A Reality Check
By Rabbi
Yehudah Prero | Series: Yom Tov | Level: Beginner
Sukkos is marked by a unique command to “live” in the
Sukkah, a hut-like structure built outdoors. We eat our meals in the Sukkah,
and many sleep in the Sukkah as well. The Sukkah is meant to be our dwelling
place for the duration of the holiday.
Sukkos also marks a change in the mood of the holidays we
have during Tishrei. After completing the High Holidays, holidays of solemnity,
we have Sukkos, a holiday on which we are commanded to rejoice. The Chida,
R’ Chaim Yosef David Azulay writes that there is
significance to the juxtaposition of the holidays. During Sukkos, we move to a
temporary dwelling outdoors.
The Chida says this move sends a message to us. We have
just celebrated the holidays of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. On these days, we
have spoken about how spiritual matters should be primary in our lives. We have
dedicated ourselves to serving G-d instead
of our passions. We have asked forgiveness for our pursuit of earthly
pleasures. The Sukkah highlights what we have just experienced. It reminds us
that our life in this world is temporary, just as is our dwelling in the
Sukkah. G-d is giving us a booster shot so that after
the serious times have slipped away, the Sukkah reminds us still about our
decision to pursue the spiritual. When we sit in the Sukkah, we are to
strengthen our resolve to do that which is right, by reminding ourselves that
our goal is to accomplish for life in the World To Come.
The Sukkah has further significance. The Torah writes
(Devarim 16:13) “You shall observe the Feast of Sukkos seven days, after you
have gathered in your grain and your wine.” Why do we observe Sukkos at this
harvest time? The Rashbam explains that the key to the answer is another reason
the Torah gives for celebrating Sukkos (Vayikra 23:43): “That your generations
may know that I made the people of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought
them out of the land of Egypt.” When we sit in the Sukkah, the Torah tells us,
we should remember how G-d provided shelter for the
nation of Israel for 40 years after they left Egypt. The nation had no land to
call their own. The had to wander and be sheltered by G-d. When we
harvest our crops, we may tend to lose sight of how lucky we are that G-d provided for us. The Torah warns us of this
danger. It says (Devarim 12: ) Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have
built goodly houses, and lived there; and when your herds and your flocks
multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is
multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the L-rd your G- d,
which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery; who led
you through that great and terrible wilderness, where were venomous serpents, and
scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought you water out of
the rock of flint, who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers
knew not, that he might humble you, and that he might test you, to do you good
in the end, and you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has
gotten me this wealth.”
To make sure that we do not come to the point of denying
G-d’s providence, we go out into the Sukkah. We remind ourselves that just as G-d provided for those who lived in the desert
with Sukkos to live in, so too did He provide for us, as our harvest. It is
time to take a step back and remember who really provides for us. So we not
lose sight of the source of our livelihood, G-d gave us
the holiday of Sukkos at the time when are most likely to be blinded: harvest
time.
Lodging in the Sukkah is intended to assist us in
clarifying our outlook on life. We remember that life on this world is
temporary. We remember that we can’t take it with us. We remember that what we
have, we got from G- d. The Sukkah is a sanctuary of spirituality. However, the
Sukkah, as we know, is a temporary structure. We must make sure that the
message the Sukkah imparts remains with us during the long winter months, so
that the type of year we asked for on the High Holidays is the one we merit to
live.
Succah: Strictly Under Divine Supervision
Posted
on October 5, 2006 (5767) By Rabbi Osher Chaim Levene | Series: The
Living Law | Level: Beginner
The Mitzvah:
The Jew dwells for seven days in a succah, booth. Needing a minimum of
two and a half walls and organic material as its roof covering, the basic mitzvah is eating bread on
the first night of Succos. All activities should be relocated to the succah
during this festival (Leviticus 24:42-43)
Succos commemorates the Israelites’ shelter – either the
actual ‘huts’ in which the Jewish people dwelled or to the Ananei Hakovod,
miraculous Clouds of Glory protecting them in the wilderness.
But why is there is a festival to celebrate this miracle?
And why should Succos follow in the wake of the Days of Awe?
By swapping his permanent building for a temporary booth
exposed to the natural elements, the Jew affirms how he is, in truth, “strictly
under Divine Supervision”.
What Succos marks is not just simply their miraculous
protection but how G- d lovingly enveloped the nascent nation under His
protective shelter. Ever since their emergence as the Chosen People, after the
Exodus, the Jew would be subject to a special constant Divine providence.
However, this unique relationship forged between G-d and Israel almost disintegrated at the foot
of Sinai. This was because of their treacherous disloyalty in worshipping the
Golden Calf.
Only on Succos, explains the Vilna Gaon, did the Clouds of
Glory which had departed because of their sin, return. That G-d allowed his Divine Presence to return and
rest upon the Jewish nation, and their instruction to construct the Sanctuary,
confirmed their full atonement. The restoration of the Clouds of Glory is the
source for the joyous celebration of Succos, Zman Simchosenu, “time of our
rejoicing”. Succos is sequentially placed after the judgment and atonement of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
But with their repentance, G-d once
again rested upon Israel. Of the three miracles in the wilderness – the manna,
wellsprings of water and clouds of glory – only the latter was not essential
for the nation’s on-going survival. Instead, it was an expression of G-d’s love
and affection. And they, in turn, would take delight in His protection.
Into the succah the Jew goes.
It is on this festival, that the Jew’s eyes are fixed upon
the Heavens. He places his trust and reliance in G-d – and not
in the security of physical structures or his financial assets.
The succah is the symbol of G-d is
directly involved in every aspect of a Jew’s life – just as He was, is and
continues to be involved in their miraculous national survival against all odds
through the pages of history. Where challenged and persecuted, the only
fortress within which Israel can seek refuge is under G-d’s wings.
It is the knowledge Israel is “strictly under Divine
Supervision” which is the happiness celebrated on Succos.
Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Osher Chaim Levene
and Torah.org.
https://torah.org/learning/yomtov-sukkos-vol5no14/
Huts or Houses? Yaakov’s Sukkos Lesson
By Rabbi Yehudah Prero | Series: Yom Tov | Level: Beginner
The Tur Shulchan Aruch writes (Orech Chayim 417) that the three
pilgrimage festivals, the “Shalosh Regalim,” correspond to our three
forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. The festival Sukkos, the Tur
writes, corresponds specifically to Yaakov. What is the connection?
In Bereishis, we read of the events surrounding Yaakov’s
encounter with his brother Esav. Although Esav had sold his birthright to his
younger brother, Yaakov, Esav was angered when Yitzchak, their father, gave
Yaakov the blessings due to the first born. Before this meeting, Yaakov, while
on a trip to retrieve some belongings he left at a camp site, had a struggle
with the “guardian angel” of Esav. Yaakov, although slightly injured by the
angel, came out of the meeting with a blessing. Yaakov then, with trepidation,
met with Esav. He emerged from this encounter unscathed, and the two brothers
went their separate ways. The Torah then tells us (Bereishis 33:17): “And
Yaakov journeyed to Sukkos, and built himself a house, and made booths (sukkos)
for his cattle; therefore the name of the place is called Sukkos.” Yaakov’s
construction of “sukkos,” booths, for his cattle is the link with the holiday
which bears the same name.
Clearly, there must be more of a link between the holiday
and Yaakov than just the word “sukkos.”
Yaakov, as just mentioned, was on a mission when he had his
run-in with Esav’s angel. The Talmud (Chullin 91a) explains how Yaakov came to
be alone when he met the angel. “Said R. Eleazar: He (Yaakov) remained behind
for the sake of some small jars. Hence [it is learnt] that to the righteous
their money is dearer than their body; and why is this? Because they do not
stretch out their hands to robbery.” Yaakov went to fetch some small utensils
left behind because he valued these possessions. Why did Yaakov, and according
to R’ Eleazar, do all the righteous, treasure possessions? Wouldn’t we think
that the righteous would value the spiritual more than the physical?
The answer lies with the conclusion of R’ Eleazar’s statement: “They do
not stretch out their hand to robbery.”
There was a poor man who was scrupulous in his observance
of all of the Mitzvos. However, he was so poor that he did not possess a decent
cup and basin with which he could wash his hands when it was called for. One
night, he dreamt that G-d saw the extent of his poverty, his lack of cup and
basin, and desire to own one, and G-d then gave him the cup and basin. Upon
arising in the morning, lying on the floor next him was the exact same basin
and cup which he saw in his dream. This was clearly a gift from G-d, and he treasured
it greatly.
The man’s fortune changed. He became wealthy, and soon
undertook refurbishing his house. Upon the completion of the work, the man made
one final inspection of the house. He noticed that his cup and basin were
missing. He ordered the workers to search through everything until it was
found. They were successful, but perplexed. They had assumed this must be a
precious cup and basin, fashioned from silver or the like, and that is why the
man was worried about its loss. The cup they found, however, was tin and dented,
and they could not fathom why the man was so distressed about the loss. After
being questioned about this by the workers, the man had one response: “If G-d
Himself had given you something, wouldn’t that be the most precious item you
possess?!”
It is this attitude, Rav Chaim Vital says, Yaakov and all
righteous people share. They appreciate that every item in their possession,
all money that comes their way, is theirs because G-d gave it them, to enable
them to better serve Him. It is dear, beloved, cherished, and carefully
protected. The righteous do not steal. They do not take that which G-d did not
give them. They only have that which G-d blessed them with. They know that G-d
gave them this gift to enable them to fulfil the precepts contained in His
Torah. They therefore value their possessions as one should value a gift from
G-d. This is why Yaakov returned to retrieve his small vessels.
Sukkos is a time when we leave our homes and venture
outside, into a temporary dwelling, the Sukkah. The Sukkah should remind us
that our life in this world is temporary, just as is our dwelling in the
Sukkah.
Furthermore, the Sukkah should serve to remind us that just
as G-d provided for those who lived in the desert with Sukkos to live in, so
too does He provide for us. (See YomTov III:20) Yaakov, the Torah tells us,
made “sukkos,” “huts,” for his possessions. For himself, however, he built a
home. The Targum Yonasan interprets this not as a literal house, but rather as
a House of Study, a “Bais Medrash.” Yaakov had his priorities straight. Yaakov
valued his possessions for the right reasons. He invested his money in that
which has permanence, a house for Torah study. He provided only a temporary
shelter for his “temporary” possessions. This temporary shelter is called a
Sukkah. Our Sukkah should teach us the same lesson. We must appreciate, right
after the conclusion of the High Holidays, our purpose on this earth. We must
value our possessions for the same reasons Yaakov did. We must ensure that we
understand what the priorities are in our lives. Our Sukkah should remind us of
Yaakov’s sukkah. Hence, the holiday of Sukkos and Yaakov are indeed
inextricably tied, as the Tur stated.
(from Matnas Chaim)
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