Parsha Growth Spurts’
Rabbi Dani Staum
Succos/Simchas Torah
“He gave to us – Hashem, our G-d – with love, the day of this festival of Succos, the season of our joy…” (Yom Tov Shemoneh Esrei)
Rav Avrohom Pam zt’l offered a novel explanation as to why the Yom Tov of Succos immediately follows Yom Kippur.
In the beginning of Sefer Nechemiah, Nechemiah was the chief wine pourer for Artachsta, the Perisan king. When Nechemiah was informed of the ominous situation facing the Jews in Eretz Yisroel he was very distressed. When he appeared before the king to present his wine the king noticed his dour mood and questioned him about it. Nechemiah became very frightened, until he was able to explain his apprehensions to the king, and solicit the king’s permission to return to Yerushalayim.
An officer of the king is expected to serve his majesty with a joyous countenance. His face must resonate with joy that he is privileged to serve the king. Nechemiah understood that his melancholic appearance placed him in peril, for it was an unwitting affront to the king.
Throughout the Yomim Noraim we repeatedly proclaim our allegiance to Hashem and his eternal Monarchy through lyrical piyutim, and beautiful heartfelt tefillos. Therefore, it is appropriate that the days of complete subjugation to ol malchus shamayaim segue into a yom tov of unparalleled joy. We spend a week basking in the Divine Presence of the shechinah, holding aloft the daled minim, and expressing our blissful happiness in having the ability to develop a connection with our Creator.
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“Originally, the lulav was waived in the Bais Hamikdash for seven days… Once the Bais Hasmikdash was destroyed, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai decreed that the lulav be waved everywhere for a full seven days zecher l’mikdash” (Sukkah 41a)
It would seem that doing something zecher l’mikdash is incongruous with the joy that permeates the yom tov of Sukkos?
Rav Matisyahu Solomon shlita explains that there are two forms of ‘commemorations’ for the Bais Hamikdash. The first is ‘zecher l’churban’, which conjures up within us feelings of deprivation and the void we feel without the Bais Hamikdash.
The other form is called ‘zecher l’mikdash’. That category is for rituals which remind us of rituals performed in the Mikdash. They are to give us a taste of the holiness and spiritual elevation that were once readily apparent when the Mikdash stood.
Taking the daled minim falls into this latter category (as does the commemoration of the Simchas Bais Hashoievah). By reenacting the mitzvah it fills us with a nostalgic yearning that we merit to perform the mitzvah properly when the Bais Hamikdash is rebuilt.
When remembering destruction, we mourn the past. But on Sukkos, we glimpse the future. It is analogous to one who finds the winning ticket, and knows that it’s only a matter of time before he will be able to cash in all of his earnings. That certainly is a source for celebration.
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“Rejoice and be joyous on Simchas Torah” (piyut l’Simchas Torah)
Rav Eizik Sher zt’l related that whenever something or some people surround something/someone, the focus is on what is in the middle.
Throughout the days of Succos, and even more so on Hoshanah Rabbah, a sefer Torah is held in front of the bimah, while the congregation surrounds it holding their bound up daled minim. This symbolizes our eternal bond to Torah and mitzvos, and that our observance is based on our toil in the Torah held in the middle.
But on Simchas Torah all of the sifrei Torah are removed from the aron and paraded around in the circle, surrounding… an empty bimah. On Simchas Torah we dance around the bimah/shtender upon which we place the Torah whenever we read from it.
The Torah was not given to us to adorn the shelves of the Aron in its silver ornaments. The Torah is a “Toras Chaim” dictating every nuance of our lives. On Simchas Torah we celebrate the privilege we have to be the bearers of its eternal teachings. The shtender upon which we place our seforim symbolize our unending quest for deeper understanding of Torah. Our seforim attain their beauty, not from being placed neatly on the shelf, but rather when its pages are worn from usage in the hallowed halls of the Bais Medrash.
Simchas Torah is not merely a celebration of the completion of a cycle of study, but more profoundly, of the renewal of re-commencing our study and dedication to a new year of Torah study.
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Sources: Rav Pam – Atarah L’melech; Rav Salomon – Matnas Chaim; Rav Sher – Leket Sichas Mussar