Regulations of The lulav
A lulav, as with all mitzvah articles (those used to fulfill biblical and rabbinical requirements within Judaism), must meet certain specifications in order to be kosher and permissible to be used to fulfill the commandment of the four species.
Ideally, a lulav consists of a tightly closed frond of the date palm tree.
To qualify, the lulav must be straight, with whole leaves that lay closely together, and not be bent or broken at the top. The twin middle-most leaves, which naturally grow together and are known as the tiyomet (תיומת, "twin"), should ideally not be split at all; however, the lulav remains kosher as long as the twin middle leaves are not split more than a handbreadth, approximating 3-4 inches. This rule applies on the first day of Sukkot in the Land of Israel, and on the first two days elsewhere. On Chol HaMoed, the disqualifications arising from using a lulav with a split middle leaf do not apply.
The term lulav also refers to the lulav in combination with two of the other species—the aravah and the hadass—that are bound together to perform the mitzvah of waving the lulav. These three species are held in one hand while the etrog is held in the other. The user brings his or her hands together and waves the species in all four directions, plus up and down, to attest to God's mastery over all of creation. This ritual also symbolically voices a prayer for adequate rainfall over all the Earth's vegetation in the coming year. (See Four Species for the complete description and symbolism of the waving ceremony.)
Although Jews are commanded to take the four species together, the rabbinically ordained blessing mentions only the lulav because it is the largest and most evident of the four species.
The biblical reference to the four species in Sukkot can be found in Leviticus Chapter 23, verse 40. The etrog is referred to as "Citrus fruit" (Etz Hadar), and the Lulav is referred to as "Palm branches" (Kapot t'marim).
Each species is said to kabbalistically represent an aspect of the user's body; the lulav represents the spine, the myrtle the eyes, the willow the lips, and the etrog represents the heart.
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