RRW
The willow which symbolizes the Jew without Torah learning and good deeds and also symbolizes the "mouth" is taken in our hands and beaten (havatat aravot) on the floor five times. There are many, many different reasons given for this obscure ritual. I would like to offer my own: I see the beating of the willows parallel to the azazel ritual. In other words, the willows become the scapegoat.
Why five times? Five is a significant number: Five senses, Five Books of Moses, Five pointed star, (this symbol of the five-pointed Star and the corresponding number five have been consonant symbols for Man for as long as there has been written record, dating back to the earliest centuries, Five fingers on each hand, Five toes on each foot and the word "quintessence" means the fifth essence. In physics, quintessence is a hypothetical form of dark energy postulated as an explanation of observations of an accelerating universe. The ancients saw a link of God to man in the number five. Geometrically it is a pentagon. In three dimensions it is a pyramid, like the Great Pyramids in Egypt. So as you can see, beating the willow 5 times may have greater meaning than meets the eye.
Another beautiful thought: The word for willow "aravah" also means "sweet," so that our prayers should be sweet before the Almighty.
So when you beat the willows, be sure to pray for a sweet year and a quintessence of Avodas HaShem.
-Cantor Richard Wolberg
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