Succot

The holiday of Succot, unlike the other holidays in the Jewish calendar, seems to occur on an arbitrary date that has no specific historical significance. The date of Pesach coincides with the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot occurs on the date of the giving of the Torah, Rosh Hashana is observed on the first of Tishrei because it was the day on which man was created, and Yom Kippur coincides with the day on which Moshe came down from Mt. Sinai with the second tablets, completing the process of repentance for the Children of Israel over the sin of the Golden Calf. Succot, however, commemorates what was an ongoing situation for Bnai Yisrael during their sojourn in the desert, the fact that they lived in booths. It seems that, historically speaking, Succot could have been celebrated on any day of the year. Why on the 15th of Tishrei ?

Apparently, Succot is in some way connected to the Yamim Noraim, serving as a conclusion to the high holidays. Yet, the connection between the themes of Succot and those of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are unclear. In reality, the joy of Succot seems somewhat incompatible with the seriousness of the Yamim Noraim. How might they be connected ?

We can, perhaps, find an answer to these questions in the description of the holidays that is recorded in Parshat Re'eh. It is interesting to compare the use of words relating to joy ("simcha") in the description of the three pilgrimage festivals. In the description of Pesach, the word "joy" does not appear at all (Devarim 17:1-8). In the description of Shavuot, the concept appears once: "And you shall rejoice before the L-rd your G-d..." (Devarim 17:11). But, in describing Succot, the Torah uses the word "joy" twice:

"And you shall rejoice on your festival, you and your son and your daughter..." "Seven days shall you celebrate unto the L-rd your G-d ...and you shall be altogether joyful."
(Devarim 17:14,15)

Why is Succot the holiday most associated with joy ? The Rabbis explain that the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot are rooted not only in the history of the Jewish people, but also in the agricultural cycle of Eretz Yisrael. Pesach corresponds to the planting season, Shavuot corresponds to the grain harvest, and Succot corresponds to the fruit harvest. When one plants his crops, he does not rejoice because he is gripped with uncertainty about how his harvest will succeed. When he harvests his grain, he can rejoice only partially for, although he has bread in hand, he is still uncertain about the success of his fruit crop. Complete joy comes only when a person has harvested all of his crops because he has then achieved a sense of certainty about his sustenance for the year. It is, thus, Succot that is the holiday of joy.

The same idea can be applied, as well, on the historical level to the development of the Jewish people and on the spiritual level. The latter helps to explain the connection between the Yamim Noraim and Succot. Immediately after the Days of Awe, we enter the joy of the festival of Succot. One might think that after we have observed the days of judgement, we would suffer from a feeling of uncertainty as to what the year has in store for us. Succot teaches us that, although we are in fact uncertain, we must approach the new year with a sense of certainty - with hope, with faith and with joy.

This sense begins to develop in the Neillah service, the final prayer service of Yom Kippur. One of the themes of Neillah is that we have been assured a priori of the success of our repentance. It is customary to begin building the succah, the symbol of G-d's protective presence, immediately at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. It is with this sense of "bitachon", security, that we begin the joyous festival of Succot.

Chag Sameach

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