Sukkos
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Basics for building a sukkah: http://www.aish.com/sukkotsukkah/sukkotsukkahdefault/Building_a_Sukkah_-_Basics.asp
Laws for the Lulav and Etrog: http://www.aish.com/sukkotspecies/sukkotspeciesdefault/Laws_of_the_Four_Species.asp
Loving Trust
On Sukkos, we dwell in sukkot, booths, for seven days as it says "During [these] seven days you must live in thatched huts. Everyone included in Israel must live in such thatched huts" (Leviticus 23:42). Why? What messages should we be attempting to internalize while performing this mitzvah? Fortunate for us, the Torah reveals to us:
"This is so that future generations will know that I had the Israelites live in sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt. I am God your Lord" (ibid. 43).
What exactly does it mean that we dwelled in sukkot? What are sukkot? According to the simple meaning, it certainly means booths, that we lived in huts during the years in the desert. But we find in the Talmud a disagreement about the deeper meaning. Rabbi Akiva holds that we understand this verse literally, that sukkot mean booths while Rabbi Eliezer says that metaphorically, sukkot refer to the Clouds of Glory which followed us around and protected us in the desert (Sukkos 11b).
Thus, according to Rabbi Eliezer, we are celebrating G-d miraculously protecting us in the desert. And according to Rabbi Akiva, we are celebrating that we… stayed in huts? Why have a seven-day holiday because we stayed in huts?
Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, in his Aruch HaShulchan, explains that according to Rabbi Akiva, we celebrate Sukkos in order to publicize and internalize our great trust in G-d, that we trusted in G-d, and our entire nation, laden with young and elders, followed Him into the desert, a harsh land inhospitable for life (see Jeremiah 2:2) (Aruch HaShulchan Orach Chaim 625:2-3 I am grateful to my Rosh Yeshiva, R. Scott Kahn, for teaching us this piece).
Thus, according to Rabbi Akiva, we are focusing on our trust in G-d and according to Rabbi Eliezer, we focus on G-d's love for us and His protection.
I believe both of these opinions are important for Sukkos. Sukkos is a time of intense love between us and G-d (Song of Songs 1:4, see especially last Rashi). How do we cultivate such love?
[[According to our current approach, Rashi seems to merge both opinions together.]]
Rav Dessler says that all humans fundamentally can either be a giver or a taker, selflessly looking for ways to help others or selfishly only seeking ways to better oneself (Strive for Truth I, 119-120) and we must strive to be givers. He than says that giving is what creates love, and love without giving will fade away (ibid. 127, 129). My experience has born this out, by giving I increase my care and concern for others and by not giving, I become apathetic. Finally, Rav Dessler says that gratitude, the desire to repay another, stems from the desire to give. A giver, not only wants to give, but does not want to take but rather only to give, and thus must respond to kindness with kindness. Takers on the other hand do not feel gratitude and their display of thanks is only in order to receive more (ibid. 147-148).
Back to Sukkos. Rabbi Eliezer says we must remember all the kindness that G-d showered upon us during the forty years in the desert. Rabbi Akiva says we must remember that we are givers, we fundamentally want to better others. Consequently, because of our love for G-d, we trusted Him to lead us through the desert. We did it because we wanted to give, to give ourselves over to Him.
Because we are givers, we cannot accept free gifts and thus must attempt to repay others to the best of our ability. We cannot truly pay G-d back for all He does but we can do the best we can do the best we can, by redoubling our efforts to serve Him with every bone and tissue in our bodies.
Practically speaking, I think that we must during this time focus on giving to others and being thankful for what we have.
Practically, I think we should every day think of somebody and how we can go out of our way and help them and then do it. Furthermore, I think we should every day think of something new which we are grateful for. I think we should write down both kindnesses we do for others and things we have to be grateful for in order to help us internalize the fact that we are givers who want to give.
Biography for Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechiel_Michel_Epstein
Food for further thought and discussion:
What can we do to increase our opportunities for performing acts of kindness.
Have a good Shabbas and a wonderful Sukkos,
Mordechai
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Basics for building a sukkah: http://www.aish.com/sukkotsukkah/sukkotsukkahdefault/Building_a_Sukkah_-_Basics.asp
Laws for the Lulav and Etrog: http://www.aish.com/sukkotspecies/sukkotspeciesdefault/Laws_of_the_Four_Species.asp
Loving Trust
On Sukkos, we dwell in sukkot, booths, for seven days as it says "During [these] seven days you must live in thatched huts. Everyone included in Israel must live in such thatched huts" (Leviticus 23:42). Why? What messages should we be attempting to internalize while performing this mitzvah? Fortunate for us, the Torah reveals to us:
"This is so that future generations will know that I had the Israelites live in sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt. I am God your Lord" (ibid. 43).
What exactly does it mean that we dwelled in sukkot? What are sukkot? According to the simple meaning, it certainly means booths, that we lived in huts during the years in the desert. But we find in the Talmud a disagreement about the deeper meaning. Rabbi Akiva holds that we understand this verse literally, that sukkot mean booths while Rabbi Eliezer says that metaphorically, sukkot refer to the Clouds of Glory which followed us around and protected us in the desert (Sukkos 11b).
Thus, according to Rabbi Eliezer, we are celebrating G-d miraculously protecting us in the desert. And according to Rabbi Akiva, we are celebrating that we… stayed in huts? Why have a seven-day holiday because we stayed in huts?
Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, in his Aruch HaShulchan, explains that according to Rabbi Akiva, we celebrate Sukkos in order to publicize and internalize our great trust in G-d, that we trusted in G-d, and our entire nation, laden with young and elders, followed Him into the desert, a harsh land inhospitable for life (see Jeremiah 2:2) (Aruch HaShulchan Orach Chaim 625:2-3 I am grateful to my Rosh Yeshiva, R. Scott Kahn, for teaching us this piece).
Thus, according to Rabbi Akiva, we are focusing on our trust in G-d and according to Rabbi Eliezer, we focus on G-d's love for us and His protection.
I believe both of these opinions are important for Sukkos. Sukkos is a time of intense love between us and G-d (Song of Songs 1:4, see especially last Rashi). How do we cultivate such love?
[[According to our current approach, Rashi seems to merge both opinions together.]]
Rav Dessler says that all humans fundamentally can either be a giver or a taker, selflessly looking for ways to help others or selfishly only seeking ways to better oneself (Strive for Truth I, 119-120) and we must strive to be givers. He than says that giving is what creates love, and love without giving will fade away (ibid. 127, 129). My experience has born this out, by giving I increase my care and concern for others and by not giving, I become apathetic. Finally, Rav Dessler says that gratitude, the desire to repay another, stems from the desire to give. A giver, not only wants to give, but does not want to take but rather only to give, and thus must respond to kindness with kindness. Takers on the other hand do not feel gratitude and their display of thanks is only in order to receive more (ibid. 147-148).
Back to Sukkos. Rabbi Eliezer says we must remember all the kindness that G-d showered upon us during the forty years in the desert. Rabbi Akiva says we must remember that we are givers, we fundamentally want to better others. Consequently, because of our love for G-d, we trusted Him to lead us through the desert. We did it because we wanted to give, to give ourselves over to Him.
Because we are givers, we cannot accept free gifts and thus must attempt to repay others to the best of our ability. We cannot truly pay G-d back for all He does but we can do the best we can do the best we can, by redoubling our efforts to serve Him with every bone and tissue in our bodies.
Practically speaking, I think that we must during this time focus on giving to others and being thankful for what we have.
Practically, I think we should every day think of somebody and how we can go out of our way and help them and then do it. Furthermore, I think we should every day think of something new which we are grateful for. I think we should write down both kindnesses we do for others and things we have to be grateful for in order to help us internalize the fact that we are givers who want to give.
Biography for Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechiel_Michel_Epstein
Food for further thought and discussion:
What can we do to increase our opportunities for performing acts of kindness.
Have a good Shabbas and a wonderful Sukkos,
Mordechai
posted by Mordechai18 at 3:28 AM
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