Reflections
The Holiday of Sukkoth
The holiday of Sukkoth is full of mitzvahs: the mitzvah of Sukkah, the mitzvah of the Four Species and the mitzvah of rejoicing in the holiday. This holiday is extremely cherished by the Jewish People, who do not hesitate to spend even large sums of money to fulfill all the mitzvahs in the best way possible.
Motty Meringer 07/09/2009 11:01
Thirty days before the holiday one should learn the specific laws of the holiday. In another thirty days, we will greet the holiday of Sukkoth and be able to fulfill all its mitzvahs.
The holiday of Sukkoth is one of the Three Festivals that are mentioned in the Torah, during which the Jewish People conduct a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The Torah says: "In a sukkah you shall sit seven days, every person of Israel shall sit in a sukkah, so that the future generations shall know that I have ordered the Jewish People to sit in a sukkah". Our Sages, of blessed memory, had differences of opinion regarding the meaning of this verse. Rabi Akiva maintained that the essence of the mitzvah is to remember the exodus from Egypt, as the Jewish People stayed in a place called Sukkoth after leaving Egypt, and it is there they experienced their first holiday of Sukkoth. Rabi Eliezer, however, disagreed, and explained that the place was not really called Sukkoth, but rather was referred to it metaphorically as such, as the A-mighty surrounded the People of Israel with the Clouds of Glory during their journeys in the desert in order to protect them from any harm and to show them the way lest they stray.
Despite the fact that the exodus from Egypt took place during the holiday of Passover in the spring, which would indicate that the Jews should sit in a sukkah on Passover, the Torah explicitly commands us to sit in sukkahs during the holiday of Sukkoth, which falls at the beginning of the winter. The reason for that is that G-d did not wish for the gentiles to claim that the Jews sit in sukkahs because it is warm and enjoyable outdoors, but they do so when everyone else close themselves inside their homes, to show that the Jewish People fulfill the commandment of sukkahs for the only reason that G-d instructed them to do so.
A story is told of a gentile who once asked a prominent rabbi: 'Why do your youngsters ask the four questions during the night of Passover and not on the holiday of Sukkoth, when you reside outside your home and you have many seemingly strange customs. There is much more to ask about on Sukkoth!' concluded the gentile. 'There is a simple answer for that', said the rabbi. 'On Sukkoth, when we reside in a small hut in the outdoors, cold and under the bare sky – the children have nothing to ask. Jews have always been poor, cold and hungry…but when we sit around a beautifully set Seder table on Passover and lean like kings and queens at the table which is full with lavish food – the children are bewildered and ask: 'how could this be? The exile is not yet over and we are sitting like kings around a fully set table!?'
From the verse "You shall observe the holiday of Sukkoth with any greens that you can obtain", our Sages understood that the sukkah should be covered with something that grows on the ground that has already been pulled out, and that cannot become impure. The sukkah must be made of at least two whole walls and a small third wall.
The mitzvah of sukkah was especially cherished by righteous Jews, who would often not exit their sukkah at all during the seven days of the holiday. These pure and righteous men would be so overjoyed by fulfilling the commandment of sitting in a sukkah that they would dance throughout the night, kiss its walls and wait with great anticipation for the first possible opportunity to shake the Four Species.
The Torah commands us to fulfill the mitzvah of the Four Species. The mitzvah involves taking one lulav (palm frond), three myrtles, two willows and one etrog (citron) and binding them together. One should then shake the four species in all four directions, and up and down. There are many commentaries regarding the four species. One of them is: "In the four species there are two plants that cannot sprout any fruit, and there are two that can. The two that cannot grow any fruit need those that can, and vice versa. So are the People of Israel. Some of them are scholars and learned men, and others are simpletons, and they all complement each other".
During the times of the Holy Temple, seventy bulls were sacrificed at the altar on Sukkoth, symbolizing the seventy peoples of the world. Through the sacrifice of the seventy bulls, all gentiles would receive what they needed from heaven. On the first day of the holiday, twelve bulls were sacrificed, on the second day – eleven bulls, and so forth – until on the seventh day, only seven bulls were sacrificed. The Sages explained that the reason for the decreasing numbers of the sacrifices is to show us that the gentiles' power will diminish as we near the final redemption.
The Medrash comments on the issue of the sacrifices and says: "Israel said: "Master of the World, we sacrifice these seventy bulls for the gentiles, but they still hate us!' and G-d says to Israel 'Now, on the eighth day, offer a sacrifice for yourselves!'
It is comparable to a king who held a feast for seven days and invited all inhabitants of his country to participate. After the seven days, the king said to his closest companion; 'Now that we have invited all citizens, let us hold a feast for ourselves from whatever remained from the seven days'.
An additional commandment which was fulfilled during the holiday of Sukkoth when the Temple stood was the mitzvah of drawing water from a well to be poured on the altar. The drawing ceremony was extremely joyous and was attended by the Priests, Levites and Israelites amid song and dance. The ceremony was conducted every day during the seven days of Sukkoth and was continued inside the Temple. Hundreds of candles would be lit inside the temple to illuminate the halls, and the lights illuminated all of Jerusalem. The Sages said of the ritual: "One who has not seen the joy of the drawing ceremony, has not seen joy in his life".
The Prophets added yet another ritual to the holiday of Sukkoth: on the seventh day, the People of Israel would surround the altar with willows that were eleven amahs high, and would circle the altar seven times with five willows in their hands.
Now that the Temple has been destroyed and the sacrifices and water drawing are no longer observed, the People of Israel still celebrates a joyous Simchas Beis Hashoeva on Sukkoth, in the hope that out Holy Temple should be rebuilt, speedily in our days. Amen!
The holiday of Sukkoth is one of the Three Festivals that are mentioned in the Torah, during which the Jewish People conduct a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The Torah says: "In a sukkah you shall sit seven days, every person of Israel shall sit in a sukkah, so that the future generations shall know that I have ordered the Jewish People to sit in a sukkah". Our Sages, of blessed memory, had differences of opinion regarding the meaning of this verse. Rabi Akiva maintained that the essence of the mitzvah is to remember the exodus from Egypt, as the Jewish People stayed in a place called Sukkoth after leaving Egypt, and it is there they experienced their first holiday of Sukkoth. Rabi Eliezer, however, disagreed, and explained that the place was not really called Sukkoth, but rather was referred to it metaphorically as such, as the A-mighty surrounded the People of Israel with the Clouds of Glory during their journeys in the desert in order to protect them from any harm and to show them the way lest they stray.
Despite the fact that the exodus from Egypt took place during the holiday of Passover in the spring, which would indicate that the Jews should sit in a sukkah on Passover, the Torah explicitly commands us to sit in sukkahs during the holiday of Sukkoth, which falls at the beginning of the winter. The reason for that is that G-d did not wish for the gentiles to claim that the Jews sit in sukkahs because it is warm and enjoyable outdoors, but they do so when everyone else close themselves inside their homes, to show that the Jewish People fulfill the commandment of sukkahs for the only reason that G-d instructed them to do so.
A story is told of a gentile who once asked a prominent rabbi: 'Why do your youngsters ask the four questions during the night of Passover and not on the holiday of Sukkoth, when you reside outside your home and you have many seemingly strange customs. There is much more to ask about on Sukkoth!' concluded the gentile. 'There is a simple answer for that', said the rabbi. 'On Sukkoth, when we reside in a small hut in the outdoors, cold and under the bare sky – the children have nothing to ask. Jews have always been poor, cold and hungry…but when we sit around a beautifully set Seder table on Passover and lean like kings and queens at the table which is full with lavish food – the children are bewildered and ask: 'how could this be? The exile is not yet over and we are sitting like kings around a fully set table!?'
From the verse "You shall observe the holiday of Sukkoth with any greens that you can obtain", our Sages understood that the sukkah should be covered with something that grows on the ground that has already been pulled out, and that cannot become impure. The sukkah must be made of at least two whole walls and a small third wall.
The mitzvah of sukkah was especially cherished by righteous Jews, who would often not exit their sukkah at all during the seven days of the holiday. These pure and righteous men would be so overjoyed by fulfilling the commandment of sitting in a sukkah that they would dance throughout the night, kiss its walls and wait with great anticipation for the first possible opportunity to shake the Four Species.
The Torah commands us to fulfill the mitzvah of the Four Species. The mitzvah involves taking one lulav (palm frond), three myrtles, two willows and one etrog (citron) and binding them together. One should then shake the four species in all four directions, and up and down. There are many commentaries regarding the four species. One of them is: "In the four species there are two plants that cannot sprout any fruit, and there are two that can. The two that cannot grow any fruit need those that can, and vice versa. So are the People of Israel. Some of them are scholars and learned men, and others are simpletons, and they all complement each other".
During the times of the Holy Temple, seventy bulls were sacrificed at the altar on Sukkoth, symbolizing the seventy peoples of the world. Through the sacrifice of the seventy bulls, all gentiles would receive what they needed from heaven. On the first day of the holiday, twelve bulls were sacrificed, on the second day – eleven bulls, and so forth – until on the seventh day, only seven bulls were sacrificed. The Sages explained that the reason for the decreasing numbers of the sacrifices is to show us that the gentiles' power will diminish as we near the final redemption.
The Medrash comments on the issue of the sacrifices and says: "Israel said: "Master of the World, we sacrifice these seventy bulls for the gentiles, but they still hate us!' and G-d says to Israel 'Now, on the eighth day, offer a sacrifice for yourselves!'
It is comparable to a king who held a feast for seven days and invited all inhabitants of his country to participate. After the seven days, the king said to his closest companion; 'Now that we have invited all citizens, let us hold a feast for ourselves from whatever remained from the seven days'.
An additional commandment which was fulfilled during the holiday of Sukkoth when the Temple stood was the mitzvah of drawing water from a well to be poured on the altar. The drawing ceremony was extremely joyous and was attended by the Priests, Levites and Israelites amid song and dance. The ceremony was conducted every day during the seven days of Sukkoth and was continued inside the Temple. Hundreds of candles would be lit inside the temple to illuminate the halls, and the lights illuminated all of Jerusalem. The Sages said of the ritual: "One who has not seen the joy of the drawing ceremony, has not seen joy in his life".
The Prophets added yet another ritual to the holiday of Sukkoth: on the seventh day, the People of Israel would surround the altar with willows that were eleven amahs high, and would circle the altar seven times with five willows in their hands.
Now that the Temple has been destroyed and the sacrifices and water drawing are no longer observed, the People of Israel still celebrates a joyous Simchas Beis Hashoeva on Sukkoth, in the hope that out Holy Temple should be rebuilt, speedily in our days. Amen!
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