Did You Know? Sukkos

Sitting in the Sukkah

בַּסֻּכֹּת‭ ‬תֵּשְׁבוּ‭ ‬שִׁבְעַת‭ ‬יָמִים‭ ‬

The Medrash says that the Sukkah also can save a Yid from punishment. If, chas v’shalom, a Yid did a certain type of aveirah that would require him to go into galus (exile), he can choose to be “exiled” from his home and go into the Sukkah. That’s got to be the best “punishment” ever!

The Sukkah reminds us of the way Hashem protected the Yidden when they were in the midbar. He shielded them with ananei hakavod, clouds of glory that protected us from heat, cold, wind, sand, and anything dangerous the desert had to offer. We also remember the physical Sukkahs that the Yidden lived in back then. 

The sifrei pnimiyus teach that when a person is sitting within the walls of the Sukkah, he is truly surrounded by the ohr hamakif, a special spiritual light.  As well, every part of the Sukkah corresponds to a different part of Hashem’s name. On a practical level, it’s like Hashem is telling each Yid, “Now that you’ve been cleaned up by going through Yom Kippur, you are invited to come into my house and enjoy seven festive days together with me!!”

Rabbi Dovid Biderman, also known as “Reb Dovid Lelover,” was the leader of the Lelover chassidim. He lived in Yerushalayim and he had a truly beautiful Sukkah. The frame and boards were filled with beautiful hand-made moldings and carvings. These boards were amongst his most prized possessions.

This was the case for many years until one year, Reb Dovid built his Sukkah out of regular, plain wood. The word got out, and everyone wondered where his beautiful Sukkah boards had gone, but Reb Dovid wouldn’t tell anyone. 

One day, one of the poor tailors of Yerushalayim revealed the secret. In the middle of the previous winter, one of his children had gotten dangerously sick with pneumonia. The doctor told them that the only way their child would get better was if they would keep their home warm by having a fire going all the time, and thereby protect the child from the cold weather.  This poor yid, however, had no money to buy wood. He went to the Reb Dovid for guidance. 

When the rebbe heard the dilemma, he responded that, while he didn’t have any money to give or any bright ideas, he did have some wood he could give. He quickly arranged for his beautiful Sukkah boards to be sent to this Yid’s house and saved the child’s life!

It’s geshmak to be a kid!

Arba Minim

One year, in the town of Bardichov, there was a major shortage of esrogim. Shortly before Yom Tov, the people of the town managed to get a hold of one kosher esrog, and they planned to share it each day. The esrog was first given to the Rebbe of Bardichov, Reb Levi Yitzchok, and then the rest of the townspeople would take turns using it.

The Rebbe’s gabbai realized he would be waiting a very long time to use the esrog. First it would be the Rebbe, then all the important people of the city, then the older men, and so on. By the time he would get a chance, he thought to himself, it would already be nighttime! He decided to get up early and use the esrog even before the Rebbe.

When he went to shake the esrog the next day, he was terrified of being caught. His hands shook from nervousness, the esrog fell, and the pitem broke, making the esrog totally posul! 

When the Rebbe game, his gabbai shamefacedly told him what happened, expecting the rebbe to be extremely annoyed. Instead, the Rebbe took the esrog lovingly into in his hands and started talking to Hashem. “Dear Tatteh,” he said, “look at your precious children! Here is a simple yid who doesn’t know the deep kavanos of Sukkos, but he was so excited, and wanted to be one of the zrizin makdimin (people who do mitzvos as soon as possible), he was ready to risk breaking the esrog! Mi ke’amcha Yisroel!!

The Medrash says that after Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we are proud to show that we’ve been forgiven by Hashem and have been granted a good year to come. We hold the arba minim, high and proud, as a sign of our victory!

The Gemara points out for this mitzvah, we specifically use plants, which need Hashem’s rain to grow. Sukkos is the time of year that Hashem decides how much rain will fall during the coming year. By doing a mitzvah with the arba minim, we are asking Hashem to bless the coming year with plenty of rain!

The Medrash says that the esrog is similar to the heart, the lulav to the spine, the arava to the lips and the hadasim to the eyes. Rabbeinu Bechaya explains that we therefore gain forgiveness for any aveiros we might have done with these parts of our body, chas v’shalom.

In sifrei pnimiyus, we are taught that the reason we wave the arba minim towards are heart is to take all the great mochin — the ideas and thoughts — that we connected do during  Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and bring it down to our hearts, to connect to those ideas on a practical level.

The Medrash also teaches that the these four plants represent four different types of yidden. The esrog both smells and tastes good, corresponding to a Yid that learns Torah and does mitzvos. The lulav, and the dates that grow on it, taste great but have no smell, like a Yid who learns but needs to do more mitzvos. The hadasim have a great smell but no taste, like a Yid who does lots of mitzvos but needs to learn more. And the aravos, which have neither a good taste nor a good smell, are like a Yid who unfortunately doesn’t learn or do mitzvos. Hashem tells us to tie them all together all types of Yidden, even the ones who don’t have the z’chusim of Torah learning and doing mitzvos. This way, we connect the simplest Yid to the biggest tzaddik and bring him up to a higher level. 

Hoshana Raba

The Mishna says that on Sukkos we are judged about how much water we will have during the year and since this is the last day of Sukkos we especially want to invoke mercy from Hashem that there should be lots of water during the year, this is why we daven a lot for water on Hoshana Raba.

The Zohar Hakadosh writes that this is the day when Hashem gives his final verdict for the next year. 
This is why we daven extra tefillos on Hoshana Raba, and some have a minhag to read all of Sefer Tehillim.

In sifrei pnimiyus, we are taught that on this day, Hashem wants us to connect with him by being like an aravah, which is very simple, having no taste or smell.  Even if sometimes, we can’t understand Hashem’s ways, we should connect to a deep place of emunah and believe that everything He does is for the good. It is also a day of davening with our lips, which are the shape of the aravos.

A simple Yid was on his way to the city of Vorka to daven together with his Rebbe, Reb Yitzchok of Vorka, on the holy day of Hoshana Rabba. He was holding the special hoshana-bundle in his hands when a poritz came over to him and asked what those leaves were. The Yid explained that they are called “hoshanos,” but the poritz very oddly argued that the leaves were a broom, and wanted the Yid to admit it!  The Yid wouldn’t give in, insisting that the hoshanos were indeed hoshanos.

The poritz then asked where the Yid was going, and when he said he was going to his Rebbe, Reb Yitzchok of Vorka, the poritz insisted the Yid should refer to him as simple “Yitzchok,” belittling the tzaddik! The Yid refused, of course, and suddenly, the poritz vanished!

When the Yid arrived in Vorka, he told the story to the Rebbe and asked him to explain. The Rebbe told him that the poritz was the yeitzer hora and he wanted you either to belittle the mitzvah or the rebbe. He planned to use your aveiros against you. But since you wouldn’t budge, you will definitely merit a great year!

Shmini Atzeres

The Gemara teaches that during Sukkos, we spent so much time with Hashem, but really, we weren’t with him privately. The other nations of the world also benefited from our mitzvos during succos and when the Beis HaMikdash stood, they would even come to watch the great celebration. Therefore, before going back into our regular routine, Hashem asks us to stay with him for one more meal, just us and Him. The Zohar writes that since we are alone with Hashem on this day, we can ask him for whatever we want!

Simchas Torah

The Rambam gives another reason. Sukkos is called “zman simchaseinu,” the time of our happiness. But the Sukkah itself might not have been comfortable for everyone. We therefore spend one more day afterwards, specifically not the Sukkah, to make sure our sense of happiness is complete.

The Rishonim explain that the reason for Simchas Torah is because we’ve not finished reading the whole Chumash and have to make a siyum!

The Zohar says that on Simchas Torah it is as if we are getting married to Hashem, and it is appropriate for every Yid to wear a special crown in honor of the wedding. That special crown is the Torah itself! We sing and dance, thanking Hashem for this amazing gift.

In sifrei pnimiyus, we are taught that Shemini Atzeres is the peak of all the holidays during the past month. It is the time when we can connect with Hashem on the highest level and experience very deeply the idea of “ein od milvado,” there is nothing else but Hashem in the world!

In sifrei pnimiyus, we are taught that the only real way to connect to Hashem in our finite world is by learning Torah and fulfilling what Hashem has commanded us. Therefore, we dance with the Torah and rejoice with it, appreciating the connection it allows us to have with Hashem.

Reb Meir’l of Premishlan had a daughter who had fallen ill during the Yomim Noraim. On Simchas Torah, as the Rebbe was dancing with great hislahavus and emotion, the gabbai came to tell him that his daughter had taken a turn for the worse and was in very bad shape. The Rebbe came to her bedside and spoke to Hashem. He said, “Hashem, you told me to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana and I did. You told me to fast on Yom Kippur and I did. You told me to sit in the Sukkah on Sukkos and I did. You told me to be happy on Simchas Torah and I am. But you made my daughter sick as well, and the Mishna says that one must bless Hashem even for bad things and the Gemara explains that this means he should be b’simcha. The halacha is ein mearvin simcha b’simcha, one may not mix two simchas. If so, today, I have to be b’simcha because of Simchas Torah only and I am not allowed to be b’simcha that my daughter is unwell.”

Immediately, his daughter started to show signs of improvement and had a complete recovery.