"And you were happy on your holiday and you were but happy." Why do we rejoice on Sukkot? Each holiday has a unique content. Unlike Shavuot, which is "the time of giving our Torah," and Passover, which is "the time of our freedom," Sukkot is identified as "the time of our joy." However, the question arises as to why he also did not distinguish himself with his own unique content.
It seems to me that anyone who studies the verses in the Bible will find it difficult to understand the relationship between the motifs and commandments of the holiday: agricultural harvest, the commandment of the four sexes, the commandment to sit in the sukkah, and the obligation to rejoice.
Sukkot, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
I would like to suggest that a continuous reading of the verses can teach us that in fact all the different components and dimensions of the holiday stem from the same essence, Sukkot as the harvest holiday begins at the end of the year. I assume that after long years of exile we have forgotten the agricultural dimension of the holiday; After the spring festival and the harvest festival comes the time of harvest. The harvest ends an agricultural year and with it comes the joy of success, assuming there is one.
Against this background, the use of the four species is understandable and fits into the agricultural atmosphere; Since this is an agricultural holiday, examples from nature should be used. This idea supports the two dimensions of the holiday: the obligation of joy and the taking of the four sexes. However, it is still necessary to understand the significance of building and sitting in the sukkah. What is the connection between the feeling of success and gratitude to God and the sukkah?
I would like to suggest that precisely against the background of joy in success and all the goodness, we must not forget the difficult days when we were in the desert. The sukkah as Arai's apartment is a symbolic reminder of the time we were in the desert on our long journey to the Promised Land.
Custom-made sukkah: Ramat Gan Safari celebrates this year in a special format // Photo: Chen Chimovitch and Lana Wated, Adi Markovich
The message, then, is that even when we are happy, we must not forget the difficulties we have experienced on our way to goodness. This is the basis for a precious measure of "gratitude." Awareness of the agricultural dimension of Jewish holidays, which has been forgotten over the years, reveals an important conceptual dimension: the joy of success and thanking God for it, alongside a memory of the difficult hours we experienced on our way to success.
We will use the days of Sukkot to rejoice in all the good we have received, a joy that will summarize one year of activity and give us strength in the rest of the journey. May God spread over us the sukkah of His peace, the sukkah of mercy and life and peace.
The writer is the rabbi of the Hasmonean community and head of the Beit Midrash for Rabbis and Dayans by the Ariel Institute in Jerusalem
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us