The ritual of the willow branch TB Sukkah 44

The Mishnah on TB Sukkah 42b cites a ritual of the willow branches above and beyond the willow branches in the lulav.  “The lulav is taken and the altar is encircled together with the willow branch either six or seven days, depending on which day of the Festival occurs on Shabbat.” (Sefaria.org translation) Today’s daf TB Sukkah 44 (beginning with TB Sukkah 43b) takes a deep dive discussing the mitzvah of the willow branches. Yet to be determined whether this ritual is taking, lifting up, and possibly waving the willows (נְטִילָה) which would mean that all priests even those who were ineligible to offer up sacrifices would participate or placing the willows upright against the altar (זְקִיפָה) which would mean only one priest needed to participate in this ritual.

Everybody agrees that although this ritual of the willow branch in the Temple has no scriptural basis, it is a halahka given to Moses on Mount Sinai which makes it Torahitic (דאורייתא). Outside the Temple precincts people observed it only on the seventh day of the holiday which we now call Hoshana Rabba as a remembrance of what took place in the Temple. This ritual does not supersede the Sabbath both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora i.e. Babylonia The Gemara discusses whether the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malakhi ordained it (יְסוֹד נְבִיאִים) and a blessing is required to be recited or whether it was just a custom of the prophets (מִנְהַג נְבִיאִים) and no blessing is required. The Gemara comes to the conclusion that is just a custom based on the following stories.

“The Gemara relates that Aivu, father of the amora Rav, said: I was standing before Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok, and a certain man brought a willow branch before him to fulfill the mitzva. He took it and waved it; he waved it and did not recite a blessing. This indicates that he holds that the mitzva of the willow branch is a custom of the prophets and is therefore performed without a blessing. Similarly, the Gemara relates that Aivu and Ḥizkiya, sons of the daughter of Rav, brought a willow branch before Rav to fulfill the mitzva. He waved it; he waved it and did not recite a blessing. This indicates that he, too, holds that it is a custom of the prophets.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Tosefot ד"ה כָּאן בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ כָּאן בַּגְּבוּלִין teaches that a custom of the prophets does not require a blessing is not a hard and fast rule. There are some customs that require blessings to be recited. For example, the second day of Yom Tov is considered a custom handed down to us by our ancestors (מנהג אבותינו בידינו). We recite all the appropriate blessings like over the matzah at the second Seder. There are some customs like the willows on Hoshana Rabba when we don’t recite any blessings. Then there are customs that fall in between these two categories. An example would be Hallel on Rosh Hodesh, the first day of the new month. Interesting to note that the Sefardim do not recite a blessing before Hallel on Rosh Hodesh and the Ashkenazim do.

 “Gemara asks: And what is its requisite measure? Rav Naḥman said: It is three branches of moist leaves. And Rav Sheshet said: It is even one leaf and one branch. The Gemara wonders about the statement of Rav Sheshet: Does it enter your mind that one takes a single leaf and a single branch separately? Rather, emend Rav Sheshet’s statement and say: One fulfills his obligation even with one leaf on one branch.” (Sefaria.org translation) Even though the Shulkhan Arukh decides that one fulfills his obligation even with one leaf on one branch (Orekh Hayim 664:4) Rebbeinu Nisim ben Reuvan decides that we need three willow branches just like the lulav. The Kabbalist Ar”i decides that we should use five willow branches and that is the custom most of Israel follows to this very day.