The three pilgrimage festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Succot, are mentioned in the Shemoneh Esreh as: "the time of our freedom"; "the time of the giving of our Torah"; and "the time of our rejoicing."
These three times are a single array, led off by Pesach, the time of our freedom. Pesach is when the Jewish People were born, when we emerged from darkness to light and from slavery to freedom, like an infant emerging from its mother's womb.
Next comes Shavuot, the time of G-d's giving us the Torah. It is not enough to emerge from slavery to political freedom, just as it is not enough to be born. Rather, we must develop and uncover the benevolent soul stored away in the newborn infant, by way of providing children with a fine education and teaching them Torah, lovingly. We must emerge from physical, material slavery to spiritual freedom. As our sages said, regarding the giving of the Torah, "Read not that the writing was engraved [charut] on the Tablets (Exodus 32:16), but that there was freedom [cherut] through the Tablets."
By way of political and spiritual freedom, we will merit to complete the process when we sit in the succah during Succot, the time of our rejoicing. There, we will remember, be aware and focus on the fact that "G-d caused Israel to dwell in succot when He took them out of Egypt." (Leviticus 23:43) Rashi interprets those succot as referring to the Clouds of Glory. Thus, on Succot, we merit to see G-d's goodness and to bask in the splendor of His Divine presence, as we say in Kel Adon regarding G-d's glory: "Benevolent G-d created glory for His name."
Today, in our very own generation, we are meriting, and shall continue to merit, to see the themes of the pilgrimage holidays reinvested with their ancient relevance. The Jewish State's establishment represents an emergence from two thousand years of exile to political freedom, and it parallels Israel's exodus from Egypt - the time of our freedom.
The return to Torah and to Jewish tradition, which is taking place nowadays amongst tens of thousands of our people, both quietly and openly, parallels the receiving of the Torah. These days are thus like "the time of G-d's giving us our Torah."
And through political and spiritual freedom, may we soon merit the completion of the redemption process with the coming of our righteous Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple, speedily in our days. And through us will be fulfilled our requests and G-d's promises:
"Make us rejoice in accordance with Your days of afflicting us, the years in which we saw evil." (Psalm 90:15)
"O L-rd, grant us Your holy festivals for gladness and joy. May Israel, who sanctifies Your name rejoice in You." (From the festival Shemoneh Esreh)
These three times are a single array, led off by Pesach, the time of our freedom. Pesach is when the Jewish People were born, when we emerged from darkness to light and from slavery to freedom, like an infant emerging from its mother's womb.
Next comes Shavuot, the time of G-d's giving us the Torah. It is not enough to emerge from slavery to political freedom, just as it is not enough to be born. Rather, we must develop and uncover the benevolent soul stored away in the newborn infant, by way of providing children with a fine education and teaching them Torah, lovingly. We must emerge from physical, material slavery to spiritual freedom. As our sages said, regarding the giving of the Torah, "Read not that the writing was engraved [charut] on the Tablets (Exodus 32:16), but that there was freedom [cherut] through the Tablets."
By way of political and spiritual freedom, we will merit to complete the process when we sit in the succah during Succot, the time of our rejoicing. There, we will remember, be aware and focus on the fact that "G-d caused Israel to dwell in succot when He took them out of Egypt." (Leviticus 23:43) Rashi interprets those succot as referring to the Clouds of Glory. Thus, on Succot, we merit to see G-d's goodness and to bask in the splendor of His Divine presence, as we say in Kel Adon regarding G-d's glory: "Benevolent G-d created glory for His name."
Today, in our very own generation, we are meriting, and shall continue to merit, to see the themes of the pilgrimage holidays reinvested with their ancient relevance. The Jewish State's establishment represents an emergence from two thousand years of exile to political freedom, and it parallels Israel's exodus from Egypt - the time of our freedom.
The return to Torah and to Jewish tradition, which is taking place nowadays amongst tens of thousands of our people, both quietly and openly, parallels the receiving of the Torah. These days are thus like "the time of G-d's giving us our Torah."
And through political and spiritual freedom, may we soon merit the completion of the redemption process with the coming of our righteous Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple, speedily in our days. And through us will be fulfilled our requests and G-d's promises:
"Make us rejoice in accordance with Your days of afflicting us, the years in which we saw evil." (Psalm 90:15)
"O L-rd, grant us Your holy festivals for gladness and joy. May Israel, who sanctifies Your name rejoice in You." (From the festival Shemoneh Esreh)