MY LOCAL LULAV
So I actually made a local lulav. I had talked about my plans for it previously. But between plans and reality, there’s this gap that doesn’t always (often?) get bridged. But here it is. See the picture below.
And here’s the explanation.
APPLE. This is the fruit of a beautiful tree. This apple was given to me by an abandoned grandmother apple tree nearing the end of her time on earth in Pisgah state park about 10 miles away. This tree has been abandoned since at least the 1960’s when the park was created. Grandmother apple tree said to me that she misses the humans with whom she used to be in reciprocity—they took care of her and she fed them apples.
WHITE PINE BOUGH. This takes the place of the lulav, the date palm frond. We can’t grow date palms here in Vermont and these fronds make a kind of rain noise when we shake them and are also somewhat phallic shaped. Sourced from the land on which I live.
BALSAM FIR branch. This replaces the Hadass, the myrtle. The biblical text just calls for a leafy bough, which could be anything. I chose this both because it is green as an evergreen and because it smells really good. Sourced from the farm next door.
BLACK WILLOW. The text from Leviticus talks about the willow of the brook. I’ve chosen black willow because it is in the same family and grows in moist soils here in Vermont. I harvested this on the banks of the West River, about 5 miles from my house.
I encourage all of you to do this for yourself next year. It’s a great practice in becoming native to where you live.
