english – sukkot

The Sukkot Festival – Zman Simchateinu

The Torah emphasizes that Sukkot is a joyous holiday.  Indeed, it commands us not once, but twice, to be joyful on Sukkot: “Rejoice in your festival…and be totally joyous” –ושמחת בחגך…והיית אך שמח ; and “Rejoice before the Lord, your G-d, for seven days” – ושמחתם לפני ה’ אלוקיכם שבעת ימים  (Devarim 16:14-15 & Vayikra 23:40). Let us try to put our finger on the source of this joy, and explore together some classical insights into the Festival of Sukkot and the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah.

The Talmud (Sukkah 11b) records an interesting difference of opinion among our great Sages about what exactly the Torah means when it tells us why we are to dwell in the sukkah on Sukkot: For you should know throughout the generations that I placed the Jews in sukkot when I took them out of Egypt. (Vayikra 23:43).  Rabbi Eliezer understood that the sukkot mentioned in the passuk refer to the Clouds of Glory that G-d sent to envelope and protect the Jews during their years in the desert. Rabbi Akiva, however, understood this literally as a reference to actual sukkot – similar to the temporary “huts” we use today. Although the accepted opinion is that of Rabbi Eliezer, the Pri Megadim writes that one should have the interpretations of both Sages in mind while fulfilling the mitzah of sukkah.

Now, we may find it a bit difficult to fully appreciate the opinion of Rabbi Akiva because the Torah itself tells us that G-d enveloped the Jews with miraculous Clouds of Glory. Why does Rabbi Akiva insist on a literal understanding?

The Chatam Sofer (דרשות נ”ג) clears up the mystery by explaining that among the Jewish people were lepers and other ritually impure individuals who were disqualified from dwelling in the confines of the camp. They were the ones who dwelt in actual sukkot outside of the Clouds of Glory. Thus, the Chatam Sofer explains, the two opinions of our Sages can be reconciled:

On the one hand, the righteous and pure merited the Clouds of Glory. On the other hand, the lepers and other impure individuals had to suffice with actual sukkot made for them by G-d.

If we think about it, this awareness can enhance our own fulfillment of the mitzvah of sukkah. Those of us who were worthy on Yom Kippur to be cleansed and inscribed in the Book of the Righteous can enjoy the sukkah as it is described in the Zohar: to be the shade of Emunah (faith and trust in G-d) , similar to the Clouds of Glory. But those who were less fortunate can also find joy and consolation in the sukkah. They can feel that leaving their comfortable houses and entering the sukkah is a kind of exile which will bring them the atonement that they did not merit on Yom Kippur. This is hinted at in the plural name of the festival – Sukkot – since the sukkah serves two different functions.

The Zohar notes that this temporary dwelling place which requires two walls and a bit of a third symbolizes an arm that is hugging(וימינו תחבקני) . It is, symbolically, the “Arm” of G-d – the “Arm” that continues to hug us in our exile. Whether we as individuals are in symbolic exile in the sukkah, or whether we as a nation are in exile and Diaspora, we still can bring G-d’s Glory into our lives. Indeed, G-d treasures our ability to remain joyous as we retain a permanent relationship with Him despite the constantly changing conditions and lack of permanence of Jewish life in Exile. G-d loves us as we project to ourselves and others that the Jew’s happiness is not due to wealth or material luxury. Rather, it is our ability to sit in the sukkah together with our ancestors, and connect to a pleasure in life that luxury cannot offer: the pleasure of being in G-d’s shade, and following Him throughout difficult times. It is no coincidence that in the end of days, G-d will refute the gentiles’ claim of loyalty to G-d by testing them specifically with the mitzvah of sukkah. For only a Jew has the ability to remain close to G-d despite difficulty and exile.

This is because he appreciates that there is no greater pleasure than being close to G-d. As Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt”l explained, this pleasure is greater than the other four types of pleasures available to man, beginning with sensual pleasure – such as steak, luxury cars, good music. It is greater than the pleasure of love – such as love for a child or a spouse.  (The sensual level of pleasure is the lowest on the list. One would not give up even one unit of this pleasure of love such as giving up a child for all the sensual pleasures in the world.) It is greater than the pleasure derived from a cause. (A cause is a higher level of pleasure than love. People are willing to do so much for a cause – sometimes even at the expense of their loved ones.)  It is even greater than the pleasure of creativity – such as creating a family or a new concept.

Beyond all these worldly pleasures is the pleasure of having a relationship with G-d, and recognizing and appreciating that He is the source of all we have, and has always been our Savior and Protector. Rabbi Weinberg noted that it is difficult to tap into this pleasure while running after the pleasures of the senses.

Under the leaves of the schach (sukkah roof) and the blue sky, the Jew can readily feel this pleasure of a relationship with his Creator. Out of his comfortable home, inside his humble sukkah abode, the Jew can tap into this unsurpassable pleasure which brings unlimited happiness. It is a relationship that even an exile of 2,000 years cannot diminish.

Inside the sukkah, we sense that we are in a different world. We are in a world where the pleasure of G-d’s presence is tangible, and can be felt as more pleasurable then all worldly possessions. We project this joy during the time of plenty and harvest, and thereby fortify ourselves for the upcoming journey through the long, cold winter ahead.

Post Script

In the Landof Israel, the Festival of Sukkot falls during the harvest. A successful harvest can easily swell the ego of the individual gathering in so much bounty. Thus, the Rashbam tells us, we leave our sturdy houses for a flimsy sukkah specifically at this time of year in order to humble ourselves (Vayikra 23:23).  We are to remember that there was a time when our nation dwelled in the desert in simple huts. And we are to remember that it is not our strength that gave us our wealth, but rather the kindness of G-d. This awareness only strengthens our feeling of closeness to the One who provides for all of our needs, always.

ARBA’AT HA’MINIM:

THE FOUR SPECIES AS SYMBOLS

Sometimes we are so busying doing mitzvot that we do not have enough time to delve into their deeper meaning or symbolic significance. Since we find ourselves now just before the Festival of Sukkot, I would like to explore with you some of the secrets of the Four Species that we wave during the Festival. Did you know that the Four Species hint at all 613 mitzvot of the Torah?  We see this in the numerical value of the etrog (610), coupled with the three other Species – lulav, hadassim, and aravot. 610 + 3 = 613. Looked at another way, the Four Species hint at the Seven Heavens: one etrog, one lulav, three hadassim, and two aravot. 1 + 1 + 3 + 2 = 7. With these seven mitzvah items, we can pierce the Seven Heavens with our prayers!

The etrog is used as a segulah for easy childbirth ( (אלף המגן’ סי’ תר”ס ס”ו. This is how it works: A pregnant woman nearing childbirth takes an etrog which had been used for the mitzvah of the Four Species, and bites off the pitom (after Hoshana Rabba). She then says: “Master of the Universe, Chava ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge – the etrog – and brought upon humanity death and birth pangs! Master of the Universe, just as I refrained from eating of the etrog during the days of Sukkot while the mitzvah was being done with it, I would have also refrained from eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Please accept my prayer that neither I nor my child get hurt during childbirth…”

There is another level of symbolism to the Four Species, this one connected with four important organs of the human body. The lulav symbolizes the spine; the etrog – the heart; the hadassim – the eyes; and the aravot – the lips. This is one reason we are especially careful about purchasing a beautiful etrog, with not even a small part missing (chaser). A pure heart, a 100% feeling heart, is indispensable in our quest for self-perfection. By controlling all four of these key parts of the body, and doing teshuvah with them over the forty days leading up to Yom Kippur, we hope to merit a successful new year. We do teshuvah by bending over (bending the spine) while banging on our heart and confessing our sins with our lips in viduy. Teshuvah is done by a regretful heart, and eyes that perceive clearly, but don’t wander where they shouldn’t. Our lips both verbalize how we wronged G-d and man, and also control what we say and how we say what we must.

Incidentally, it is not surprising that the etrog – symbolic of the heart – was the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge since the Torah calls the heart the place of one’s knowledge, as in the expressions: binat ha’lev and chacham lev.

The custom of circling the bimah – hakafot – has several levels of significance.  On the simple level, it is intended to remind us of the circling around the Altar in the Temple. But the circle also symbolizes that which is eternal and never-ending – unlike the line, which has a beginning and an end. When we make our circular hakafot with the Sefer Torah on Simchat Torah, we are saying that the Torah itself is eternal and never-ending. In a similar way, the (Ashkenazi) custom of the bride circling the groom under the chupah symbolizes a relationship and love between husband and wife that is to be never-ending.  The wife will always be there for the husband, and the husband will look at no other woman. Indeed, the hakafot on Sukkot also hint at our permanent relationship with our “Groom” who is always there to save us and bring about our salvation.

Whether we need G-d to send rain (which we pray for while holding the Four Species which require a great deal of water to grow) or whether we need G-d to help us do teshuvah, He is there for us eternally. He never fails us. He never looks to other nations to choose another “Bride.” And we circle the Sefer Torah to proclaim that we would like to be fulfilling all His mitzvot all year long as well.

Our Rabbis also tell us that by putting all of the Four Species together, we show the underlying unity of the four different types of Jews. Those who study Torah, but do not have mitzvot, are similar to the lulav – which has taste (the dates), but no fragrance. Hadassim are fragrant, but lack taste – similar to those who do mitzvot, but do not study Torah. Aravot lack both fragrance and taste, like those who do not perform mitzvot nor study Torah. The etrog, which has both fragrance and taste, represents those who study Torah and fulfill the Commandments as well. If one has the most beautiful etrog lulav and hadassim, but has no lowly aravot, he cannot fulfill the mitzvah.  All four types are necessary to fulfill the mitzvah. Similarly, the Jewish People is comprised of all four types of Jews, and we cannot do without anyone of them.

The happiness that the Torah specifically commands us to reach on the Sukkot Festival can only be achieved through Jewish unity. This is the happiness of the Simchat Beit Hashoevah. And this is why the Haftarah of Shabbat Chol HaMoed about the final Redemption is so appropriate. If we would only recognize how very much we all need one other, we would be able to bring the final Redemption within reach.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF REUVEN BEN SARA AND CHANA BAT HENYA

To promote this article, receive it by email or questions please contact us.

SHABBAT SHALOM   rabbiyoseffarhi@gmail.com   0527161854