Why did these Jewish men have flowers?

Question

I recently went to New York for a holiday and encountered lots of Jewish men walking around in their traditional dress.
What were the flowers they carried around with them? They had really long things (i think were flowers).
Also what is the deal with the tassles that hang down from the side of their shirts?

I am not critisicing Jewish people! I just want to understand.

Thanks

Answer 1

No idea!

Answer 2

Steven up there nailed it. He's either Jewish himself, or just very astute. I would simply add that the "citron" is known to Jews as an "esrog" (or "etrog," depending on the dialect of Hebrew one uses). It's funny, because when I would refer to the different species in English, other Jews (who have heard of "myrtle" and "willow") would look at me funny and ask "what the heck is a citron?" - or they'd refer to it as a "citrus," which is technically accurate - but while a citron is a citrus, not all citrus fruits are citrons...you've also got oranges, lemons, limes... I think the esrog is the most pungeant citrus fruit.

After the festival, Jews will find various uses for the four species. It's considered disprespectful to simply throw mitzvah-related items (those things that were used to fulfill a divine commandment) into the trash, so people will often take the lulav bundles, for example, and use them to fuel the fires with which they burn their chametz (leavened foods) before Passover. That way, they're using it for another mitzvah, sort of coming full circle. Their are various uses for the esrog. Some stuff them with cloves and use them as part of the havdallah ceremony that seperates the Sabbath from the working week. Others use the esrog, or at least the zest of it, in baking. My favorite use, however, is to make esrog schnaps. (: The way some of my friends do it is to shred up the peel, and let the pieces sit in a bottle of vodka for a while, occasionally shaking the bottle. Once the bottle is saturated with esrogy goodness, they filter the stuff out, make some simple syrup (basically melted sugar in water), and combine it with the citron-infused liquor. The finished product is an acquired taste, and not the same as say, "Absolut Citron," but it provides us with a great excuse to say "l'chayim!" (to life!)

Okay, that was probably more than you wanted to know... Oh, but hey, a couple articles I would recommend in addition to the Wikipedia ones,

On tzitzis, and other common Jewish symbols: http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm (A couple of minor corrections to what the author wrote: While it is common among Ashkenazim that only married men wear a tallis, some orthodox Jews wear it from the time they become bar mitzvah [age 13]. And not all Jews wear the fringes hanging out, although this is quite common, and you're bound to see it a lot in New York.)

and on Succos:

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm (See the section on the Four Species!)

Answer 3

What you probably saw was the Arba Minnim. These are the four kinds of plants that Jews are commanded to take on the festival of Succos.

The long thing was a palm branch and there would have been myrtle and willow bound with it. That's collectively known as a lulav. The fourth species is the citron, which is carried separately.

Normally these would have been taken on the two days of the festival (7 and 8 October) but the first day was Saturday so they were only taken on Sunday.

The hanging down tassles are tzitzis because it says in Numbers 15:38: "Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of blue on the fringe of each corner." They are usually white as the way to die them blue (had to be a particular shellfish) has been forgotten

Answer 4

It is not a Jewish law. It is a rule of that particular cemetery. Many don't allow flowers because it requires cemetery employees to go around the cemetery picking up those that have rotted.

Answer 5

Its part of their religion.