Commento su Sukkah 3:3
עֲרָבָה גְזוּלָה וִיבֵשָׁה, פְּסוּלָה. שֶׁל אֲשֵׁרָה וְשֶׁל עִיר הַנִּדַּחַת, פְּסוּלָה. נִקְטַם רֹאשָׁהּ, נִפְרְצוּ עָלֶיהָ, וְהַצַּפְצָפָה, פְּסוּלָה. כְּמוּשָׁה, וְשֶׁנָּשְׁרוּ מִקְצָת עָלֶיהָ, וְשֶׁל בַּעַל, כְּשֵׁרָה:
Un aravah rubato o asciugato è pasul. (Un aravah) da un asheirah o da una città andata fuori strada (dopo l'idolatria) è pasul. Se la sua testa era mozzata, [(Anche questa non è l'halachah)] o se le sue foglie erano rotte, e (se fosse) un tzaftzafa [una specie di arava con una foglia rotonda], è pasul. Se fosse avvizzito, se alcune delle sue foglie fossero cadute, o se fosse cresciuto in un campo [e non in un ruscello], è kasher, [Scrittura che afferma (Levitico 23:40): "salici del ruscello", solo perché questa è l'istanza comune.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
One [take from an] asherah or from a condemned city is invalid.
One whose tip was broken off or whose leaves were detached, or a tzatzefah is invalid.
One that was shriveled or had lost some of its leaves, or one grown in a rain-watered soil, is valid.
This mishnah deals with the aravah, the willow.
Sections one and two: See mishnah one.
Section three: The first two details are again the same as in mishnah one. The third is unique to the aravah. The Torah specifies that an aravah that grows on a brook, or a wadi, is the type of aravah that should be used. According to the mishnah, this rules out the species of aravah called the “tzaftzefah”, which grows in the mountains and whose leaves are a different shape than the brook-aravah.
Section four: Of the four species, the aravah is the one that most easily dries out. Hence, the mishnah rules that if it is shriveled or lost some, but not most of its leaves, it is still valid.
The Torah states that the aravah is to be one that grows on a brook. The mishnah expands this to include an aravah that grows on a field watered by rain. The important thing is that the species of aravah is the same as that which grows on a brook. It is valid even if it is not actually found on the brook. This contrasts with the tzaftzefah, which is of a different species and does not look like a brook-aravah.