Shabbos Chol Hamoed Succos /Simchas Torah 5776

“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Succos – Z’man
Simchaseinu
14 Tishrei 5776/ September
27, 2015
Joe was
one of those young entrepreneurs who seemed that have the Hand of Midas. Every
venture he invested in, each deal he went after, and every business prospect he
followed, seemed to turn to gold. At thirty-five years old he was wealthier
than he ever could have imagined. Cars, exotic vacations, more than one stately
mansion in various locations – he couldn’t spend his money fast enough. But he
was growing increasingly disillusioned with his life and nothing seemed
exciting anymore.
Then one
day while attending a business expo in a posh hotel, there was a Jewish
Discovery Seminar taking place at the same time. With some time to kill and
curiously about his latent Jewish roots, Joe wandered in and sat in the back as
one of the lectures began. He was enthralled with what he heard. He ended up
sitting through three more lectures and by the end of the day he was completely
blown away. He had no idea where and what his next step would be, but he knew
he had to pursue it further; he knew he had to make a major change in his life.
Jessica
had a very troubled youth. The fact that her parents were never around and they
lived in poverty only made things worse. In her youth she gravitated towards a
bad crowd and ended up in all the wrong places. Now she was a young adult and
didn’t know what to do with herself. She was disgusted with her life on the
streets and the life of drugs, violence, and everything else that came with it.
Then one
day she met her fifth grade teacher – the one she had idolized, and the one she
felt truly cared about her. Her teacher’s spark was still there, and she
invited Jessica to spend a Shabbos with her family. Jessica accepted the offer
and enjoyed her first relaxing and uplifting experience in almost a decade.
After Shabbos was over Jessica knew it was time for a change. She had no idea
where she would go and how she would get there, but she knew the direction she
had to take.
A year passes
and with it the triteness of life. Then suddenly on Rosh Hashanah we are struck
with a moment of inspiration. We feel that there is something greater that we
are a part of and that we need to tap into. Yom Kippur is a Discovery seminar
wherein we rediscover our selves and seek to reconnect with ourselves. When Yom
Kippur ends we know we need to make some changes, and we know the general direction
we need to pursue. However, we are still not sure how to get there.
Sefas Emes
(Succos 5636) writes that a ba’al teshuva always feels somewhat lost. He has
made a commitment to leave his past life and pursue something greater, but he
doesn’t yet know how to arrive there. The succah is the place G-d provides as
the haven and training grounds for the ba’al teshuva.
For a week
he dwells in the embrace of G-d and trains how to eat, sleep, and live a G-dly
life. He is visited by seven of the greatest instructors of all time – they are
called the Ushpizin. [True, one does not see the Ushpizin, but the fact that we
focus on one of them each night, affords us the opportunity to learn from their
example as recorded in the Torah, about how to live a divine life.] 
This is
why Succos follows Yom Kippur. The gemara states that in the place where a
ba’al teshuva stands, even the most sincerely righteous cannot stand. Sefas
Emes explains that this is because G-d provides ‘place’ for the Ba’al Teshuva
so that he can achieve his dream of living an elevated and sanctified life.
A friend
of mine who became a ba’al teshuva years ago and is today a respected talmid
chochom, once conveyed to me the challenge of a ba’al teshuva in raising
children. “We don’t know what is considered normal in the frum circles. At
times ba’alei teshuva go to an extreme and don’t allow their children breathing
room, which causes many problems later on. It’s not enough to create ba’alei
teshuva, they continue to need direction and guidance in every facet of their
Judaism. In many ways they need it more than those born into a Torah observant
family.”
The succah
provides us with direction, so that when we return to our homes on Shemini
Atzeres we can celebrate our achievements and how far we have come.
But at
that point we are faced with the great fear of not losing all that we have
gained.
As we
return to our opening anecdotes, if we fast forward many months, Joe and
Jessica are now known as Yosef and Rivka and are living Torah observant lives. But
they also live with an embedded fear that they can be influenced by their old
friends and fall back into old habits. They always have to ensure that they are
connected with their supports who they knew they can turn to whenever they need
chizuk.
We too
live with a similar fear after our ‘training session’ on Succos. So on the
final day of this incredible holiday/journey, we clutch our guarantor close to
our hearts emotionally pledging ourselves to all it states. It is in the
constant study and dedication to Torah that our hope lies. That is how we can
maintain our growth throughout the year. 
Good Moed/Moadim L’simcha
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Good Yom Tov & Chag Sameach,
             R’ Dani and Chani Staum         

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