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Opinion & Comment
Succos: Rishon Lecheshbon -- The Beginning of Accountability

By Rav Zev Leff

Rav Leffs insights are a regular feature of the print edition of Yated Ne'eman-Bnei Brak. They are included here in this special Succos edition. The Medrash, (Yalkut Shimoni 651) relates: "Rav Mani of Shav and Rebbe Yehoshua of Sichnin, in the name of Rebbe Yehoshua Ben Levi: This can be compared to a country that was in arrears of its debt to its king and the king came to collect the debt. The leaders of the country met the king 15 mil (miles) outside the city limits and praised him. So the king forgave a third of the debt. Five mil outside the city limit, the dignitaries of the city met the king and praised him and he forgave another third of the debt. When the king entered the city all the inhabitants greeted him and praised him and the king said, `What was in the past is gone. From now on, we will keep an account.'

"Similarly on Rosh Hashonoh, Yisroel do teshuvoh and Hashem forgives a third of their sins. During Aseres Yemei Teshuvoh the pious fast and Hashem forgives a second third. Comes Yom Kippur and all fast, and Hashem forgives all their sins. From Yom Kippur until Succos all Yisroel are busy with various mitzvos: This one is busy with his succah, this one with his lulav and so on. On the first day of Yom Tov they take esrog and lulav in hand and praise Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Hakodosh Boruch Hu says to them, `I already forgave you for the past. From now on take account of your sins.'

"Hence it says, `from the first day' (Vayikra 23:40), meaning, from the first day of accounting for sins. From the first day of Succos and onwards."

*

Perhaps we can understand this medrash as follows:

The Mishna in Pirkei Ovos (3:1) says that one will in the future have to give a din vecheshbon, a judgment and accounting, before G-d. The Vilna Gaon explains the difference between a din and a cheshbon as follows: Din is on the sin that one committed, and cheshbon is an accounting for the time during which the sin was committed. The sinner could have performed a mitzva in that time instead of the sin. Hence, he will not only be judged for the commission of the sin but also for the omission of the positive conduct that could have been accomplished during that time.

From the time the Torah was first given on Shavuos, the Jewish people never had a chance to receive and truly fulfill it and thereby to appreciate the potential they had available through the observance of the Torah, for they soon sinned with the Golden Calf and the tablets were broken and then for the next 40 days the people, led by Moshe Rabbenu, prayed that they not be destroyed. Then they prayed that the Torah be given to them again and that they regain their former desirable status in G-d's eyes. This was granted on Yom Kippur.

Up until Yom Kippur they were occupied solely with the din, the judgment of atoning for the sin of the Golden Calf.

Immediately after Yom Kippur they began to collect the materials to build the Mishkan and four days later, on the 15th of Tishrei, they were ready to contemplate and commence the building of the Mishkan with the materials they had collected. It was at this time that they reflected on the cheshbon, the accounting for the sin of the Golden Calf, that is, not what they actually committed in the sin but rather what they could have achieved had they not sinned and had been able to receive the Torah 80 days earlier and had begun the Mishkan then. Probably they would have already completed it by then and begun to fulfill the glorious service to Hashem that is possible with it. Hence the cheshbon of the sin of the Golden Calf began on the first day of Succos.

Similarly every year we repeat a similar process. From Chodesh Elul and on we occupy ourselves with the din, the judgment of our sins of the past year. This period concludes on Yom Kippur. From the first day of Succos we are able to contemplate and reflect on the cheshbon of those aveiros, and to commit ourselves not only not to sin in the coming year, but to fill our time with the great responsibility and opportunity to serve Hashem and to reach great physical and spiritual accomplishments.

The contrast between din and cheshbon is parallel to the difference between teshuvoh miyir'oh, repentance based on the fear of punishment for the act of commission, a fear related to transgressing negative commandments, and teshuvoh mei'ahavoh, love related to the positive commandments, the concern for all the good one could have done in place of the sin.

Hence Succos must follow Yom Kippur, for it corresponds to the reflection about cheshbon avonos. After the din is completed on Yom Kippur, the cheshbon is engendered by the commencement of the building of the Mishkan, which for us is embodied in the succah, which parallels the Mishkan in the following manner.

Part II: The Cloud

G-d descended in a cloud onto Har Sinai to give the Torah. Later He descended in a cloud in the Mishkan. The cloud, as a spiritual entity that rests on the mountain or the Mishkan, represents the bonding link between the spiritual and physical. The cloud is a temporary entity, for the true essence of spirituality will be manifest only in the World to Come. This world is a merely temporal means to reach that end.

That same cloud devolved on the Jewish People as a whole and surrounded them as the Clouds of Glory, symbolizing that their entire physical, natural existence can be utilized to reach spirituality and holiness through service to Hashem by observing the Torah.

The temporary succah of the holiday represents those Clouds of Glory enveloping the Torah Jew in the holiness of the mitzvos. The succah creates an environment reminiscent of Gan Eden where man was enveloped with the splendor of G-d's Presence, as well as surrounded by all the physical, material aspects of the world and through them could create his ultimate, eternal attachment to Hashem.

This in turn is suggestive of the ultimate bond with Hashem, which is in Olom Habo where tzaddikim sit and bask in the splendor of G-d's Presence. Hence, one who is discomforted by dwelling in the succah is exempt from the mitzvah, for it then ceases to be for him the manifestation of basking in the pleasure of Hashem's Presence.

The succah is therefore a temporary dwelling, symbolizing the temporal world. The main mitzvah is on the first night, for this world is compared to night. The main component of the succah is the sechach that mitigates the strong rays of the sun that also symbolize this natural world "under the sun." The sechach transforms the rays of the sun into a pleasant shade that can be harnessed and utilized to dwell in this world, surrounded by the holiness of G-d's Presence.

Hence, the succah must actually be made and cannot be created in a passive manner: ta'aseh velo min ho'osuy. Creating this holy environment in This World is a product of man's actions and deeds.

It is in this light that we decorate the succah, signifying that when utilized properly this temporal, temporary world becomes the seed from where Olom Habo emerges and is therefore a very beautiful, pleasing and appealing place.

Part III: The Four Minim

After we perform the mitzvah of succah -- which reminds us of the ideal of the environment that this world represents, and of our ability to develop a world permeated with G-d's Presence that serves as the seeds from which our eternal bond with G-d in the World to Come grows -- we are actually ready to utilize the various components of this world in our quest for a bond with Hashem, to literally know Him as Chazal expound the verse, "Bechol derochecho do'eihu" (Mishlei 3:6), know G-d in all your ways, "shekol ma'asecho yihiyu lesheim Shomayim," that all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.

The utilization of the world in all its manifestations -- even those things that have the potential for evil if misused and abused -- is embodied in the Eitz HaDaas Tov Vora, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil of Gan Eden.

The sefer Sifsei Kohen (from the disciples of the Arizal) explains that according to the opinion in Chazal that the Eitz HaDaas was a grapevine, Odom Horishon was supposed to wait until Shabbos and then make Kiddush on the juice that his wife would have squeezed from the grapes of the Tree of Knowledge, and thereby be able to know, i.e. bond with, the entire physical world to utilize it and elevate it in service of Hashem.

The sin was that he ate from the fruit prematurely, literally three hours before Shabbos commenced. The three years of orloh, forbidding fruit to be eaten of a tree for the first three years of its growth, emanate from these three hours. Had Odom Horishon waited until Shabbos, the holiness of the Shabbos would have fortified Odom and Chava to be able to bond to the physical and material world and utilize their free choice to sanctify it, elevate it and bond to Hashem using it, and thereby bring the world to its ultimate goal and purpose, thus ushering in the World to Come.

Instead, they prematurely bonded with the physical, material world, tempted by the Satan and motivated by jealousy, lust and honor, the three foundations of sin that remove one from the world and break one's bond to Hashem. Thus they introduced the yetzer hora, the evil inclination, into their beings, defiling themselves and diminishing their bond with Hashem. This necessitated their removal from Gan Eden and also that the development of the world towards its ultimate goal and perfection became a long, drawn-out process spanning many generations.

Perhaps, similarly, according to the opinion in Chazal that the Eitz HaDaas was in fact the Esrog, a similar scenario can be developed. Odom was created on erev Shabbos, which was Rosh Hashonoh. He needed to go through ten days of preparation culminating in the purity of Yom Kippur before he could eat from the Eitz HaDaas. After the purity developed on Yom Kippur, he would have been ready to prepare to actually eat from the Eitz HaDaas on the first day of Succos, the day designated to be the Mo'ed, the appointed time of Da'as to bond with the physical, material world.

So now every Succos we take the Esrog and utilize it in service of Hashem, symbolizing the utilization of all creation for this purpose. The esrog represents the heart, the quintessence of understanding and emotion, and also the source of life.

Along with the esrog but separate from it, we take the lulav, hadassim and arovos which enhance, support and guide the esrog, the fruit of da'as.

Lulav represents the spine that makes man stand upright and face his Creator, thereby distinguishing him from an animal, and it also represents taste, the Hebrew word for which -- ta'am -- is related to reason and intellect. The spine raises and holds upright the brain and the heart, as the verse says, "Niso levoveinu el kapayim, el Keil baShomayim" (Eichoh 3:41), lift your heart towards your hands, towards Hashem in the heavens. Man must elevate and direct his heart and mind towards Hashem to subjugate his intellect and emotions to Hashem's service. This is what the spine does and what the lulav symbolizes. This is the quintessence of fulfilling G-d's commands. Na'aseh before nishma, without preconditions of understanding, is a prerequisite for extending one's service to the entire physical and material world.

The hadassim represent the eyes and also aroma, the knowledge of Torah that guides us to see the world in its proper perspective, to understand the purpose of all creations and to utilize them properly in service of Hashem. This imparts an elevated aroma to all mundane things when their spirituality is accessed.

The arovos represent the mouth and also speech, the power to designate one's actions and the object of those actions for a sublime purpose. The ability to express the inner holiness of one's neshomoh outwardly, to project it into the physical world, is through speech. Both the tongue and language are called loshon, perhaps related to losh, the process that takes a liquid and solid and combines them into a single cohesive compound. This is similar to taking spiritual ideas, concepts and feelings, dressing them in words and sentences, and expressing them outwardly into the physical and natural world.

This is the most basic potential level. It is the root of the soul that transcends all outer manifestations of knowledge and deeds that are unique to each individual. This root is shared by all Jews in common, regardless of how they actually appear externally or what level they have reached in developing and reaching their potential.

Combining these qualities with the fruit of da'as, the esrog, forms the quintessence of utilizing all the physical and material components of the world in service of Hashem. That results in simchah, true joy, when all fulfill their purpose, "yismach Hashem bema'asov" -- when G-d rejoices in His handiwork, and man too rejoices in His joy.

Hence Succos is zeman simchoseinu, the season of our joy, for it is also Chag Ho'osif, the celebration of the ingathering, the holiday where all our possessions -- represented by our crops -- are brought together and united to be used in service of Hashem.

Since the succah represents the outlook and perspective necessary to create an environment conducive to utilizing all nature in service of Hashem, all Jews could theoretically fulfill the mitzvah with one gigantic succah, since this outlook and perspective is all- inclusive and uniform for all.

However, the actual implementation differs from person to person depending on each one's role, circumstances, possessions, and unique spiritual and physical qualities. Hence, the four species must be fulfilled individually by each Jew and each one cannot fulfill his mitzvah through someone else's actions nor even using a borrowed set. His mitzvah must be his unique contribution, tailor-made to his unique circumstances.

It is therefore on Succos specifically that we bring 70 bulls to protect the 70 nations and that we bring them in declining numbers to signify the fact that they be diminished. This is not a curse that conflicts with the idea of protecting them, but rather a sign of a gradual unity of the many nations into one united nation of non-Jews, partners with Klal Yisroel to serve Hashem with one heart, uniting the world and all it contains to service to Hashem.

The multitude of 70 nations was necessitated by the sin of the Tower of Bovel where mankind united to rebel against Hashem. Hence, the need to break this negative unity and to confuse their languages and scatter the nations physically, ideologically and culturally, religiously and politically.

As the world nears its goal with the coming of Moshiach, the need for divisions will cease, fulfilling the verse, "Ki oz ehepoch el amim sofoh beruroh likro kulom beSheim Hashem ule'ovdo shechem echod" -- then will I turn to the nations a clear, unified language so that they all will call in the Name of Hashem and serve Him with unity (Zefania 3:9). This is the significance of the fact that when Moshiach comes, all the nations will come to celebrate Succos in Yerushalayim, uniting all in service of Hashem, the quintessence of Succos.

Part IV: Simchas Beis Hashoeva

In the light of the above, we can better understand the significance of the Simchas Beis Hashoeva, the celebration that accompanied the drawing of the water from the Shilo'ach Spring situated outside the Beis Hamikdash to be libated on the Altar together with the regular wine libations that were performed in conjunction with the daily sacrifices.

Since Succos is the yom tov that signifies our ability to be productive, it is also the time to pray for the coming rainy season. We libate water on the altar to secure the blessing of rain (Rosh Hashonoh 17a).

The Nefesh HaChaim explains that brochoh means to increase and to intensify. Hakodosh Boruch Hu set up an organized system through which He directs the physical, spiritual and material bounty He wishes to shower upon us. However, Hashem's will is such that that bounty will only be released by Him if we deserve it, so that it will be appreciated and hence enjoyed to its fullest. Hence, through our sacrifices, prayers, mitzvos, Torah learning, we provide the energy necessary to initiate and to put the fulfillment of G-d's will into motion. So when we recite a brochoh, we motivate and increase and intensify the will of G-d upon the item over which we are reciting the brochoh.

The gemora relates that G-d prays. The Rashbo questions: To whom does G-d pray? He answers that He prays to us, to beseech us to fulfill His will so that He can do what He wants -- which is to shower us with influence and bounty.

When we ask for rain we say, Vesein tal umottor, give dew and rain, referring to rain as "mottor." Yet when we mention the strength of rain, we say mashiv horu'ach umorid hagoshem, He makes the wind blow and the rain fall, referring to the rain as "geshem." "Geshem" refers to the hisgashmus, the materialization, of the rain from the clouds. Mottor is related to matoroh, target or goal, referring to the rain when it reaches the ground.

We find the word "geshem" in the construction "gishmeichem," your rains, but we do not find mitreichem, but rather metar artzeichem, the rains of your land.

When we fulfill G-d's will in the ideal manner, G-d gives us our rain. We have initiated it though our Torah and mitzvos, and hence it is literally ours and its very materialization is significant to us since we caused it. However even when we do not live up to this ideal standard, the rain is sent anyway, for the world cannot exist without it. Then it is merely mottor, there to satisfy a need for the sake of the target. Hence metar artzechem, the rains of your land, that come for the needs of the land and not in your merit. When we mention G-d's strength to bring rain we stress that even when it is initiated and motivated by us, the geshem is still in reality G-d's rain for He gave us the power to effect this initiation.

When we ask for rain, we ask humbly for at least mottor, rain that is undeserved, so as not to request too much. It need not be rain initiated by us and deserved, but rather at least give us rain that may be undeserved but comes and hits its target anyway. To initiate the rain cycle on Succos we draw water from the spring and then libate it so that we can, in this merit, be the cause of the rain though the merit of our productivity. Hence the act of drawing the water which signifies our initiation and motivation of the rain cycle is also associated with drawing the spiritual waters of Divine knowledge, of ruach hakodesh, also motivated by our actions and merits.

Hence, the significance of the name Simchas Beis Hashoeva, literally the joy of the House. The House refers to the place where G-d's Presence was manifest and from where His influence and bounty emanated to the world, yet it is hashoeva, of the drawing, where we are the ones who draw and thereby motivate and initiate this Presence and bounty.

The gemora (Succah 50b) offers an alternative name for this celebration. Simchas Beis HaChashuvoh, the joy of the House of Chashuvoh, literally translated "important." This refers to the fact that G-d created the inner workings of the earth and the water table and the rain cycle at the time of Creation. However Chashuvoh can also be related to machshovoh, thought, and to cheshbon. Since Succos is the yom tov of cheshbon, of calculating the positive potential of man, this is the simchah of the Bayis, the Mikdosh that is parallel to the Mishkan which was the cheshbon chashuvoh of Bnei Yisroel's mission to be productive by bringing G-d's Presence to the world through our efforts.

Part V: Hoshanoh Rabboh

The gemora (Sanhedrin 99b) says: "Man was created to toil, yet I do not know if this refers to physical toil or verbal toil. When it says, `for his mouth causes him to toil,' I know it means verbal toil. Yet I still do not know if this refers to the verbal toil of Torah study or of conversation. When it says, `The Torah should not depart from your mouth,' I know that it means Torah study."

The Chofetz Chaim explains this gemora as follows:

Man was created to toil to perfect himself and the imperfect world which G-d presented to him. This can be achieved by physical labor in advancing and perfecting the natural world.

As the Medrash relates, the wicked Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, "Which is better, that which people produce or that which Hashem produces?" He expected Rabbi Akiva to respond that that which Hashem produces is superior, and he planned to rejoin that if so then the uncircumcised are superior to the circumcised. Rabbi Akiva responded that what people make is superior to what G-d makes, citing the superiority of man's bread over G-d's wheat.

According to some commentaries, the Torah tells us, "asher boro Elokim la'asos," that G-d created us to do. G-d created an imperfect world of potential, for us to develop that potential and to perfect it. However, this is not the ultimate perfection.

Verbal perfection is generally in the form of sichoh -- which refers to prayer and praise of G-d, as well as conversation between people -- that is communication that promotes the strengthening of interpersonal relationships and of man's productivity.

However, this is all not the ultimate. The ultimate toil of Torah is that which perfects all the world, both physical and spiritual, and also provides the energy source that maintains the very existence of the world, as Chazal deduced from the verse, "Im lo Berisi yomom voloyloh chukos shomayim vo'oretz lo samti," if not for My covenant of the Torah which is learned day and night, the material laws of heaven and earth would not be in effect.

The Torah is literally the energy source of the world. The total lack of Torah study, Rachmono litzlan, would result in the total negation of the world. The more Torah study, the more substantially existent and secure the world is. Hence Chazal relate, "Gedoloh talmud Torah yoseir meihatzolas nefoshos," Torah learning is greater than saving lives. Although one must definitely stop learning Torah to save a life, it is not because saving a life is greater than the Torah learning but rather that G-d's will is that one should do the lesser thing in that case, just as one must stop learning Torah to eat matzoh or perform any other mitzvah that cannot be done at a later time or fulfilled by another person in his place, even though learning Torah is superior to all other individual mitzvas.

In this vein, HaRav Aharon Kotler zt"l explains the mishna in Pe'ah: These are the things that one benefits from their fruits in this world and their principal endures for the World to Come: Honor of parents . . . Acts of kindness. . . and Torah study is equal to all of them. Torah is the ultimate kindness, for all other kindnesses are particular for the objects of the kindness, but the study of Torah is a kindness to the entire universe, since it sustains and preserves all existence.

Hence, we begin Succos, the Yom Tov commemorating the cheshbon, the positive, productive effect a Jew must have on the world through his toil, using the succah, the four species, and Simchas Beis Hashoeva. All these represent amal melochoh, the physical toil to perfect the world.

Yet on the seventh day, the zenith of Succos, we celebrate Hoshanoh Rabboh which centers around the arovoh, the willow, which symbolizes the mouth -- the toil of speech, prayer and praise of Hashem and as well as conversation and communication. Hence the prayers on Hoshanoh Rabboh are in beseeching Hashem to save us (Hosha-no) and to provide rain for the coming year. The seforim relate that the prayers of Hoshanoh Rabboh atone for loshon hora, giving it also responsibility for the dimension of conversation and communication and the strengthening of society by verbal interchange.

Based on this insight we wave the arovoh to all directions and up and down, as we do the four species, to signify its effect on the totality of existence. We also beat it on the ground, symbolizing that the words of the mouth and the physical, concrete ground must be united so that through the toil of speech the physical world is promoted and perfected. Similarly the gemora relates that Rabbon Gamliel would prostrate himself during the Simchas Beis Hashoeva and kiss the ground, also symbolizing the combination of the mouth with the earth.

Part VI: Shemini Atzeres, Simchas Torah

Finally we reach the ultimate expression of the dynamism of man, the toil of Torah learning symbolized by Shemini Atzeres which is also Simchas Torah. The medrash says that on the first seven days of Succos we bring seventy bulls to atone for the seventy nations, but on Shemini Atzeres we bring but one bull symbolizing a small intimate meal between Klal Yisroel and Hashem.

Additionally the medrash relates that it is difficult for Hashem to bid us farewell on the final day of Succos, so He asks us to linger on for one more day. Perhaps the idea inherent in these midroshim is as follows:

The connection to Hashem on the first days of Succos is achieved first through the physical world -- the succah which surrounds us -- and all of its components, the four minim which we utilize in service of Hashem symbolized by our marching with them in hand around the Bimah and the Sefer Torah. Then we surround the Bimah on Hoshanoh Rabboh with our arovos, symbolizing service to Hashem by utilizing our mouth to praise Hashem and to communicate His service to the world.

Finally on Shemini Atzeres we do not need physical utensils at all to create our bond with Hashem but rather the Torah itself is our bond with Hashem. Hence, we march around with the Torah, dancing and singing.

According to the Vilna Gaon, this is a sample of the bliss of Olom Habo when tzadikim bask in the joy of G- d's Presence which is depicted in the gemora as a dance for the tzadikim, with Hashem in the center. We also hold a Sefer Torah as we march, symbolizing that our bond to Hashem is created by the Torah and its study itself.

Hence, we do not need the multitude of sacrifices to create the intimate bond but rather one single sacrifice symbolizing the Torah itself. Therefore we need not bid Hashem farewell merely because the mitzvos of the succah and four minim are terminated, for our bond does not depend on that but rather on Torah that continues on, beyond the yom tov.

Alternately it is the recognition of the message of Shemini Atzeres -- that it is indeed difficult for Hashem to bid us farewell -- that should give us the incentive to continue our bond beyond the yom tov, to bond with Hashem on an ongoing basis through Torah.

In a similar vein, it was the breaking of the Luchos by Moshe Rabbenu before the eyes of all Yisroel that made us aware that our bond with Hashem had been broken, causing us to long for its return and thus enabling a second chance with the second Luchos.

In this respect, Shemini Atzeres is in fact the restoration of the atzeres of Shavuos that was abrogated and then reinstated after Yom Kippur following the command of the Mishkan with the Luchos, that is Torah, at its center that made us appreciate intensely the importance of Torah. This is why we finish the Torah on Shemini Atzeres -- for only when we appreciate the importance of Torah and long to begin it again can we complete it without being accused by the Satan of rejoicing in our being finished with the Torah.

In this vein, the Sfas Emes explains that Shemini Atzeres creates a reservoir of our appreciation of Torah for the whole year. Hence Succos is ultimately the yom tov of Yaakov Ovinu for the quintessence of the productivity represented by Succos, the Yom Tov of cheshbon, is the study of Torah, the pillar embodied by Yaakov Ovinu.

We thereby conclude Chag Ho'Osif, the yom tov of gathering in all our physical crops, preparing our needs for the remainder of the year and in parallel spiritually solidifying our relationship with Hashem through our intensified appreciation of Torah study as a vehicle that bonds us to Hashem in all times, at all places, under all circumstances.


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