When some non-Jewish people enjoy someone else's company,
they express their approval by suggesting that the person
would make a good drinking buddy, and they would like to go
out for a night on the town and hit the bars with them
sometime.
The Jewish concept of simchah and the non-Jewish
concept of having a good time are quite different, and
simchah is one of the main aspects of Succos. In our
state of golus we have to work hard to fully
understand what this concept of simchah is. We can
only work with what remains with us in our current state,
without the Beis Hamikdosh, mired in our current state
of shibud malchuyos where we have so many
distractions. Even for those who knew exactly what they were
seeking on Succos, the Rambam says, "The simchah that
man achieves in doing a mitzvah and in loving Hashem Who
commanded it, is a great labor (avodoh)" (Rambam,
Hilchos Lulav 8:15).
The simchah that is found in a mitzvah is very much a
part of this world, but it includes an essential spiritual
component. The physical world is fleeting. Pure physical
pleasures are temporary and leave the soul untouched and
empty.
But the body and its world is very much a part of us and they
are not ignored in Torah life. The simchah of Succos
engages every part of a person, and speaks to everyone.
There is meat and wine on yom tov that is part of the
simchah — but this is not the eating and
drinking of a glutton. Rather it is ideally meat that is a
product of one of the most sublime processes available to
man: bringing a korbon in the Beis
Hamikdosh.
Contributing to our simchah even today are the main
mitzvos of the day: succah and lulav. These can
be understood and enjoyed as celebrations of the bounty of
the harvest — but they also have deeper spiritual
dimensions.
They involve physical actions, but they also have a social
aspect. Lulav is part of the Hallel that we say
with the community, celebrating Hashem's salvation for us in
the past and anticipating the Geulah in the future.
Succah is where the family itself lives for a week,
"We eat and drink and sleep in the Succah all seven days, day
and night" (Hilchos Succah 6:6).
The simchah of Succos is part of the month of Tishrei.
As HaRav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch points out (Collected
Writings, "Tishri III" p. 85) there is only one day of
Rosh Hashonoh specified in the Torah and only one day of Yom
Kippur. But the simchah of Succos lasts for seven
days.
The experiences of the first part of the month, of Rosh
Hashonoh and Yom Kippur, are in part preparation for the
final simchah of Succos. Accepting Hashem as our King,
accepting responsibility for our actions and in consequence
seeking atonement where it is necessary, are the prelude to
the simchah of Succos.
We do not seek cathartic release or, chas vesholom,
abandonment to our animal nature. We do not seek to lose our
inhibitions through drink or just to gratify our senses. Nor
do we seek to negate this world or abandon it.
We seek — and can achieve — fulfillment of all
aspects of our beings: the physical and the spiritual. We
seek — and can achieve — the pleasure that comes
from having everything as it was meant to be, and the joy
that comes from linking our limited selves with the bliss of
eternity.
"For all time and for all generations this is G-d's eternal
truth: Joy, the joy of earthly life, does not flee from G-d's
countenance; instead hasimchah beme'ono — it is
a joy that resides with Him. Both seriousness and joy have
their place in G-d's presence. Seriousness will find its
bloom and perfection in joy, and G-d's truth will lead to the
lasting and fulfilling joy on earth" (Ibid.).
This is what we seek on Succos — and we can find it if
we work hard.
