A woman may receive [the lulav] from the hand of her son or her husband, [and we do not say that she is moving something that is not fit for her], and she may return it to the water on the Sabbath [so that it not wither]. On the Sabbath, it may be returned, [having been taken thence that day; but water may not be added, and, it goes without saying, it may not be changed. On the festival water may be added (but it may not be replaced with colder water, this constituting "exertion to amend something"], and on Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days), it is [a mitzvah] to change the water. If a child knows how to shake the lulav, he is obligated in lulav [i.e., It is a rabbinic ordinance that he be trained in it.]
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
As anybody who has ever fulfilled the commandment of lulav knows, or for that matter, as anybody who has ever dealt with cut flowers knows, they tend to dry up over time. This is especially true for the aravah and the hadas they simply won’t last when they are taken out of water. Our mishnah deals with putting the lulav back into water on Shabbat and on the festival.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
A woman may receive [a lulav] from her son or from her husband and put it back in water on Shabbat. This section really teaches two things. The first is that putting a lulav back in water on Shabbat is permitted. This is not similar to watering plants which is prohibited because the plants are still attached to the ground. Secondly, the mishnah teaches that a woman may handle a lulav on Shabbat even though she is not liable to take the lulav. We might have thought that since she is exempt from the laws of lulav, that the lulav is muktzeh to her (forbidden for her to handle). The mishnah teaches that since a man is obligated to take the lulav on Shabbat (if it is the first day of the festival), then the woman may handle it as well.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Rabbi Judah says: on Shabbat they may be put it back [into the water in which they were previously kept], on a festival day [water] may be added, and on the intermediate days [of the festival the water] may also be changed. Rabbi Judah expands on the previous opinion. He agrees that on Shabbat one may put the lulav back into the water. However, he is not allowed to add new water. On a festival he can even add new water, but he may not completely switch the water. That he may do only on the intermediate days of the festival (hol hamoed).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
A minor who knows how to shake [the lulav] is obligated [to take] the lulav. Once a child has reached an age where he is big enough to hold the lulav (all four species) and shake them properly, he is obligated to do so. The Talmud Bavli and subsequent commentators interpret this to mean that at this age his father has an obligation to teach him how to shake the lulav. His real obligation does not begin until his bar mitzvah, at age 13.
