Well here we are. We have just emerged from the Holy Days. The Days of Awe are rapidly becoming a distant memory and we now move on into the Jewish year with hope and faith that the year ahead will be filled with blessing. WAIT! But I didn’t finish all that I had to do. There were still some people with who I needed to make amends. What about all the unfinished business. I can’t start the year yet. What do I do.
The sages teach that while the gates seem to close at the end of Neilah and the sound of the shofar seals them for another year, there is still time until the end of the festival of Sukkot to cross. In other words, “its not over until the Hallel sings”.
Why Sukkot?
Why is a Holy Day so much associated with joy also linked to the concept of repentance and forgiveness? This comes to us from Rabbeinu Yona, He was born in the late 12th century in Gerona, Spain. Rabbeinu Yonah is best known for his Sha'arei Teshuva, a work on ethics and repentance. In his work Sha'arei Teshuva points out that this joy is an integral part of repentance. There are two ways to repent:
1. Out of fear. The sinner comes to his senses and realizes that he will have to face the consequences of his shortcomings. He tries desperately to get out of having to "face the music" by repenting his sins. There is not necessarily any joy involved in the accomplishment of such repentance. It was not his sins themselves that upset such a penitent, it was their anticipated consequences. He may sincerely regret having committed his sins, but he would be even happier if he could have his cake and eat it too. If he could be shown how to sin with impunity he would gladly do so.
2. Out of love. The sinner is upset more by the fact that he lost his close connection with God through his sins than he is by the thought of the punishment. The loss of God's love and trust is the greatest possible punishment in his eyes. His repentance is an attempt to be restored to God's favor so that he might feel the power of God's love once again. When such repentance is accepted it is the cause of the greatest joy. Once again the penitent basks in the warmth of God's love. Once again he is God's favored child.
But not only does the joy of repentance alter the very nature and quality of the repentance itself, it also determines what that repentance can accomplish.
The first thing we do on Yom Kippur right after reading Kol Nidrei, is to publicly say the following verse: Forgive the entire congregation of the Children of Israel and the stranger amongst them; for the entire people sinned unintentionally. (Numbers 15:26).
Our aim on Yom Kippur is to reach the level of repentance out of fear so that all our transgressions can be viewed as unintentional. On Sukkot we aim higher. We aim for repentance out of love to turn our transgressions into merits aided by the joy of Sukkot.
Judgement
In the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 31a, we are taught about the questions we will be asked in the world to come. While we do not judge others in this world, it is taught that we will be judged by God in the world to come.
Rava said, “When a man is led in to be judged in the world-to-come, he will
be asked 6 questions
Did you conduct your business with integrity?
Did you set yourself regular times to study the Torah?
Did you fulfill the mitzvah of begetting children?
Did you look forward to redemption?
Did you analyze the wisdom you acquired?
Did you draw proper conclusions from what you have observed?
Rava was a Babylonian amora in the fourth century of the Common Era. His actual name was Rabbi Abba bar Joseph bar Chama.. He died in the year 352.
These are important questions for us to consider as we draw this season of repentance to a close. But why all this seriousness on Holy Day that demands joy and celebration?
Why Joy?
Falling after Yom Kippur, Sukkot offers us the chance to rise from our prayers, contemplation and penitence to celebrate our inscription in the Book of Life for another year. So, we explain, during this holiday we joyously acknowledge being alive and life itself. We celebrate the cycles of the earth, of life, and of the Jewish holidays - from sadness to joy and back again, from quiet introspection to outward expressions and back again, and from dormancy to growth and back once again. In addition, the temporary nature of the sukkah reminds us of the impermanence of all that surrounds us and of life itself while grounding us in the knowledge that one thing endures - God.
"What could be more joyous than the abundance of the earth, life itself and our connection to God?" I ask. Sukkot anticipates the arrival of the Messianic Age. Mystics say all the nations will participate in the Feast of Tabernacles as an initiation of peace throughout the world, and then 'The Lord shall be One and His name shall be One."
The joy of Sukkot is the revelation and celebration of the essential connection with our Divine mission established on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Chassidic masters tell us that you can accomplish with simcha on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah that which you can accomplish with tears on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
There is a time to weep and there is a time to celebrate. Just as healthy tears are not mere resignation and fear, but release and catharsis that sow the seeds of growth; so healthy joy is not escape and denial, but the celebration of what makes life worth living, and makes those that tragically died worth remembering. “Those that sow with tears, will reap in joy.”
On Sukkot we celebrate our connection with God. We dance and sing in unadulterated joy. It is not frivolous nor superficial joy. It is not jittery not distracting joy. It is the expression of genuine happiness from the essence of your being. We celebrate not because we are oblivious, but because we know that we will prevail.
The joy is an expression of our commitment to good, the celebration of hope.
This message of Sukkot is universal. We are taught that the Sukkot celebration has a profound effect on the nations of the world. Our joy and service during Sukkot has cosmic impact on the destiny of the world. The fate of the nations that was determined on Rosh Hashana begins to manifest in the days of Sukkot.
As enter these joyous days, we are given power to transcend our uncertainty, our fears and vulnerabilities. We can access a greater strength that gives us the reason and the power (cause) to celebrate. “The time of our rejoicing” – us together with G-d. We celebrate with G-d our Maker, G-d celebrates with us, His creatures.
Joy has some special energy that can help us now, more than ever. Joy has the power to transcend barriers (“simcha poretz geder”). When you dance with joy you break down walls and all forms of limits and constraints.
Joy unites people. Indeed, because joy cannot be celebrated alone, we are obligated to invite guests to our tables on Sukkot. We all sit together in one unifying Sukkah. We bind together the four species – Lulav (Palm branch), Etrog (Citron), Haddasim (Myrtle branches), Arovot (Willow branches) – representing all different personalities, teaching us that our diversity is our strength, it feeds our unity, each of us with our unique contribution to the greater good.
Let us gather together during these days of Sukkot and celebrate. Celebrate our lives and the gift we have been given today: To be strong and fight for our true beliefs of freedom. To seek wholeness and peace. To begin the world anew
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