The Stolen Lulav That Becomes Your Accuser Before God

"And you shall take" (Leviticus 23:40). Rabbi Hiyya taught: there must be a taking by each and every one of you. "For yourselves" (ibid.) means from what is your own, and not from what is stolen. Rabbi Levi said: to what may one who takes a stolen lulav be compared? To a bandit who sits at a crossroads and robs those who come and go. Once a legionary passed by, intending to collect the public tax of a certain province, and the bandit rose against him, robbed him, and took everything he had. After some days that bandit was caught and thrown into prison. The legionary heard of it and went to him, saying, "Stand and give me back everything that man robbed and took from you, and I will plead your case for acquittal." The bandit said to him, "Of everything that man robbed and took from you, he has nothing left except this rug, which is yours." The legionary said, "Give it to me, and I will plead for your acquittal before the king." He gave him the rug he had taken from him. The legionary said, "Tomorrow you will go out to judgment before the king. He will call you and say, 'Do you have anyone to plead your acquittal?' and you will say to him, 'There is a certain legionary,' and he will send and summon him, and I will plead your acquittal." The next day he went out to judgment. The king called him: "Do you have anyone to plead your acquittal?" He said, "A certain legionary." The king sent and summoned him and said, "What do you know that you can plead acquittal for this man?" He said, "I know that at the time you sent me to collect the public tax of a certain province, this man rose against me, ambushed me, robbed me, and took everything I had, and this very rug bears witness against him." Then all began to say, "Woe to this man, whose defender became his accuser." So too a person takes a lulav in order to gain merit through it; but if it was stolen, the lulav cries out before the Holy One, blessed be He, and says, "I am stolen, I am robbed," and the ministering angels say, "Woe to this man, whose defender became his accuser."