Der Lulav darf nur an seine Art gebunden sein. Dies sind die Worte von R. Yehudah. R. Meir sagt: Auch mit Seil. R. Meir sagte: Einmal banden die Männer von Jerusalem ihre Lulavim mit Gimoniyoth aus Gold [goldene Bänder, gebogen wie ein Gimon (Binse), wie in (Jesaja 58: 5): "um seinen Kopf wie ein Agmon zu beugen."] Sie sagten zu ihm: Sie banden es auf den Boden mit seiner Art [um die Mizwa von Eged (die Bindung) zu erfüllen, und diese (die Gimoniyoth) war nur zu dekorativen Zwecken. R. Yehudah stimmt mit seiner Ansicht überein, dass ein Lulav eine Bindung erfordert, so dass es fünf Arten gibt (anstelle der vorgeschriebenen vier), wenn er es mit etwas verbindet, das nicht von seiner Art ist. Und wir sind der Meinung, dass ein Lulav keine Bindung erfordert, weshalb die Halacha hier mit R. Meir übereinstimmt.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
בגימוניות של זהב – folded gold threads like a little yoke, like (Isaiah 58:5): “…Is it like bowing the head like a bulrush [and lying in sackcloth and ashes…]?,” and the band surrounds it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
According to some sages, three of the species (all except the etrog) must be bound together. Our mishnah debates whether the cord used to bind the three together must be from the same species as one of the three species. The problem with it being from another type of tree is that when he picks up the lulav, he will be carrying five species the four mandated ones and the one from which he made his cord. This might be a violation of the prohibition of adding on to the Torah’s commandments. The Torah says four species it would be prohibited to add a fifth.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
במינו היו אוגדין אותו למטה – to fulfill the commandment of tying/binding, and this is for merely beauty, for Rabbi Yehuda according to his reasoning who said that a Lulav requires a bind, therefore, if he binds it with something not of its species, he would have five species (instead of four), and we hold that a Lulav does not require a band, therefore in this, the Halakha is according to Rabbi Meir.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
They may not bind the lulav except with [strands of] its own species, the words of Rabbi Judah. Rabbi Judah holds that the lulav must be bound together. The consequence of this rule is that the binding is an integral part of the lulav without it one cannot perform the mitzvah. Since the binding is integral to the lulav, it must be made from one of the four species. Assumedly, this would be from a string made from a palm tree.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Rabbi Meir says: it may be bound even with a cord. In contrast, Rabbi Meir holds that the lulav need not be bound together. Since the binding is unnecessary, it is not part of the lulav. Therefore, it can come from any species.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Rabbi Meir said: it happened that the men of Jerusalem used to bind their lulavs with strands of gold. They answered him: but they bound it with [strands of] its own species underneath [the strands of gold]. Rabbi Meir defends his opinion by relating a story in which the people of Jerusalem bound their lulavs with strands of gold. This proves that the binding need not be from the same type of material as the four species. The other sages admit that those lulavs were bound with gold, but they claim that underneath the gold there was a layer of binding that was made of one of the four species. Since this was the layer that affected the binding, only it must be from one of the four species. An alternative explanation is that “underneath” means at the bottom of the lulav. The lulav needs to be bound only at the bottom and the men of Jerusalem bound their lulavs with gold only at the top.
