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Shiurim & Adult Education
THOUGHTS ON SUCCOT BY RABBI WILKINSON
After climbing the spiritual mountain during Elul, Rosh Hashanah, the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah and reaching the heights of Yom Kippur we probably feel that we deserve a rest. Yet the calendar is arranged so that we immediately leave our comfortable homes and move into our Succot.
Every Yom Tov is marked with joyous celebration, but only Succot is called Zman Simchateinu, time when happiness is not only an obligation but its essence.
Succot is the top of the ladder we began climbing on Rosh Chodesh Elul, rung by holy rung. Every day, we took a step closer to the throne, serving our King with regret, remorse, fasting, and hot tears.
Now, perched at the top of the mountain of Hashem, we serve Him with the Arba Minim (Four Species) and the succah, with food and wine, with laughter and joy.
These eight days of joy follow Yom Kippur, not incidentally but by design. The point of it all has been to return to Hashem’s table. Now that we have safely arrived, we sit down to eat. The trepidation has not merely given way to joy. It has been the catalyst for it!
Because we served Him out of fear, we now serve Him out of pure love. Succot is the final stop of a continual journey, a celebration of what we have learned about ourselves and our enduring connection to the King of the world.
R’ Meir Tzvi Bergman notes that the increasing frequency with which we open the Aron Kodesh during this period highlights the connection each day has with the next, accentuating the growing closeness to Heaven that we are achieving with each passing day.
During Selichot, the Aron Kodesh is opened just twice, one of the times being before the prayer of Shema Koleinu. Once the Ten Days of Repentance arrive, the curtains are drawn open additional times during selichot and while we say Avinu Malkeinu.
As we draw ever closer to Hashem, the doors swing back and forth, barely giving their hinges a moment’s rest. Pesichah happens so frequently that by Yom Kippur, the gabbaim use cards or paperclips to keep track of who already received the honour and who is still waiting.
During Ne’ilah, we do not bother to close the aron at all. Hashem stands beside us and among us, His arms opened wide.
The pattern resets and continues on Succot. Now we don’t just open and close Heaven’s gates. We make the additional move of withdrawing a Sefer Torah during Hoshanot, placing it in the centre of our revolving circle of joyful devotion.
And then there is Simchat Torah, when our joy spills out unchecked. The aron stays open for hours, and we dance with the Scrolls held tightly to our chests, united with our Creator and bound by His word.
This is the path from Elul to Rosh Hashanah, through the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah and Yom Kippur, all the way to Zman Simchateinu.
One road, one journey, one destination.
We travel from fear to love, from tears to laughter, from so far away to so close. Whether through fear or joy, crying or smiling wide, these are just different tools utilized for ascending different parts of the mountain.
Don’t stop now. There is still work to be done, and we must continue to climb.
Although Yom Kippur has passed, we still need to hold on to the purity as we continue to ascend the Har Hashem, the Mountain of Hashem. The time for rejoicing has arrived, yet the journey continues. Our joy is another rung on the ladder.
Let’s make sure we put as much effort (or even more) into our singing and dancing and our joy as we did into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Ruth and I wish you all a chag sameach.
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