Succos 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
The pasuk in parshat Emor which commands us to dwell in the Succah states (Chapter 23, Pasuk 43), למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל בהוציאי אותם מארץ מצרים. There is a well-known dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva on the meaning of the word Succot. According to Rabbi Akiva the Torah is referring to actual booths they dwelled in while in the desert, while Rabbi Eliezer holds they are a reference to the ענני הכבוד, the Clouds of Glory which accompanied them in the desert. Either way, the Tur asks in Siman 625, why is Succos commemorated in Tishrei, and not in Nisan at the time of Yetziat Mitzrayim?
Rav Tzadok comments on the order of the Brachos we say during the week in the middle section of Shemoneh Eisrei. The first bracha we make is a request for knowledge and understanding. After this first bracha we request that we should be successful in doing Teshuvah. He explains that the reason for this order is that in order to do Teshuvah, one needs to have understanding. As the Gemara Yerushalmi in Berachos teaches (Chapter 5, Halacha 2), אם אין דעה הבדלה מנין. Without knowledge and understanding, one is not able to make distinctions between pure and impure, and between right and wrong. Da’as is essential to doing Teshuvah.
The pasuk in parshat Ki Sisa (Chapter 31, Pasuk 3), which discusses the attributes given to Betzalel state, ואמלא אותו רוח אלוקים בחכמה בתבונה ובדעת. Rashi explains the word דעת to mean רוח הקודש, Divine inspiration. Similarly, Rav Tzadok teaches, in order to do Teshuvah we need help from Hashem; we need Divine inspiration. Hence, one of the things we ask for when davening for wisdom before Teshuvah, is דעה or דעת, depending on the Nusach.
The Tur answers his own question of why Succos is in Tishrei by explaining that in Nisan it is common to dwell outside in booths. In Tishrei, when the weather is changing and getting colder, sitting in the Succah is clearly being performed for the mitzvah and not for our personal comfort. The Vilna Gaon answers the question by teaching that we are commemorating the Clouds of Glory which returned in Tishrei after Bnei Yisrael did Teshuvah from the Cheit Ha’Egel. Hence, Succos is in Tishrei.
The Chidushei Harim gives a unique answer as to why we commemorate Succos in Tishrei. He says it would not be possible to celebrate the Chag in Nisan. The Torah commands the reason for the mitzvah of Succah; it’s למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל. Succos requires Da’as, it requires understanding. And in Nisan, in the middle of the year, we are full of sin. As the Gemara in Sotah 3A teaches אין אדם חוטא אלא אם כן נכנס בו רוח שטות. A person doesn’t sin unless a spirit of foolishness enters him. How could we possibly understand the significance of Succos, which the Torah requires of us, if we are in a state of sin and unclear thought.
Therefore, teaches, the Chidushei Harim, a few days after Yom Kippur, when we are in a state of purity and Teshuvah, and of course understanding as well, the Torah gives us the mitzvah of Succah. These are our purest days of the year. As the Medrash Tanchuma 22 on parshat Emor teaches, ולקחתם לך ביום הראשון, ראשון לחשבון עוונות. We are so involved in mitzvos that we don’t have time to sin until Succos actually begins. Therefore, this is the time the Torah chose to command us the mitzvah of Succos.
In order to sharpen the distinction between the other Chagim, which are during a period of sin, and Succos, as explained by the Chidushei Harim, there is another distinction. Both on Pesach and Shavuos, we are commemorating events which are above time; Yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah. This is clearly expressed by Chazal in the Mishnah in Pesachim 116Bכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים. One must view himself as participating in Yetzias Mitzrayim. And since this event is not restricted by the normal limitations of time, we are capable of doing this. And the Torah is also above time, as Rashi teaches many times on the word היום, as he does on the first pasuk in the parsha of Matan Torah (Chapter 19, Pasuk 1), ביום הזה, יהיו דברי תורה חדשים עליכם כאילו היום ניתנו. We must always view the Torah as something which is new and relevant to us. This the Avodas Hayom of both Pesach and Shavuos; putting ourselves back in time.
Succos, though, is very different. We mentioned above the disagreement whether we are commemorating actual booths, or the ענני הכבוד. Rashi on the Torah on the pasuk we quoted above, and the Tur himself in Siman 625, explain that the accepted position is like Rabbi Eliezer; we are commemorating the Clouds of Glory. This is a very subtle demand. We need to imagine what it was like to be protected by Hashem in the desert. To imagine eating Matza on the run and being freed from slavery is something we can do. And certainly, to view the mitzvos of the Torah as new and fresh, and as if they were given to us, we are easily capable of such a task. After all, both are למעלה מן הזמן.
But to imagine Hashem’s presence in our lives requires great thought and understanding. We are commanded למען ידעו. And as we said above, דעת requires Divine inspiration and help from above. Therefore, it must be when we are at the apex of our spiritual height, and all רוח שטות has left us. And this is why precisely right after Yom Kippur in a state of being uplifted Ba’alei Teshuvah, we are given the sublime task of sitting in the Succah and imagining ourselves being protected by the Clouds of Glory after Yetzias Mitzrayim.
Good Shabbos and Good Yom Tov
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