A 1993 photograph taken in the Mea She’arim neighbourhood of Jerusalem in the days leading up to the festival of Sukkot. The man in the photograph is selecting the hadas (myrtle) branches to combine with an etrog, lulav (date palm), and arava (willow) to comprise the Arba Minim (Four Species) that are used on the festival. The man’s black suit, white shirt, black fedora hat, and full beard identify him as Haredi. This photograph was probably taken in an Arba Minim market where other components of the Arba Minim and sukkah decorations are sold. Buyers go around the different stalls in the market looking for the best specimens of each of the four species and combine them to create their own Arba Minim.
Hadas is a branch of the myrtle bush and is one of the Arba Minim used on Sukkot. In order for it to be kosher, it should have tiers of three leaves and the branch should be of a certain length (around 18 cm) and green. It is used as one of the Four Species – the willow, lulav, and etrog – to fulfill one of the major commandments of the festival of Sukkot. Each component of the Arba Minim has its own list of requirements making it kosher. While some people purchase the set as a whole, in Israel it is quite common for a person to select each component separately to ensure the quality of each.
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Sukkot and the Four Species - The Festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) has two central commandments. The first is that Jews should live in a temporary abode (Sukkah) for seven days (eight days outside of Israel). The second is that on every day of the festival, Jews take the Four Species (Arba’at HaMinim) in hand and make a blessing over them.
Each of the Four Species has certain requirements for them to be fitting (Kosher) for the commandment (Mitzvah). According to tradition, the buyer should check that the requirements are present in each of the species. The Four Species consist of the Lulav (palm branch), the Etrog (citrus fruit), Hadass (myrtle branches) and Aravah (willow branches).
Mea She’arim – Mea She’arim is a Haredi or Hassidic (ultra-Orthodox) neighbourhood in Jerusalem. Founded in 1874, Mea She’arim is one of the oldest Jewish neighbourhoods built outside the walls of the Old City. The area was designed as a courtyard neighbourhood, surrounded by a wall with gates that could be locked at night. Several different Hassidic groups have formed communities in Mea She’arim, and they can be identified by their own style of clothing. Today the neighbourhood is inhabited mostly by the most extreme ultra-Orthodox communities, and many attempt to live as enclosed and insular a life as possible. At the entrance to the neighbourhood are posters demanding visitors and residents to adhere to strict “modesty” regulations. Many of the residents of this neighbourhood do not pay taxes, vote in the general elections, or even use the national electricity system. The residents of the neighbourhood mostly wear traditional Hassidic clothing. The children attend independent religious schools, and the common language is Yiddish, since the community opposes the use of the holy language, Hebrew, as a daily, secular language.
