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THOUGHTS ON SUCCOT BY RABBI WILKINSON

After achieving the spiritual heights of Yom Kippur we can look out of the widow and anticipate spending a week in the succah (weather permitting). Spending time in the succah in England can be a challenge but there are other challenges and opportunities connected with Succot.

Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus zt’l wrote that the spiritual heights associated with Succot, and the joy associated therewith, to a large degree hinge on whether we believe “that Yom Kippur brought about a real and profound inner change.”  Rav Pincus continues, “A person needs to wholeheartedly believe that Yom Kippur works, that it cleansed him of his impurity.”

More than that, “even if our eyes tell us that the world we see is the same old world that existed before Yom Kippur,” Rav Pincus explains, “we must believe that [after] Yom Kippur, it is now a different world, and the person is a different person.”

This is the point of departure for us as we move into the unique kedushah of Succot. It’s what enables us to sit beneath a covering that yesterday was just an ordinary bamboo mat and today is schach that produces the “shade of emunah (faith).”  It’s what makes us worthy of greeting our holy Ushpizin (from Avraham Avinu to Dovid Ha’melech).  It’s what allows us to experience the sincere, deep-seated contentment of serving Hashem amidst joy and celebrating coming closer to our Creator.

Another challenge is the instruction given in the Torah:    “and you shall rejoice before Hashem, your G-d, for a seven-day period.”  The arba minim look nice, some of them even smell nice…but rejoice with them.  I don’t know about you but maybe a good meal and a glass of wine sound much closer to “rejoicing” than myrtle and willow.  What, exactly, is the great joy associated with these species?

One answer is the immense satisfaction knowing that one is involved in something of eternal significance and worthy of receiving eternal reward.  Whether we understand the deep secrets behind these four species or not, the plain and evident truth is that they are of import for one reason and one reason only: because Hashem said so, and He let us know …

To this end, the Orchas Tzaddikim encourages his readers to appreciate the priceless gift of Hashem’s Torah.  Why? “ For teaching him the proper paths in which to attain the proper service of Hashem… for (only) through the Torah one will attain the light of life and to enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence.“   The Orchas Tzaddikim explains that without the Torah we would all resemble an out-of-towner “who wants to get to the city but does not know the way to it, nor does he know any of the paths that will lead him there.  Therefore, he is bewildered… Concerning such men, the wise one (Shlomo Ha’Melech) said: “The labour of fools wearieth every one of them, for he knoweth not how to go to the city.” (Kohelet. 10:15).  We, on the other hand, with our own Divine ‘Waze’ are the joyful recipients of clear marching orders.

When we perform the mitzvah of lulav we need to bear in mind its significance, whether we envision the unity of every type of Jew serving Hashem in perfect harmony or visualising every limb in their body serving Hashem in unison.  

With these thoughts in mind, let our performance of the mitzvot connected with Succot, this year be infused with an extra surge of simcha.  May we merit to carry the momentum of Yom Kippur into the kedushah and simcha of Succot. May we observe the festival with the joy and contentment of knowing that every one of us has hit what has been described as “Cosmic Lottery“ and have the privilege and opportunity to serve the Creator ; to engage in conduct with eternal significance and eternal reward with the succah and the four specifically chosen species from amidst this vast and beautiful universe.

Chag sameach

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