Waving The Lulav and Etrog
A unique ceremony is performed in conjunction with the mitzvah of the arba minim. After the blessing which occurs after the Amida prayer, prior to the recitation of Hallel, a blessing is recited while holding the lulav and etrog set. After reciting the blessing it is customary to wave the lulav and esrog in all four directions as well as up and down. This signifies the omnipresence of the Al-Mighty. There are different customs as to the order of the wavings (nianuim). During the Hallel, there are three times where one repeats the waving ritual.
1. During the Hallel service, when reciting the passage: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His loving kindness endures forever.” (”הודו לה’ כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו”). Here is one custom:
הודו – wave to the front
לה’ – [when God’s name is said one does not wave]
כי – wave to the right
טוב – wave to the back
כי – wave to the left
לעולם - wave in an upward direction
חסדו – wave in a downward direction
2. The lulav is waved again during the recitation of the verse:”Let Israel say that His loving kindness endures forever.” (”יאמר נא ישראל כי לעולם חסדו”)
יאמר – wave to the front
נא - wave to the right
ישראל - wave to the back
כי – wave to the left
לעולם- wave in an upward direction
חסדו – wave in a downward direction.
3. The lulav is waved again while reciting: “We implore You, Lord, save us.” (”אנא ה’ הושיעה נא”)
אנא –wave to the front on the first syllable, wave to the right on the second syllable
ה’ - [when God’s name is said one does not wave]
הושיעה – wave to the back on the first syllable, wave to the left on the second syllable and wave in an upward direction on the last syllable
נא – wave in a downward direction.
The other tradition of the waving ceremony is to wave the species to the right, left, front, up, down, and to the back - according to the division above.