Lulav Customs Connecting Sukkot with Passover

Finding customs that connect one holiday to another has become a favorite activity for me. You may remember the wonderful Italian custom I discovered linking Tisha B'Av with Hanukkah. This time, a little sleuthing has led me to a lulav custom that connects Sukkot with Passover. I'll make it short and sweet. Syrian, Moroccan and Baghdadi Jews put the lulav away after Sukkot and take it out erev Pessach to burn the Chametz.

Yemenite Jews save the entire package -- lulav, aravim and hadassim -- and use it as oven fuel for baking shemurah matzot.

What's the logic behind these customs? They are based on the Talmudic principle (Berakhot 39b and Shabbat 117b) of reusing an item that was employed for one mitzvah to do another one. Hey -- doesn't that sound like today's "reuse and recycle"?

Finally, here's another wrinkle I found last week: save the lulav and use it as the broom for getting the chametz out of your home (and classroom).  Remember, it has a sharp tip, making it easy to get into the corners. Plus, you know what they say about new brooms -- they make a clean sweep.

Chag Sameach.

Lulav Photo Credit