Succos 5781

 

 “RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”

Erev Shabbos Kodesh Succos 5781

14 Tshrei 5781/October 2, 2020

 

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FLIGHT TO SOMEWHERE

            It’s
been an arduous few months. Aside for the loss of life, financial loss,
emotional loss, and anxiety that the pandemic has generated thus far, people
are very restless. People can’t wait to stop needing to social distance, wear
masks, constantly wash hands, and being at the mercy of governors and
politicians. For a society that was used to traveling constantly, being forced
to remain grounded – literally – has been very challenging.

            To that
end, Singapore airlines came up with a novel idea – flights to nowhere. For
people who miss the experience of flying, and the whole airport rush –
security, and baggage check in, tickets could be purchased for one of these
unique flights. Stewards and stewardesses would review safety and emergency
procedures before takeoff and would serve beverages and service those aboard
while in the air. The planes would take off and remain in the air for about
three hours, after which the plane would land… exactly where it took off
from.

            This was
a widely touted idea for a few weeks. Only in the last few days was the idea
scrapped by Singapore Airlines. However, it did happen in Australia and Taiwan.

            It
sounds somewhat silly. But upon further reflection it may not be so foreign
after all.

            At the
bar mitzvah of my younger brother, R’ Ya’akov, a number of years ago, my older
brother, R’ Yitzie, shared the following:

            A family
was on their way to a vacation. The car was completely packed with suitcases
and provisions for the getaway. After a few hours of driving and six bathroom
breaks, the atmosphere in the car was becoming quite tense. The younger kids
are getting rowdy and k’vetchy, the older kids are beyond restless, and the
parents are at wits end. They have been traveling down the seemingly endless
Thruway for three hours, passing nothing but a continuous blur of bare trees.
Just then, the father announces that their exit is not too far ahead. “It’s
starting to get dark, so I am having a hard time seeing the signs. Everyone,
please look out your window and let me know if you see a sign for Exit 392.”
All at once, the car becomes completely silent. Faces are pressed against the
windows as all family members eagerly search for the first appearance of a sign
heralding the imminent “Exit 392”. Suddenly, the first sign comes into view and
everyone starts screaming in a frenzied tone, “There it is!” “There is the
sign!” “It’s three miles ahead!” “We’re almost there!” “Yippeeee!”

            New
signs keep coming into view and the excitement in the car keeps mounting, two
miles, one mile, a half-mile, and then…. Exit 392 in all of its glory!

            “The
father stops the car, and everyone jumps out to marvel at the sign. They have
been waiting for this exit for so long and here it is at long last. They stop a
passing car and ask the driver to take pictures of them huddled in front of the
sign. They gleefully take out a barbecue and prepare a delicious supper. As
they eat, they reminisce about the lengthy trip and how long it took them to
get there, how many times they had to stop along the way, and how they had all
thought that they would never get there.

            When
they finally finished the celebration, they packed everything up and gathered
back into the car. With a final look at the sign, they slammed the van doors
shut. The father pulled back onto the Thruway and headed home.

             “It
seems like a ridiculous story. The family had finally arrived at the exit but
they failed to realize what that meant. They celebrated finding the exit, but
they didn’t get off the highway. What’s the use of finding the exit it you
don’t follow it?”

            At that
point, my older brother turned to my younger brother and said, “Yaakov, today
you are becoming a Bar Mitzvah! Many people celebrate their Bar Mitzvah with
gala celebrations, beautiful receptions, and tremendous fanfare. But as soon as
the guests leave and the lights in the hall are dimmed, they return to their
daily lives and the whole shebang becomes an expensive memory. In a sense, such
people are no different than the family who found the exit but, after pictures
and supper in front of the sign, got back on the highway.

            “A Bar
Mitzvah, and any other joyous occasion, must be viewed as an exit. The
celebration is wonderful but the real greatness is dependent on you. You have
to follow this exit as it leads you to a new road, a road to greatness and
spiritual pursuit, which will help you develop the greatness that you innately
possess. All of tonight’s celebration is merely externals. It’s the other
component, the one that remains hidden from view, i.e. the commitment you
accept upon yourself tonight in utilizing this ‘exit’, which comprises the
focal point of your Bar Mitzvah celebration.”   

            With our
son – Avi’s bar mitzvah only a few weeks away iy’H, this great message resonates
with us even more.

            But in
truth, this idea isn’t only applicable to a bar mitzvah or joyous occasion.

            Rabbi
Shimshon Pincus noted that the month of Tishrei is a magnificent journey.

It begins with the recitation of the psalm “L’Dovid
Hashem Ori
” and blowing Shofar each day throughout the month of Elul,
continuing with Selichos the week prior to Rosh Hashanah, the symbolic fruits
eaten on Rosh Hashanah eve, the recitation of Tashlich at a flowing body of
water, the unique prayers of the Ten Days of Teshuva, Shabbos Shuva, Kapparos,
Yom Kippur – beginning with Kol Nidrei and concluding with Neilah, the holiday
of Succos, sitting in the Succah, waving the Four Species, Simchas Bais
Hashoeivah, and climaxing with the celebration of Simchas Torah.

            The fifty-two
days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Simchas Torah are a spiritual superhighway
leading us on a beautiful and uplifting journey.  But that is merely the
road for the spiritual journey. It’s up to us to decide when the holidays
conclude and life resumes its routine, what do we want to have accomplished
that will remain with us?

            RaBBI
Pincus concluded that many people enjoy the journey, but they don’t go
anywhere. In a sense, they take off at the beginning of Elul, but then land in
the same exact place 7 weeks later.

            So, we
ask ourselves: what is our destination? What are we trying to accomplish during
the joyous celebration of Succos?

            Currently,
the world is living in fear of an organism that is undetectable by the human
eye, yet is highly contagious.

            The Hebrew
word for contagion is
מדבק. It is similar
to the word
דבק – glue,
because contagions unwittingly connect and stick to a person. It is also
reminiscent of the word
דביקות. The
dictionary translates
דביקות as stickiness.
However, it also refers to the deepest level of connection and bonding. We
aspire for
דביקות with Hashem.
In fact, the Torah instructs,
״ובו תדבק״
– in Him you shall cling. How can one connect and “cling” with the divine? The
Gemara explains we do so by following in His ways – by being compassionate,
tolerant, kind, patient, and loving. We also do so by trusting in Him and
seeking to be close with Him.

            Perhaps
more than any other holiday of the year, the Yom Tov of Succos is a time of
דביקות, when we feel inextricably connected with G-d. Our sins, which
disconnect us from Him, have been wiped away, we have recommitted ourselves to
our ideals, and now we can bask in His presence.

            On
Succos we feel secure in our connection with Him and, in that security, we
discover inner joy.

            The
following quote is from Rav Yechiel Perr in his powerful book, “Faith over
Fear”, which is “a path to bitachon”[1]:

            “Look at
how much people appreciate our Torah! Why can’t we appreciate it as well? I
think we are too preoccupied with our worries – even spiritual ones – to
concentrate on what’s in front of our noses…

            “Someone
who lacks bitachon can’t grasp any of the experiences that slide through his
hands. All of life, and davening, and Torah pass through you without your ever
getting a chance to taste them. You have children and raise them without
tasting it. Life escapes you and all of a sudden you are an old man and you
wonder where it all went…

            “Life
goes by in a flash because we don’t know how to slow it down with experiences.
We are steeped in being plagued by worries of tomorrow. Sometimes the machar is
tomorrow, sometimes it is forty years from now. Either way, worry stems from a
lack of bitachon. By ridding ourselves of our worries, we stand to regain our
lives.”

            Succos
is about connecting with Hashem deeply and intimately. It’s about feeling
secure in the Hands of Hashem. That is the true meaning of bitachon – a deep
faith which breeds feelings of serenity and security.

            The
message of Succos couldn’t be more meaningful than now. We are plagued by
worry, fear, and doubt of what the future will bring. We fear for our health,
we are unsure about the economy, we are unnerved by the political future, and
so many people and families are broken and suffering.

            With all
that, we sit down in our succah and look heavenward, and we remember what our
only assurance is – that Hashem is running the world.

            We grasp
the Four Species in The Succah is an enclosure of sanctity, where even food and
sleep become sanctified. hands and wave them in all directions, reminding us that
G-d isn’t just “up there” but He surrounds us on all sides, embracing us within
the walls of the succah and controls every aspect of our lives.

            We don’t
ignore our fears. With A reservoir of bitachon we can feel inner joy. That
inner joy bursts forth and manifests itself in external celebration during this
incredible holiday.

            Perhaps
this year the external celebration will have to be different, and we won’t be
able to dance and rejoice in the way we are used to. But the source and reason
for our celebration is, in a sense, deeper and more real than ever before.

            When
this glorious Yom Tov ends, we do not want to land where we have taken off
from. We hope to be on a different level, in a different place – not having
left our problems behind but being far better equipped to handle them.

            ה׳
לי ולא אירא
– Hashem is
with me; I will not fear.”

 

Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos

Chag Sameiach & Freilichen Yom Tov,

            R’ Dani and Chani Staum       

 



[1] Together with his first book “Mind over Man”, these are two of the most
refreshingly candid and poignant books I have ever read in my life. They are
thought-provoking, incredibly insightful, and full of truth.

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