SIMCHAS TORAH 5774
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Social Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch
STAM TORAH
SIMCHAS TORAH 5774
“BRIDEGROOM OF A NEW BEGINNING”
Rashi2 explains the underlying reason for having a separate holiday of Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah immediately following the conclusion of Succos. “It is comparable to a king who invited his sons for a meal for a specific amount of time. When the time came for them to depart he (the king) said, “I am begging of you, detain yourselves and spend one day with me; it is difficult for me that you are departing.”
The commentators question what the king gains by detaining his children for one more day if it merely pushes off the inevitable pain of departure until the following day?
Jeremy was a young man who had grown up on the streets. Throughout his youth he was constantly getting into trouble with the law. Although his crimes were only petty misdemeanors, like spraying public buildings with graffiti, and shoplifting, the police had a large dossier on him.
As Jeremy matured he began to feel remorse for his actions and his way of life. He also feared getting caught again. He realized that although he had been able to finagle his way out of trouble in the past, he might not be so lucky next time. He dreamed about changing his lifestyle and he pondered how he could “give back” to the city.
Jeremy was convinced that his idea was infallible and he spent years tirelessly campaigning for it. When he had finally generated enough contributions to finance the project, the process began. The first step was to totally destroy everything in the vicinity. Wreckers used dynamite and huge wrecking balls to raze every building. The deafening sounds of explosions, demolition, and shattering glass filled the air. Tens of trucks were needed to haul away mountains of debris, until finally the area was clear.
The grand opening was a tremendous celebration. Politicians, dignitaries, statesmen, entrepreneurs, and journalists from every major media outlet were in attendance. Thousands of people showed up, not only to celebrate the opening of the most beautiful concert hall in the country, but also to celebrate the uncanny transformation that had taken place in the area. There was great confidence that within a short time the rest of the slums would follow suit and the most dangerous section of the city would become a bad memory. The festivities lasted for hours, with people singing and dancing with euphoric joy. The mayor presented Jeremy with a medal of honor and the key to the city. It was almost dark when the music and celebration died down.
A few weeks went by and the concert hall stood in quiet grandeur. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the first concert. People excitedly checked the newspapers daily to find out when they could purchase tickets. But no concerts were scheduled. Many great orchestra and band leaders tried to book the hall but the office was always closed. Eventually they stopped trying.
As the months passed, the grime of the slum gradually began to creep back into the three block oasis. Graffiti began showing up on the walls of the expensive buildings, the flowers and shrubbery were uprooted and trampled on, and gang activity resumed around the statues and fountains.
Throughout the year we are on some level of “spiritual automatic pilot.” We do mitzvos out of rote and we lack proper fear of G-d. Our evil inclination gets the better of us and we often fall prey to sin. Perhaps we do not commit any major sin per se, but we involve ourselves in sinful ‘misdemeanors’ that obstruct our relationship with G-d.
As Elul approaches along with the imminence of the annual celestial judgment, we begin to realize how far we have strayed spiritually. We begin to pine that closeness with G-d that we have compromised. We seek repentance and a way to break down the barriers that we have erected.
Rav Shimshon Pinkus zt’l explains that the sound of the shofar is the sound of destruction and demolition. [The choppy teruah sounds like a drill penetrating walls.] The shofar symbolizes the obliteration of all the barriers between us and G-d. It is the demolition crew clearing out the slums.
It is only at that point when the construction can actually commence. The mitzvos of the holiday of Succos represent some of the basic tenets of Judaism. Sitting in the Succah under the protection of G-d reminds us of the vanity of materialism and the physical world. The entire holiday celebrates our spiritual existence and the sublime joy of a Torah life. The four species represent every category within the Jewish people. We bind them together to symbolize the fact that united we stand and divided we fall. Throughout the holiday of Succos we are building within ourselves these fundamental foundations. “One nation, under G-d!”
we celebrate in a most ostentatious manner. Young and old gather in shul to rejoice in sublime happiness. Although Simchas Torah is often seen as the final day, in an important sense, it is really opening day! For now the building is complete and ready for usage. The time has come to bring in the symphonies and to play the music. We are all members of G-d’s symphony, as it were. Our Torah learning, mitzvah observance, and Service to G-d is the melodious music that we play.
If we do not take advantage of all we worked so hard to accomplish throughout the months of Elul and Tishrei then we are analogous to Jeremy who failed to realize that the main point of all his work was only beginning. Now is the time to fill the hall and play the music!
This is the reason why the holiday of Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah follows Succos. When the imminence of departure is realized, the King calls out to his children, “Why must we take leave of each other? True, you can no longer remain in my palace. But I can return to your homes with you and be near you all year long. Wait one more day before you leave so that we can spend a day working out the details, i.e. where I will stay and how you will be able to host me.”
As the period of repentance and joy comes to its conclusion and we return to our daily lives, G-d calls out to us, as it were, “We do not have to be apart! I can come home with you if you will only welcome Me in. Spend this final day of the holiday – which has no mitzvah connected to it other than being in a state of complete joy – and figure out how you will maintain all you have gained. Contemplate how you will transform your home into a worthy resting place for My Presence.”
We make our homes into sanctuaries of holiness when they are filled with Torah study, adherence to halacha, and mitzvah observance. Therefore, on the holiday of Shemini Atzeres we celebrate Simchas Torah, our connection to Torah and our privilege to be the nation that bears the yoke of Torah and mitzvos. It is not merely a celebration of the completion of a cycle of Torah reading, but it is a celebration of our perennial connection with the Torah and its Author.
On Simchas Torah we celebrate the opportunity afforded to us to renew our dedication to Torah study, to live a Torah lifestyle, and to begin a new cycle of learning on an elevated level; a step up from our study in the past. One who can hold on to the great joy of Simchas Torah throughout the year will be able to continue building, and will not have to begin again from scratch next Elul .
1 The following is the text of the speech I had the privilege to deliver in Kehillat New Hempstead on Simchas Torah eve 5764. The parable is my own.
2 Vayikra 23:36