Sukkot ; Heaven And Earth

by Moshe Kempinski

Drive through many streets in any city in Israel and you will find colorful stands selling the spiritual tools of Sukkoth, lulavim etrogim and assorted decorations for the sukkah dispersed throughout
.
Our Torah tells us;

 "And ye shall keep it a feast unto HaShem seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in sukkoth  seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in sukkoth ;that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in sukkoth , when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your G-d.( Vayikra 23:41-43)  

 Our sages disagree as to the meaning of the verse "that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in sukkoth ". What is it that they were supposed to remember?   According to Rabbi Eliezer, the word "sukkoth" refers to the clouds of glory with which God protected the Jews. Rabbi Akiva teaches that it refers to the actual booths that they lived in during their time in the wilderness.. ( Sukkah 11b).

The understood principle in all such disagreements is " these and these are the words of living torah"


What then is the core of their disagreement? The essence of the festival of sukkoth is that it is the culmination and fulfillment of the redemptive process began in the month of Elul . A process that then moved through the Days of Judgment of Rosh Hashana and on through the crucible and purifying fire of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.


The days of Sukkoth which should have been celebrated during the month of their Exodus from Egypt, Nissan, is instead celebrated here in the month of Tishrei following the Days of Awe. The Vilna Gaon   writes that the heavenly clouds of glory that protected the people were restored on the 15th of Tishrei after having been removed following the sin of the golden calf in the month of Nissan.


What then is the connection between the Clouds of Glory and Tishrei?


During the days of Elul and Tishrei each individual soul undergoes a spiritual voyage that is unparalleled in its intensity and awesome in its implications.


It is in the month of Elul that we begin again the courtship with the Beloved, The letters of Elul standing for the first letters of the verse " Ani Ledodi VeDodui Lee-I Am My Beloved's and my Beloved is Mine. The soul clothed in the physicality of reality then enters into the day of Judgment .Yet on this day the focus seems not to be on the judgment but rather on the simple and awesome act of declaring G-d to be Ruler and Majesty of the earth. Only after comprehending the fact of that Rulership can the soul move on through the intensity and supreme focus of the ten days of repentance.


Eventually on the Day of Atonement the soul attempts to disconnect from the physicality of his existence .A  day that is spent attempting to mirror the existence of angels. We desist from actions that speak of our physical existence, eating , washing ourselves, the wearing of  comfortable shoes and  intimate relationships between husband and wife. All this is done in order to remove the spiritual impediments that stand in the way of our relationship with our Creator. Eliminating the sins that impede the intimacy of true connection with the Divine. Yet the process of that purifying and self-inspection leaves our hearts and souls  as seared and broken vessels.  


The only way to mend a seared and fractured heart is with Joy. The feast of Sukkoth is the antittode as it is the  feast of Joy.”VaHayitem Ach Sameach- and thou shalt be altogether joyful” (Deuteronomy 16:15) G-d is not commanding us to be happy. G-d is telling us that we will be!


What then is the greatest Joy. It is the ability to give to one’s true beloved what it is that beloved truly desires. After leaving the intensity of G-d’s very throne room on Yom Kippur we are then told what our Beloved’s desires are.


“And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm- trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before HaShem your G-d seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto HaShem seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your G-d. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of HaShem. (Leviticus 23:40-44 )

Throughout Jerusalem and throughout the country Jews have spent intense energy and many shekels to find the perfect gift for their Beloved. One of the agents that I deal with in our Old City shop with who represents a large Judaica company told me that for the first time   he was meeting with a incredibly heightened desire and need for Sukkoth Judaica all over the country." Not just in Jerusalem or in Bnei Brak. It is happening all across Israel. “he said” There is something new in the air,  it is  palpable. "


He is right, the feeling is palpable and powerful. There is a great stirring in the land. Despite the dangers from without and the decay within the stirring is blossoming like a tender shoot.

 It is that stirring that will bring the Great stirring in the Heavens as well.


This then explains the disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva . They were disagreeing as to which stirring must come first? Which stirring is the most critical? Was it the fact that the Israelites built Sukkoth in the wilderness and then trusted G-d to protect them from the ravages of the barren desert? Was it in fact the Clouds of Glory that first surrounded the people and empowered them to trust?


In Israel we see that a great stirring has begun here amidst us. It instigates or mirrors a great stirring in the Heavens. It is that stirring that brings a clear melding between our earthly Sukkoth and the Heavenly  clouds of Glory.A melding of the views of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer.

" these and these are the words of living torah"

The Mysterious Rashi Commentary

    THE   MYSTERIOUS   RASHI COMMENTARY

Anybody that has visited the Old City of Jerusalem these last several weeks would have been touched by a fascinating and incredible phenomenon. The streets and plazas of the old city are filled, all night,  with people of all types walking hurriedly towards the Western Wall for Selichot prayers . Young and old, observant and those Jews who were less so ,were walking together in the same direction. As my wife and I were driving home late one such  night from the Western Wall we stopped at the intersection at the foot of Mount Zion. The policeman guiding traffic at the corner turned to us and said,” Everybody is suddenly religious in these days. They all think about Him now.” He said with a sparkle in his eyes. As we  drove off I said “Baruch HaShem- Thank G-d”. He smiled and looked up and mouthed a “Yishtabach Shmo- May His Name be Praised”. We crossed the intersection carefully trying not to hurt all those people walking together with such similar purpose.

In the Torah portion ' VaYelech “that is usually read before Yom Kippur we read the following;

"And Moshe went and he spoke the words to the Children of Israel." ( Deuteronomy 31:1)

Rashi, the classic Jewish commentator highlights the first words of the verse "And Moshe went " and offers as an explanation, the cryptic word "etc" and nothing more.

The question that Rashi was attempting to answer was "To where did Moshe go to? In the previous torah portion, Nitzavim, we read that Moshe addresses the whole nation. Why then did Moshe have to go anywhere to speak to the people? They were already arrayed before him. 

Rashi's answer to that question was simply, "etc"?!?

Perhaps that simple explanation points to a great spiritual truth. Moshe was delivering his last message to the Jewish people. These were the last 24 hour of his life. Moshe had shepherded these people for forty years. He had carried them through difficult and tumultuous times. He was approaching the end of his mission but that did not stop this man. Rash's use of the word veGomer or "etc" was that the words "And Moshe went " indicated that Moshe never stopped moving and never stopped growing even during the final 24 hours of his life. That had been his spiritual strength throughout his life and it was the spiritual strength he had imparted to his descendants.

Rav Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (January 10, 1905-June 18, 1994) the founding rebbe of the Sanz-Klausenberg Hasidic dynasty lost his wife and ten of his children in the flames of the living hell called the Holocaust. Throughout those years of terror and horror, Rabbi Halberstam continued to try to spiritually uplift and encourage his fellow prisoners despite his own personal losses. In the fall of 1945, after the liberation of the camps , the Rebbe moved to the new DP camp of Föhrenwald, On Yom Kippur of that year, General Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the camps in an attempt to "asses the state of the Jewish DP's". On that same day the Rebbe was speaking to the tattered remnants of his people.

The Klausenberger Rebbe dressed in a white kittel, the white linen robe traditionally worn on Yom Kippur, and wrapped in a large tallit, looked angelic and pure

With tears in his eyes he began by thanking God for saving the lives of those standing before him from the Nazi hell. He then pointed to his kittel – and began to speak slowly, deliberately, tearfully:

"One of the reasons we wear this kittel is because it is the traditional burial garment, in which we wrap a body before laying it to rest in the ground, as we do when we bury our parents and those that came before us. Wearing a kittel on Yom Kippur thus reminds us of our final day of judgment when we will be laid to rest. It therefore humbles and breaks our hearts, stirring us to do complete Teshuvah (return). The white, linen kittel is a symbol of purity that we achieve through our introspection and efforts to repair all our wrongs.

"Since the kittel reminds us of the burial shroud of those that passed on before us," continued the Klausenberger Rebbe , "why are we wearing a kittel today? Our parents and loved ones were just slaughtered without tachrichim (burial shrouds). They were buried, with or without clothes, in mass graves, or in no graves at all…"

Suddenly, the Klausenberger Rebbe began removing off his own kittel . "No kittel!" he cried out in an anguished voice. "Let us be like our parents. Let us remove our kittels, so that they can recognize us. They won’t recognize us in kittels, because they are not wrapped in kittels…"

He continued expounding on the following words from the traditional Yom Kippur prayerbook.

"Ashamnu - Did we sin? Bagadnu - Were we unfaithful?… Were we, God forbid, unfaithful to God and fail to remain loyal to him? Gazalnu - did we steal? From whom did we steal in Auschwitz and Mühldorf? … Maradnu - We rebelled.. Against whom? …we are guilty of sins that are not written in the machzor… How many times did many of us pray, Master of the Universe, I have no more strength, take my soul "?… We must ask the Almighty to restore our faith and trust in Him. ‘Trust in God forever.’… Pour your hearts out to Him."

The Jews, young and old, religious and those that had lost faith all broke down in tears. The utter sadness, the excruciating pain and the humiliation of the past years came pouring out in wailing and sobbing.

General Eisenhower, visibly moved by the words he heard from the translator, approached the Rebbe later. He asked him if there was something he could do for him. The Rebbe simply asked that he help them find lulavim and etrogim for the upcoming festival. The general was taken aback by the simple request and immediately instructed his lieutenant Berl Smith to arrange for the items to be flown in from Italy.

The general of the mighty victorious army confronted with a simple request of faith. Even after the horrors of turmoil of the valley of Death the Klausenberger Rebbe simply wanted to continue with a simple Mitzva .In that simple request lay the spiritual fortitude that bespoke of a power that was greater than the mightier armies.

The spiritual power expressed by Rashi's simple statement of "etc"

The Jewish people in our days are entering another Yom Kippur. They will be entering the Throne room of the Almighty armed with nothing but " a contrite and broken heart" . Dressed in white kittels wrapped in large tallitot, they will be spending intense and intimate time with their Creator. The experience is exhilarating, awesome and yet frightening. The incredible spiritual journey ends with a mighty Shofar blast. Every Jew walks home tired with a sense of Holy contentment mixed with earthly anxiety.

Yet within a very short period of time they will be out on their porches and balconies building their Succoth. They will be out on the streets buying a lulav and etrog. They will be walking in search of the simple Mitzva. That is the spiritual strength of this people. They move forward past the tragedies of their history and continue through the uncertainties of the future. The spiritual power of "and Moshe went" continues.

Each of us in our individual lives must go through the trials and uncertainties of our existence. The secret is to continue on the voyage. Our people in the land of Israel have had to endure the insanity of the Gush Katif upheaval and the brutality of Amona. The secret is to continue on the voyage.

The voyage includes the standing against those that try to thwart the voyage but the secret is in the voyage and not the destination.

Farmers and Leadership

What Has Happened to Israel's Leadership

The plate of Simanim or signs on our Rosh Hashana table told a powerful story. The pomegranates and the dates did not only hint at blessings and desires they were calling out a clear message. Our generation has seen a miracle unfold before our eyes. A battered and struggling people came into the swamps and desolate valleys of this land and became the agents of its flowering.Those pomegranates and dates on our table were the results of their efforts and vision. Furthermore their pioneering efforts were imbued with miraculous and idealistic passion. Regardless of what they claimed to believe or not believe these early pioneers of Israel were active partners of Divine revelation. Yet only one or two generations later , the descendants of these same great pioneers became mired in self serving politics and small minded leadership. The great visionaries spawned heirs with no vision.

What Happened?

The ancient text  called the Sifri declared that " The Creation of the world occurred in the merit of the commandment of Bikkurim-First fruits." That statement is so powerful in its simplicity that it demands to be explored.

After a year of toiling, planting, watering, tending, and caring for the produce man has grown, he enters his field. He sees the first ripening fruit of one of the seven species and he ties a band over this fruit and declares "This is for Bikkurim (the ceremony of first fruits)" Later, when it ripens, he places it in a basket. These baskets were then brought to the Beit HaMikdash in a festive procession. In all parts of Israel they would gather in the middle of their towns in special gatherings called Maamadot. They awoke after spending the night in the open are when an appointed individual announced "Arise and let us go up to Zion and the house of our L-rd." The groups would then in a festive procession to Jerusalem singing, "I was happy when they said to me let us go to the house of the L-rd" (Psalms Ch 122). The procession included a bull to be used as a thanksgiving sacrifice, adorned with gold and a wreath of olive branches, with the whole procession led by the music of flutes. As they stood within the temple, the one offering the Bikkurim states to the priest in the Temple,"I proclaim this day to the L-rd thy G-d that I have come unto the land which the L-rd swore unto our fathers to give them." The person then declares the Vidui recanting the travails of the Israelites till they arrived in the land, settled it and now have succeeded in gathered in its fruits.

As the procession would walk through the streets of Jerusalem, all the workmen , laborers and scholars would stop what they are doing and stand in honor of these farmers bearing Bikkurim. The Torah commentator Bartenura raises an interesting question. According to another Jewish law, It is obligatory to stand in honor of a Torah scholar when he passes This is done not so much to honor the scholar as it is to honor the Torah that this " living torah scroll "represents. Yet that Jewish law continues that craftsmen do not have to stop their work to stand up for such a scholar as this would interrupt their work and livelihood. Such is not the case with the law regarding these farmers bringing the first fruits. "Why", asks the Bartenura, is that so?

The reason seems to be that these farmers, in this situation, during these festive times act as high priests. They are the tools of G-d's revelation within nature.This would be true anywhere in the world.Yet this is especially true in the land wherein Heaven touches the earth.In such a place the very fruits carry a Divine message. The return of G-d's Glory, symbolized by the fruits and blossoms of the land. When the prophet Ezekiel describes G-d's Glory leaving the Temple Mount (Ezekiel 11:23). , he is describing a people going into exile with the Glory of G-d going into exile with them . G-d’s Presence never left the Temple Mount but His Glory which neccessitates His people to reveal that aspect of His Presence ,did leave with those people.

Yet Ezekiel describes the return of the people from Exile in the following way; "But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home."(ibid 36:8 ) . Every fruit, every tree, every flower is a testament to G-d's promises. That then becomes the role of these simple farmers. They are the vessels through which G-d's Presence is revealed and glorified. That as the Sifri pointed out is in essence is the purpose of creation.

That helps explain what happened to the generations that followed the early pioneers of this newborn state. The visionaries who built this land were all farmers. It is difficult to be a farmer, especially in the land of Israel and not be imbued with a deep mystical sense of the inner harmony of this world. Whether they could or would have the insight to identify G-d in their passion, their passion was G-dly nonetheless.Ariel Sharon was such a farmer. That is what directed and moved his actions forward. Yet when Ariel Sharon stopped viewing his Syccamore Estates as a farm and started seeing it as expensive real estate ,he inevitably lost his way.

The children and grandchildren of the early pioneers ceased to be farmers and became obsessed less with how to make the land blossom and grow but rather with how to do that with their bank accounts. Without the experience of tilling the land, and without the anchor and compass of faith they   lost the Divine impetus of their mission in this land. As a result they falter and fail and will be replaced by the young men and women of vision who dot the hilltops of the Biblical land.

The fruit on our Rosh Hashana table did not only tell the story of what was but a was clear promise that the vision has not ended.