Une femme peut recevoir [le loulav] de la main de son fils ou de son mari, [et nous ne disons pas qu'elle déplace quelque chose qui ne lui convient pas], et elle peut le remettre à l'eau le jour du sabbat [donc qu'il ne se fane pas]. Le jour du sabbat, il peut être rendu, [ayant été emmené de là ce jour-là; mais de l'eau ne peut pas être ajoutée et, bien entendu, elle ne peut pas être changée. Sur le festival de l'eau peut être ajoutée (mais elle ne peut pas être remplacée par de l'eau plus froide, ce qui constitue un "effort pour modifier quelque chose"], et sur Chol Hamoed (les jours intermédiaires), c'est [une mitsva] de changer l'eau. Si un enfant sait comment secouer le loulav, il est obligé en loulav [c'est-à-dire, c'est une ordonnance rabbinique qu'il y soit formé.]
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.
