(JNS) Jewish tradition teaches that the combination of the Four Species associated with Succot - the lulav (palm branch), hadas (myrtle), arava (willow) and etrog (citron) -symbolises the four "types" of Jews bringing them all together as a group.

Evidently unconcerned about robots coming for Jewish ritual practice, the US novelist and essayist Dara Horn has added a Boston Dynamics robodog to the mix.

In a video posted to X/Twitter, Horn’s e-pet can be seen waving a lulav, the palm branch that is traditionally moved to and fro each day of the Succot.

https://x.com/tabletmag/status/1709681825185218913?s=20

The clip, posted by Tablet Magazine, where Horn is a contributing editor, is accompanied by a caption reading: "The next frontier of the digital age: robots doing mitzvahs".

It goes on to explain that the robot "lives in [Horn's] house - it's named Spot and it's their only pet".

Horn later added: "For those wondering where the etrog is: This industrial robot does a lot of things really well, but I didn’t trust it with my etrog’s pitom [the head of the etrog]!"