what lies underneath.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Knepel – <\/strong>Also, some prefer a Knepel<\/span><\/em>, where the tip of the leaf is folded over, as such a Lulav<\/span><\/em> will almost never split. However, some Poskim<\/span><\/em> invalidate such a Lulav<\/span><\/em> because of its bent state. If the tip bends slightly, but not so much that the tip points back to the bottom of the Lulav<\/span><\/em>, is not a problem and has all the advantages. <\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beauty <\/strong>– A long, thick, straight and green Lulav<\/span><\/em> is ideal, but not of primary importance.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5 Things To Look For When Buying Hadassim<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mishulash – <\/strong>The main concern with Hadassim<\/span><\/em> is that the leaves should be in sets of three. This requires examining that all the sets of three leaves in the required length grow parallel to each other.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Falling Leaves – <\/strong>Furthermore, one must check that no leaves have fallen off.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dry or Broken <\/strong>– Also with Hadassim<\/span><\/em>, they must not be dried out or broken at the tip of the branch.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Size – <\/strong>Preferably, the leaves should each be smaller than a thumbnail<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Branch Exposure – <\/strong>Preferably each set of leaves should be close enough to the next set that none of the wood of the branch is exposed.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4 Things To Look For When Buying Aravos<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Edges – <\/strong>The Aravos<\/span><\/em>\u00a0should have long leaves that are either completely smooth or only have very fine serrations.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lavluv – <\/strong>One should check that the tip of the branch has not broken, and for this reason many look for Aravos<\/span><\/em> with Lavluv<\/span><\/em>, the bunch of immature, unopened leaves at the tip.<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dried\/Shriveled – <\/strong>Also, the Aravos<\/span><\/em> should not be dry or shriveled and no leaves should have fallen off, and since this is a very common problem, it is preferable to replace the Aravos<\/span><\/em>\u00a0frequently over the course on Sukkos.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Grey Goods – <\/strong>Finally, since Aravos<\/span><\/em> are commonly grown in private yards and on public property, it is especially important to insure that the person you are buying from really has permission to cut and sell them. All of the Arba<\/span><\/em> Minim<\/span><\/em> are Pasul<\/span><\/em> if stolen.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I see many individuals who are completely lost when shopping for their Arba Minim. To aid and facilitate your purchase of the Lulav and Esrog\u00a0etc, I am posting general guidelines. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-halacha","category-yamim-noraim","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2z7Yb-aK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}