The Why of the Joy of Sukkot

As I am writing this column, the appropriate greeting to offer you is G’mar Chatima Tova. But since you will be reading these words after Yom Kippur, let me use the more common greeting of G’mar Tov. And at the end of the column, I will wish you a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Samei’ach.

Sukkot is unique in a number of ways. Let’s first look at it as the third and final chag of the Shalosh Regalim, the Three Pilgrimage Festivals.

Pesach is nicknamed Z’man Cheiruteinu, the Time of our Freedom. Shavuot is called Z’man Matan Torateinu, the Time of the Giving of our Torah. And Sukkot is known as Z’man Simchateinu, the Time of our Joy. Whereas Pesach and Shavuot have traditional appellations that are specific to the holiday they describe, the one for Sukkot seems to be more generic. There is a mitzva of simcha on all three festivals. So why is Sukkot described by that particular characteristic instead of a more specific name?

To begin to answer that question, we need to ask a different question: What happened on the 15^th of Tishrei that we have a holiday on that date?

We left Egypt and its oppression and slavery on the 15^th of Nisan, and so Pesach, a.k.a. Chag HaMatzot, is called Z’man Cheiruteinu and begins on the 15^th of Nisan.

We received the Torah seven weeks later at Har Sinai on the 6^th (or 7^th) of Sivan, and so we celebrate Chag HaShavuot on that day – Z’man Matan Torateinu being a perfect moniker for that chag.

Rosh Hashanah is on the day that Hashem created mankind – the first of Tishrei. Yom Kippur is on the day that Moshe Rabbeinu came down from Har Sinai with the second set of Luchot and with G-d’s message of forgiveness.

The Chashmona’im were victorious against the Syrian-Greeks, cleaned up the Beit HaMikdash, and “lit neirot in the holy courtyard,” which miraculously lasted for eight days. This happened on the 25^th of Kislev and that is when the eight days of Chanuka begin.

Purim is celebrated on the day the Jews rested from their defensive battles with the people who took up Haman’s call to wipe us out – the 14^th of Adar, and in some places on the 15^th.

Getting the point of the question about Sukkot?

Each of the fast days for the Churban Beit HaMikdash coincides with specific dates on which momentous events occurred. Even our newer dates – Yom HaSho’a, Yom HaAtzma’ut, and Yom Yerushalayim – are observed on dates that mattered in our history.

So, what’s the story with Sukkot?

Z’man Simchateinu, the Time of our Joy: What happened on the 15^th of Tishrei that it begins one of the major Festivals of the calendar?

The Vilna Gaon says that the Heavenly Clouds of Glory, which had been removed as a result of the Sin of the Golden Calf, were restored on the 15^th of Tishrei.

He seems to be a daat yachid (minority opinion). Most other opinions suggest that rather than marking an event which took place on a certain date, Sukkot is a grand summary of the simcha of all the chagim.

Let’s explore that for a moment.

Pesach is certainly joyous in its celebration of the Exodus, but when we look back – as we should, because we are to relive the experience – we can imagine a nervousness, even trepidation, as to “What now?” OK, we are out of Egypt. Thank G-d. But where to from here? Pesach begins in the middle of the first month of the year, Nisan. It is as if Hashem filtered out the joy of Pesach, copied that joy without the other emotions, and pasted it on the 15^th of the other first month of the year, Tishrei. Seven days; seven days.

Shavuot is certainly festive. A time of joy commemorative of the Revelation at Sinai. But there were (and are) other emotions mixed in. As forthcoming as the People were with “Naaseh v’nishma” – We will do and we will listen, or understand – they were still forced to accept the Torah and the commitment thereto. “He raised the mountain above them...” Again, G-d copied and pasted the joy of Shavuot and extended the mid-Tishrei chag with an extra day to revel in the joy of Matan Torah. That day is Sh’mini Atzeret / Simchat Torah, which is one day in Israel and two days elsewhere. But the idea is still there.

Yamim Nora’im, The Days of Awe – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: judgment days, serious days. Holidays, yet we don’t say Hallel. But there is joy there too. A great deal of joy if one looks at the whole picture. Still, the feeling of joy definitely competes with the awe and fear of those days. Once again, copy the joy of the Days of Awe and paste it into Sukkot – specifically onto Hoshana Rabba, a day which continues with the mood of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but with greater joy and the potential of the greatest form of t’shuva – t’shuva mei-ahava, repentance motivated by love of G-d.

That is Sukkot. The last of the Torah holidays, not just of the Shalosh Regalim but of the Yamim Nora’im as well, which culminate in Sukkot.

Look at the Torah readings of the Yamim Tovim. Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh HaShana (Yom HaZikaron), and Yom Kippur all have Torah readings specific to them. The leining on Sukkot’s first day (first two days outside of Israel) is about all of the Mo’adei Hashem, G-d’s special days.

Thus, Z’man Simchateinu is not generic or a default name; it fits Sukkot perfectly.

Just to look at Sukkot from a different angle: It is the third of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, but it is also the third and final Yom Tov of the three Tishrei holidays. And here’s a number for readers of Torah by the Numbers that shows the double-duty that Sukkot does: All the Musaf sacrifices in the Beit HaMikdash – including those for Rosh Chodesh – include seven lambs. On each day of Sukkot, 14 lambs are offered. Double, reflecting its dual role. A close look at Parshat HaMo’adot (the aforementioned reading of day one of Sukkot) will show that Sukkot is presented twice.

Yet another way that Sukkot is in its own class is mitzva-wise. The main mitzva of Pesach is matza – mouth, esophagus, and stomach involved. Shofar on Rosh Hashanah – ears involved. The mitzva of sukka involves one’s entire being. We don’t just eat in the sukka – we live in the sukka. It is an all-encompassing mitzva. That’s what filtered joy enables us to experience.

* * * * *

If someone asks you, “What are the mitzvot of Sukkot? Answer quickly!” you would probably answer sukka and the Arbaa Minim, the Four Species – lulav, etrog, hadasim, aravot. If that’s your total answer, you are missing one other mitzva. Understandable, because we don’t do that mitzva today without a Beit HaMikdash, but it is no less significant than the mitzvot of sukka and the Four Species. And that is: Nisuch ha-mayim, the water libation that joins the regular wine libation for the seven days of Sukkot.

The remnant of that mitzva is found in the festive musical gatherings known as Simchat Beit HaSho-eiva (the joy of the water-drawing) held in many communities during the evenings of Chol HaMo’ed Sukkot. The Mishna states that anyone who never experienced a Simchat Beit HaSho-eiva never saw real joy in his life. That statement, of course, refers to the festivities in the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash that celebrated the drawing of water and bringing it to the Temple for the following morning’s Nisuch ha-mayim.

What is particularly interesting is that the only thing required on each night is the filling of a pitcher of water from a stream (the Shilo’ach) and bringing it back to the Mikdash to be used the following morning. Simple task. No party called for.

But the Sages at the time of the Mishna made a joyous fuss about the drawing of the water. They meant it to demonstrate that the mitzva of Nisuch ha-mayim was no less a Torah mitzva because it was taught by the Oral Law and not mentioned in the Written Word of the Torah. For us, The Written Word and the Oral Law are equal, inseparable components of the Torah. The Tzidokim thought otherwise, so our Chachamim made very public and joyous celebrations of the preparations for this mitzva.

And now comes the time for me to wish you all a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Samei’ach (and, as I remember fondly from my earlier life – Good Shabbos, Good Yom Tov)!