Succoth(Hoshanah Raba): The Role of the Lowly Willow By Rav Kook

You have to feel sorry for the poor aravah, the willow branch waved together with the other three species of the arba'ah minim on Succoth. It lacks the fragrance of the etrog and the myrtle, and, unlike the date-palm, it has no fruit. The willow has come to represent the simple folk who are neither learned in Torah nor respected for numerous good deeds. And yet, according to an ancient oral tradition, the aravah becomes the star of the show on Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of the Succoth holiday. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the kohanim would raise tall willow boughs around the altar. In synagogues nowadays, after waving all four species, we set aside the other three species and raise the willow alone. And then, at the end of the Hoshanah prayers, the congregants beat the willow on the floor. Why does the lowly willow merit this special attention?