Hoshana Rabba: Aravos - A Businessman's Kiss For Good Luck
The Menoras HaMaor, who lived around four hundred years ago, says that keeping a leaf from the Aravos of the Hoshanos is a segula for travelers, especially business travelers.
We find the first segula in the Torah where there was a plague of poisonous snakes in the Midbar. Hashem told Moshe to place a large copper snake on a high pole and whoever is bitten should look at it and he will be healed. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana asks, how can a copper snake heal? The mishna answers that when a person looks up at the snake he will notice the heavens in the background and start to think of Hashem. Thinking of Hashem is where the real cure lies. The snake is just an attraction to guide us home.
Hoshana Rabba is the climax of almost two months of work repairing and rebuilding our relationship with the Master of the Universe. We repent, cleanse ourselves, and finally, we honeymoon with him in His succah. On Hoshana Rabba we reach our goal of Yishakeini Mi'Nisheikos Pihu. We get the coveted kiss on the lips from Hashem. This is symbolized by the arava; the long drawn out lip shaped leave.
Then, just like that Succos is over and it's back to work. When a lonely businessman travels far from his home seeking his fortune, he is far removed from the closeness of succos, where he knew with certainty that Hashem determines his financial fate. He is too busy contemplating his negotiating strategy. This is a very dangerous predicament. When he pulls out his "lucky" aravos he suddenly travels back in time to Hoshana Rabba and that beautiful kiss. Suddenly all is clear to him once again. That is the power of a good segula.
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