Rav Leffs insights are a regular feature of the print edition
of Yated Ne'eman-Bnei Brak. They are included here in this special
Succos edition.
The Medrash, (Yalkut Shimoni 651) relates: "Rav Mani
of Shav and Rebbe Yehoshua of Sichnin, in the name of Rebbe
Yehoshua Ben Levi: This can be compared to a country that was
in arrears of its debt to its king and the king came to
collect the debt. The leaders of the country met the king 15
mil (miles) outside the city limits and praised him. So the
king forgave a third of the debt. Five mil outside the city
limit, the dignitaries of the city met the king and praised
him and he forgave another third of the debt. When the king
entered the city all the inhabitants greeted him and praised
him and the king said, `What was in the past is gone. From
now on, we will keep an account.'
"Similarly on Rosh Hashonoh, Yisroel do teshuvoh and
Hashem forgives a third of their sins. During Aseres Yemei
Teshuvoh the pious fast and Hashem forgives a second third.
Comes Yom Kippur and all fast, and Hashem forgives all their
sins. From Yom Kippur until Succos all Yisroel are busy with
various mitzvos: This one is busy with his succah,
this one with his lulav and so on. On the first day of
Yom Tov they take esrog and lulav in hand and
praise Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Hakodosh Boruch
Hu says to them, `I already forgave you for the past.
From now on take account of your sins.'
"Hence it says, `from the first day' (Vayikra 23:40),
meaning, from the first day of accounting for sins. From the
first day of Succos and onwards."
*
Perhaps we can understand this medrash as follows:
The Mishna in Pirkei Ovos (3:1) says that one will in
the future have to give a din vecheshbon, a judgment
and accounting, before G-d. The Vilna Gaon explains the
difference between a din and a cheshbon as
follows: Din is on the sin that one committed, and
cheshbon is an accounting for the time during which
the sin was committed. The sinner could have performed a
mitzva in that time instead of the sin. Hence, he will not
only be judged for the commission of the sin but also for the
omission of the positive conduct that could have been
accomplished during that time.
From the time the Torah was first given on Shavuos, the
Jewish people never had a chance to receive and truly fulfill
it and thereby to appreciate the potential they had available
through the observance of the Torah, for they soon sinned
with the Golden Calf and the tablets were broken and then for
the next 40 days the people, led by Moshe Rabbenu, prayed
that they not be destroyed. Then they prayed that the Torah
be given to them again and that they regain their former
desirable status in G-d's eyes. This was granted on Yom
Kippur.
Up until Yom Kippur they were occupied solely with the
din, the judgment of atoning for the sin of the Golden
Calf.
Immediately after Yom Kippur they began to collect the
materials to build the Mishkan and four days later, on
the 15th of Tishrei, they were ready to contemplate and
commence the building of the Mishkan with the
materials they had collected. It was at this time that they
reflected on the cheshbon, the accounting for the sin
of the Golden Calf, that is, not what they actually committed
in the sin but rather what they could have achieved had they
not sinned and had been able to receive the Torah 80 days
earlier and had begun the Mishkan then. Probably they
would have already completed it by then and begun to fulfill
the glorious service to Hashem that is possible with it.
Hence the cheshbon of the sin of the Golden Calf began
on the first day of Succos.
Similarly every year we repeat a similar process. From
Chodesh Elul and on we occupy ourselves with the
din, the judgment of our sins of the past year. This
period concludes on Yom Kippur. From the first day of Succos
we are able to contemplate and reflect on the cheshbon
of those aveiros, and to commit ourselves not only not
to sin in the coming year, but to fill our time with the
great responsibility and opportunity to serve Hashem and to
reach great physical and spiritual accomplishments.
The contrast between din and cheshbon is
parallel to the difference between teshuvoh miyir'oh,
repentance based on the fear of punishment for the act of
commission, a fear related to transgressing negative
commandments, and teshuvoh mei'ahavoh, love related to
the positive commandments, the concern for all the good one
could have done in place of the sin.
Hence Succos must follow Yom Kippur, for it corresponds to
the reflection about cheshbon avonos. After the din
is completed on Yom Kippur, the cheshbon is
engendered by the commencement of the building of the
Mishkan, which for us is embodied in the succah,
which parallels the Mishkan in the following
manner.
Part II: The Cloud
G-d descended in a cloud onto Har Sinai to give the Torah.
Later He descended in a cloud in the Mishkan. The
cloud, as a spiritual entity that rests on the mountain or
the Mishkan, represents the bonding link between the
spiritual and physical. The cloud is a temporary entity, for
the true essence of spirituality will be manifest only in the
World to Come. This world is a merely temporal means to reach
that end.
That same cloud devolved on the Jewish People as a whole and
surrounded them as the Clouds of Glory, symbolizing that
their entire physical, natural existence can be utilized to
reach spirituality and holiness through service to Hashem by
observing the Torah.
The temporary succah of the holiday represents those
Clouds of Glory enveloping the Torah Jew in the holiness of
the mitzvos. The succah creates an environment
reminiscent of Gan Eden where man was enveloped with
the splendor of G-d's Presence, as well as surrounded by all
the physical, material aspects of the world and through them
could create his ultimate, eternal attachment to Hashem.
This in turn is suggestive of the ultimate bond with Hashem,
which is in Olom Habo where tzaddikim sit and
bask in the splendor of G-d's Presence. Hence, one who is
discomforted by dwelling in the succah is exempt from
the mitzvah, for it then ceases to be for him the
manifestation of basking in the pleasure of Hashem's
Presence.
The succah is therefore a temporary dwelling,
symbolizing the temporal world. The main mitzvah is on the
first night, for this world is compared to night. The main
component of the succah is the sechach that
mitigates the strong rays of the sun that also symbolize this
natural world "under the sun." The sechach transforms
the rays of the sun into a pleasant shade that can be
harnessed and utilized to dwell in this world, surrounded by
the holiness of G-d's Presence.
Hence, the succah must actually be made and cannot be
created in a passive manner: ta'aseh velo min ho'osuy.
Creating this holy environment in This World is a product of
man's actions and deeds.
It is in this light that we decorate the succah,
signifying that when utilized properly this temporal,
temporary world becomes the seed from where Olom Habo
emerges and is therefore a very beautiful, pleasing and
appealing place.
Part III: The Four Minim
After we perform the mitzvah of succah -- which reminds us of
the ideal of the environment that this world represents, and
of our ability to develop a world permeated with G-d's
Presence that serves as the seeds from which our eternal bond
with G-d in the World to Come grows -- we are actually ready
to utilize the various components of this world in our quest
for a bond with Hashem, to literally know Him as Chazal
expound the verse, "Bechol derochecho do'eihu"
(Mishlei 3:6), know G-d in all your ways, "shekol
ma'asecho yihiyu lesheim Shomayim," that all your deeds
be for the sake of Heaven.
The utilization of the world in all its manifestations --
even those things that have the potential for evil if misused
and abused -- is embodied in the Eitz HaDaas Tov Vora,
the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil of Gan Eden.
The sefer Sifsei Kohen (from the disciples of the
Arizal) explains that according to the opinion in Chazal that
the Eitz HaDaas was a grapevine, Odom Horishon was
supposed to wait until Shabbos and then make Kiddush
on the juice that his wife would have squeezed from the
grapes of the Tree of Knowledge, and thereby be able to know,
i.e. bond with, the entire physical world to utilize it and
elevate it in service of Hashem.
The sin was that he ate from the fruit prematurely, literally
three hours before Shabbos commenced. The three years of
orloh, forbidding fruit to be eaten of a tree for the
first three years of its growth, emanate from these three
hours. Had Odom Horishon waited until Shabbos, the holiness
of the Shabbos would have fortified Odom and Chava to be able
to bond to the physical and material world and utilize their
free choice to sanctify it, elevate it and bond to Hashem
using it, and thereby bring the world to its ultimate goal
and purpose, thus ushering in the World to Come.
Instead, they prematurely bonded with the physical, material
world, tempted by the Satan and motivated by jealousy,
lust and honor, the three foundations of sin that remove one
from the world and break one's bond to Hashem. Thus they
introduced the yetzer hora, the evil inclination, into
their beings, defiling themselves and diminishing their bond
with Hashem. This necessitated their removal from Gan Eden
and also that the development of the world towards its
ultimate goal and perfection became a long, drawn-out process
spanning many generations.
Perhaps, similarly, according to the opinion in Chazal that
the Eitz HaDaas was in fact the Esrog, a
similar scenario can be developed. Odom was created on
erev Shabbos, which was Rosh Hashonoh. He needed to go
through ten days of preparation culminating in the purity of
Yom Kippur before he could eat from the Eitz HaDaas.
After the purity developed on Yom Kippur, he would have been
ready to prepare to actually eat from the Eitz HaDaas
on the first day of Succos, the day designated to be the
Mo'ed, the appointed time of Da'as to bond with
the physical, material world.
So now every Succos we take the Esrog and utilize it
in service of Hashem, symbolizing the utilization of all
creation for this purpose. The esrog represents the
heart, the quintessence of understanding and emotion, and
also the source of life.
Along with the esrog but separate from it, we take the
lulav, hadassim and arovos which enhance,
support and guide the esrog, the fruit of
da'as.
Lulav represents the spine that makes man stand
upright and face his Creator, thereby distinguishing him from
an animal, and it also represents taste, the Hebrew word for
which -- ta'am -- is related to reason and intellect.
The spine raises and holds upright the brain and the heart,
as the verse says, "Niso levoveinu el kapayim, el Keil
baShomayim" (Eichoh 3:41), lift your heart towards your
hands, towards Hashem in the heavens. Man must elevate and
direct his heart and mind towards Hashem to subjugate his
intellect and emotions to Hashem's service. This is what the
spine does and what the lulav symbolizes. This is the
quintessence of fulfilling G-d's commands. Na'aseh
before nishma, without preconditions of understanding,
is a prerequisite for extending one's service to the entire
physical and material world.
The hadassim represent the eyes and also aroma, the
knowledge of Torah that guides us to see the world in its
proper perspective, to understand the purpose of all
creations and to utilize them properly in service of Hashem.
This imparts an elevated aroma to all mundane things when
their spirituality is accessed.
The arovos represent the mouth and also speech, the
power to designate one's actions and the object of those
actions for a sublime purpose. The ability to express the
inner holiness of one's neshomoh outwardly, to project
it into the physical world, is through speech. Both the
tongue and language are called loshon, perhaps related
to losh, the process that takes a liquid and solid and
combines them into a single cohesive compound. This is
similar to taking spiritual ideas, concepts and feelings,
dressing them in words and sentences, and expressing them
outwardly into the physical and natural world.
This is the most basic potential level. It is the root of the
soul that transcends all outer manifestations of knowledge
and deeds that are unique to each individual. This root is
shared by all Jews in common, regardless of how they actually
appear externally or what level they have reached in
developing and reaching their potential.
Combining these qualities with the fruit of da'as, the
esrog, forms the quintessence of utilizing all the
physical and material components of the world in service of
Hashem. That results in simchah, true joy, when all
fulfill their purpose, "yismach Hashem bema'asov" --
when G-d rejoices in His handiwork, and man too rejoices in
His joy.
Hence Succos is zeman simchoseinu, the season of our
joy, for it is also Chag Ho'osif, the celebration of
the ingathering, the holiday where all our possessions --
represented by our crops -- are brought together and united
to be used in service of Hashem.
Since the succah represents the outlook and
perspective necessary to create an environment conducive to
utilizing all nature in service of Hashem, all Jews could
theoretically fulfill the mitzvah with one gigantic
succah, since this outlook and perspective is all-
inclusive and uniform for all.
However, the actual implementation differs from person to
person depending on each one's role, circumstances,
possessions, and unique spiritual and physical qualities.
Hence, the four species must be fulfilled individually by
each Jew and each one cannot fulfill his mitzvah through
someone else's actions nor even using a borrowed set. His
mitzvah must be his unique contribution, tailor-made to his
unique circumstances.
It is therefore on Succos specifically that we bring 70 bulls
to protect the 70 nations and that we bring them in declining
numbers to signify the fact that they be diminished. This is
not a curse that conflicts with the idea of protecting them,
but rather a sign of a gradual unity of the many nations into
one united nation of non-Jews, partners with Klal
Yisroel to serve Hashem with one heart, uniting the world
and all it contains to service to Hashem.
The multitude of 70 nations was necessitated by the sin of
the Tower of Bovel where mankind united to rebel against
Hashem. Hence, the need to break this negative unity and to
confuse their languages and scatter the nations physically,
ideologically and culturally, religiously and politically.
As the world nears its goal with the coming of Moshiach, the
need for divisions will cease, fulfilling the verse, "Ki
oz ehepoch el amim sofoh beruroh likro kulom beSheim Hashem
ule'ovdo shechem echod" -- then will I turn to the
nations a clear, unified language so that they all will call
in the Name of Hashem and serve Him with unity
(Zefania 3:9). This is the significance of the fact
that when Moshiach comes, all the nations will come to
celebrate Succos in Yerushalayim, uniting all in service of
Hashem, the quintessence of Succos.
Part IV: Simchas Beis Hashoeva
In the light of the above, we can better understand the
significance of the Simchas Beis Hashoeva, the
celebration that accompanied the drawing of the water from
the Shilo'ach Spring situated outside the Beis Hamikdash
to be libated on the Altar together with the regular wine
libations that were performed in conjunction with the daily
sacrifices.
Since Succos is the yom tov that signifies our ability
to be productive, it is also the time to pray for the coming
rainy season. We libate water on the altar to secure the
blessing of rain (Rosh Hashonoh 17a).
The Nefesh HaChaim explains that brochoh means
to increase and to intensify. Hakodosh Boruch Hu set
up an organized system through which He directs the physical,
spiritual and material bounty He wishes to shower upon us.
However, Hashem's will is such that that bounty will only be
released by Him if we deserve it, so that it will be
appreciated and hence enjoyed to its fullest. Hence, through
our sacrifices, prayers, mitzvos, Torah learning, we provide
the energy necessary to initiate and to put the fulfillment
of G-d's will into motion. So when we recite a brochoh,
we motivate and increase and intensify the will of G-d
upon the item over which we are reciting the
brochoh.
The gemora relates that G-d prays. The Rashbo
questions: To whom does G-d pray? He answers that He prays to
us, to beseech us to fulfill His will so that He can do what
He wants -- which is to shower us with influence and
bounty.
When we ask for rain we say, Vesein tal umottor, give
dew and rain, referring to rain as "mottor." Yet when
we mention the strength of rain, we say mashiv horu'ach
umorid hagoshem, He makes the wind blow and the rain
fall, referring to the rain as "geshem." "Geshem"
refers to the hisgashmus, the materialization, of the
rain from the clouds. Mottor is related to
matoroh, target or goal, referring to the rain when it
reaches the ground.
We find the word "geshem" in the construction
"gishmeichem," your rains, but we do not find
mitreichem, but rather metar artzeichem, the
rains of your land.
When we fulfill G-d's will in the ideal manner, G-d gives us
our rain. We have initiated it though our Torah and mitzvos,
and hence it is literally ours and its very materialization
is significant to us since we caused it. However even when we
do not live up to this ideal standard, the rain is sent
anyway, for the world cannot exist without it. Then it is
merely mottor, there to satisfy a need for the sake of
the target. Hence metar artzechem, the rains of your
land, that come for the needs of the land and not in your
merit. When we mention G-d's strength to bring rain we stress
that even when it is initiated and motivated by us, the
geshem is still in reality G-d's rain for He gave us
the power to effect this initiation.
When we ask for rain, we ask humbly for at least
mottor, rain that is undeserved, so as not to request
too much. It need not be rain initiated by us and deserved,
but rather at least give us rain that may be undeserved but
comes and hits its target anyway. To initiate the rain cycle
on Succos we draw water from the spring and then libate it so
that we can, in this merit, be the cause of the rain though
the merit of our productivity. Hence the act of drawing the
water which signifies our initiation and motivation of the
rain cycle is also associated with drawing the spiritual
waters of Divine knowledge, of ruach hakodesh, also
motivated by our actions and merits.
Hence, the significance of the name Simchas Beis
Hashoeva, literally the joy of the House. The House
refers to the place where G-d's Presence was manifest and
from where His influence and bounty emanated to the world,
yet it is hashoeva, of the drawing, where we are the
ones who draw and thereby motivate and initiate this Presence
and bounty.
The gemora (Succah 50b) offers an alternative name for
this celebration. Simchas Beis HaChashuvoh, the joy of
the House of Chashuvoh, literally translated
"important." This refers to the fact that G-d created the
inner workings of the earth and the water table and the rain
cycle at the time of Creation. However Chashuvoh can
also be related to machshovoh, thought, and to
cheshbon. Since Succos is the yom tov of
cheshbon, of calculating the positive potential of
man, this is the simchah of the Bayis, the
Mikdosh that is parallel to the Mishkan which
was the cheshbon chashuvoh of Bnei Yisroel's
mission to be productive by bringing G-d's Presence to the
world through our efforts.
Part V: Hoshanoh Rabboh
The gemora (Sanhedrin 99b) says: "Man was created to
toil, yet I do not know if this refers to physical toil or
verbal toil. When it says, `for his mouth causes him to
toil,' I know it means verbal toil. Yet I still do not know
if this refers to the verbal toil of Torah study or of
conversation. When it says, `The Torah should not depart from
your mouth,' I know that it means Torah study."
The Chofetz Chaim explains this gemora as follows:
Man was created to toil to perfect himself and the imperfect
world which G-d presented to him. This can be achieved by
physical labor in advancing and perfecting the natural
world.
As the Medrash relates, the wicked Turnus Rufus asked
Rabbi Akiva, "Which is better, that which people produce or
that which Hashem produces?" He expected Rabbi Akiva to
respond that that which Hashem produces is superior, and he
planned to rejoin that if so then the uncircumcised are
superior to the circumcised. Rabbi Akiva responded that what
people make is superior to what G-d makes, citing the
superiority of man's bread over G-d's wheat.
According to some commentaries, the Torah tells us, "asher
boro Elokim la'asos," that G-d created us to do. G-d
created an imperfect world of potential, for us to develop
that potential and to perfect it. However, this is not the
ultimate perfection.
Verbal perfection is generally in the form of sichoh --
which refers to prayer and praise of G-d, as well as
conversation between people -- that is communication that
promotes the strengthening of interpersonal relationships and
of man's productivity.
However, this is all not the ultimate. The ultimate toil of
Torah is that which perfects all the world, both physical and
spiritual, and also provides the energy source that maintains
the very existence of the world, as Chazal deduced from the
verse, "Im lo Berisi yomom voloyloh chukos shomayim
vo'oretz lo samti," if not for My covenant of the Torah
which is learned day and night, the material laws of heaven
and earth would not be in effect.
The Torah is literally the energy source of the world. The
total lack of Torah study, Rachmono litzlan, would
result in the total negation of the world. The more Torah
study, the more substantially existent and secure the world
is. Hence Chazal relate, "Gedoloh talmud Torah yoseir
meihatzolas nefoshos," Torah learning is greater than
saving lives. Although one must definitely stop learning
Torah to save a life, it is not because saving a life is
greater than the Torah learning but rather that G-d's will is
that one should do the lesser thing in that case, just as one
must stop learning Torah to eat matzoh or perform any
other mitzvah that cannot be done at a later time or
fulfilled by another person in his place, even though
learning Torah is superior to all other individual
mitzvas.
In this vein, HaRav Aharon Kotler zt"l explains the
mishna in Pe'ah: These are the things that one
benefits from their fruits in this world and their principal
endures for the World to Come: Honor of parents . . . Acts of
kindness. . . and Torah study is equal to all of them. Torah
is the ultimate kindness, for all other kindnesses are
particular for the objects of the kindness, but the study of
Torah is a kindness to the entire universe, since it sustains
and preserves all existence.
Hence, we begin Succos, the Yom Tov commemorating the
cheshbon, the positive, productive effect a Jew must
have on the world through his toil, using the succah,
the four species, and Simchas Beis Hashoeva. All these
represent amal melochoh, the physical toil to perfect
the world.
Yet on the seventh day, the zenith of Succos, we celebrate
Hoshanoh Rabboh which centers around the arovoh, the
willow, which symbolizes the mouth -- the toil of speech,
prayer and praise of Hashem and as well as conversation and
communication. Hence the prayers on Hoshanoh Rabboh are in
beseeching Hashem to save us (Hosha-no) and to provide
rain for the coming year. The seforim relate that the
prayers of Hoshanoh Rabboh atone for loshon hora,
giving it also responsibility for the dimension of
conversation and communication and the strengthening of
society by verbal interchange.
Based on this insight we wave the arovoh to all
directions and up and down, as we do the four species, to
signify its effect on the totality of existence. We also beat
it on the ground, symbolizing that the words of the mouth and
the physical, concrete ground must be united so that through
the toil of speech the physical world is promoted and
perfected. Similarly the gemora relates that Rabbon
Gamliel would prostrate himself during the Simchas Beis
Hashoeva and kiss the ground, also symbolizing the
combination of the mouth with the earth.
Part VI: Shemini Atzeres, Simchas Torah
Finally we reach the ultimate expression of the dynamism of
man, the toil of Torah learning symbolized by Shemini Atzeres
which is also Simchas Torah. The medrash says that on
the first seven days of Succos we bring seventy bulls to
atone for the seventy nations, but on Shemini Atzeres we
bring but one bull symbolizing a small intimate meal between
Klal Yisroel and Hashem.
Additionally the medrash relates that it is difficult
for Hashem to bid us farewell on the final day of Succos, so
He asks us to linger on for one more day. Perhaps the idea
inherent in these midroshim is as follows:
The connection to Hashem on the first days of Succos is
achieved first through the physical world -- the succah which
surrounds us -- and all of its components, the four
minim which we utilize in service of Hashem symbolized
by our marching with them in hand around the Bimah and
the Sefer Torah. Then we surround the Bimah on
Hoshanoh Rabboh with our arovos, symbolizing service
to Hashem by utilizing our mouth to praise Hashem and to
communicate His service to the world.
Finally on Shemini Atzeres we do not need physical utensils
at all to create our bond with Hashem but rather the Torah
itself is our bond with Hashem. Hence, we march around with
the Torah, dancing and singing.
According to the Vilna Gaon, this is a sample of the bliss of
Olom Habo when tzadikim bask in the joy of G-
d's Presence which is depicted in the gemora as a
dance for the tzadikim, with Hashem in the center. We
also hold a Sefer Torah as we march, symbolizing that
our bond to Hashem is created by the Torah and its study
itself.
Hence, we do not need the multitude of sacrifices to create
the intimate bond but rather one single sacrifice symbolizing
the Torah itself. Therefore we need not bid Hashem farewell
merely because the mitzvos of the succah and four
minim are terminated, for our bond does not depend on
that but rather on Torah that continues on, beyond the yom
tov.
Alternately it is the recognition of the message of Shemini
Atzeres -- that it is indeed difficult for Hashem to bid us
farewell -- that should give us the incentive to continue our
bond beyond the yom tov, to bond with Hashem on an
ongoing basis through Torah.
In a similar vein, it was the breaking of the Luchos
by Moshe Rabbenu before the eyes of all Yisroel that made us
aware that our bond with Hashem had been broken, causing us
to long for its return and thus enabling a second chance with
the second Luchos.
In this respect, Shemini Atzeres is in fact the restoration
of the atzeres of Shavuos that was abrogated and then
reinstated after Yom Kippur following the command of the
Mishkan with the Luchos, that is Torah, at its
center that made us appreciate intensely the importance of
Torah. This is why we finish the Torah on Shemini Atzeres --
for only when we appreciate the importance of Torah and long
to begin it again can we complete it without being accused by
the Satan of rejoicing in our being finished with the
Torah.
In this vein, the Sfas Emes explains that Shemini Atzeres
creates a reservoir of our appreciation of Torah for the
whole year. Hence Succos is ultimately the yom tov of
Yaakov Ovinu for the quintessence of the productivity
represented by Succos, the Yom Tov of cheshbon, is the
study of Torah, the pillar embodied by Yaakov Ovinu.
We thereby conclude Chag Ho'Osif, the yom tov
of gathering in all our physical crops, preparing our
needs for the remainder of the year and in parallel
spiritually solidifying our relationship with Hashem through
our intensified appreciation of Torah study as a vehicle that
bonds us to Hashem in all times, at all places, under all
circumstances.
