SUCCOS 5768
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Social Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch
STAM TORAH
SUCCOS 5768
“THE CIRCLE OF LIFE”
g that person did from birth to death.
When I die, as every one of us eventually will, that Dash will mean something to everyone that knew me. Do what you can to make your Dash meaningful.
Or, as Linda Ellis wrote,
‘It matters not how much we own,
the cars, the house, the cash :
What matters most is how we live
and how we spend our dash.’
the cars, the house, the cash :
What matters most is how we live
and how we spend our dash.’
sugya5
6, the custom is to circle the bimah seven times and recite seven hoshanah prayers. After the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, there was a universally adopted custom to continue those circuits in every synagogue as a perennial remembrance of the service in the Bais Hamikdash.
Simchos Bais Hashoeivah78. During the hakafos of Simchas Torah too we dance around the bimah with all of the Torah scrolls. What is the connection between circles, particularly around the bimah, and the holiday of Succos?
hoshanahHoshanah Rabbah is entitled “Adamah Mayerer– The ground from accursedness.” The prayer is a supplication to G-d that He save every living being on earth from the particular dangers that threaten its individual homeostasis and growth. “Beast from aborting…grain from scorch…vineyard from worms…flocks from leanness, fruits from the east wind, sheep from extermination…”
behalah. The word “behalah” connotes confusion, tumultuousness, unsettlement, and instability. We pray for inner peace and tranquility, for there is no greater malady that plagues and engulfs man than doubt, anxiety, and inner turmoil.
Megillas Koheles9. In the Megillah he relays his observations about life and the accomplishments of mankind. The Megillah’s dour and dismal portrayal of life is intriguing. Koheles seems to paint a picture of a pointless, inane, and worthless existence. (1:2) “Futility of futilities! – said Koheles – Futility of futilities, all is futile!” (1:14) “I have seen all the deeds done beneath the sun, and behold all is futile and a vexation of the spirit.” The spirit of man is his vitality and zest for life. Koheles observed that man’s very spirit is inherently vexed and perplexed, because it lacks direction.
behalah
For man to have fulfillment in life, he must find direction and meaning. He must be able to discern and comprehend the root of life. Koheles declares that, “there is nothing new under the sun.” He implies however, that what originates above the sun, in the celestial heavens, in the realm of the Divine, has constant newness and vitality.
descend from heaven and will not return there, rather it waters the earth and causes it to produce and sprout, and gives seed to the sower and food to the eater.” The believer understands that there is a beginning and a source of the natural cycle. Every step is Divinely ordained and is regenerated constantly. It’s not merely evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Rather, it is a process that is orchestrated by G-d. “You open your Hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.11”
sugyahs, chapters, tractates, and orders. Although one knows that he can never truly master a Gemara with absolute finality13, he can have the satisfaction of knowing that he has at least achieved a rudimentary understanding of a specific segment of it.
siyum grants one the opportunity to begin learning on a higher and more scholarly level. It is merely the excitement of beginning fresh, with new commitment and vitality. A siyum is a stopping point to ensure that Torah study does not end up being reduced to an endless confusing cycle where one gets lost in the vast ocean of Talmud and Torah law. Torah study too must be protected from the malady of behalah.
Perhaps this is the deeper meaning behind the parable Rashi mentioned. Succos always coincides with the harvest. It marks the end of the arduous and difficult farming season that began in the spring, and continued through the arid and hot summer. The farmer’s main toil is now complete and he can return home to enjoy the fruits of his labor throughout the winter.
So now what? Is he simply supposed to await the first sign of spring so that he can begin his work anew and recommence the endless cycle all over again? That is the curse which Koheles speaks of: “Behold all is futile and a vexation of the spirit”. The added day of Shmini Atzeres is an opportunity to contemplate and focus on that central point which infuses meaning and direction into our otherwise vapid and futile existence.
with me”, i.e. spend the day understanding that when one lives life “with Me”, his life transcends the dismal existence that Koheles portrays.
Atzeres– assembly” because its whole purpose is to spend the day retaining and absorbing the lessons of Succos. So that one, “dedicate himself to the service of G-d, study His Word, and sojourn in His sanctuary before returning to everyday life.”
shall know that Hashem, He is the G-d, there is none other!” Similarly, the hakafos of Simchas Torah commence with the verse, “You have been shown in order to know that Hashem, He is the G-d! There is none beside Him!” It is through the circles of Succos and Simchas Torah that one gains insight and clarity to his purpose on earth.
It would seem that it is highly inappropriate to read Megillas Koheles, with its morbid and disheartening outlook on life, during the holiday known as, “the time of our joy”. However, the opposite is true. Koheles enlightens and awakens man to recognize his vulnerability and the futility of a purposeless life. If one realizes what a meaningful life is he can strive for it and retain the joy of the holiday throughout his life. Koheles concludes with the timeless words that serve as the mantra for that meaningful existence: “The sum of the matter, when all has been considered: fear G-d and keep His commandments, for that is man’s whole duty.”
“Detain yourselves and spend one day with me”
shall know that Hashem, He is the G-d”
1 The basic idea recorded below was based on a discourse given by Rabbi Dovid Trenk in Kehillas Kol Chaim, Lakewood, N.J., at the Neilas HaChag, Simchas Torah 5767
2 Vayikra 23:36
3 [Outside of Eretz Yisroel this is done on the second day of the holiday, called Simchas Torah.]
4 Torah reading lectern
5 Topic of Talmudic study
6 literally- a lot of Hoshanos
7 Joyous procedure of the ‘drawing of the water’
8 The basis for this custom is the Gemarah Ta’anis which says that in the future, Hashem will make a circle with the righteous. The Divine Presence will rest inside the circle, and the righteous will point towards the center of the circle and declare, “This is my G-d, we will rejoice in His salvation.”
9 Koheles is one of Shlomo Hamelech’s pseudonyms
10 55:10
11 Tehillim 145:16
12 i.e. the walls and the s’chach together
13 A clear demonstration of this can be seen in watching elderly scholars who have spent their entire life engaged in Talmudic study, intently studying an open page, in a similar fashion to a young student studying the same page.
14 a celebration for the completion of Talmud or Mishnah study
15 although outside Eretz Yisroel the Shulchan Aruch writes that one does eat in the succah on Shemini Atezeres without a blessing, that is a Rabbinic decree
16 Vayikra 23:36