Kfar Maccabiah, September 2015
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Dear friends, |
ועלו מדי שנה ושנה להשתחוות למלך ה' צבאות
ולחוג את חג הסוכות
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"[All the Nations]
will go up [to Jerusalem] year after year to worship the
King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of
Succot".[1]
These are the words of
the prophet Zechariah inviting the nations of the world
to share the joy of celebrating completion the summer
harvest cycle in Eretz Yisrael: the celebration of
Succot. In Zechariah's messianic vision, all Peoples and
all Faiths will meet in Jerusalem to bring the blessings
of rain and bounteous fertility upon their lands. Not
only would the Jewish People congregate together in
celebration of Succot, HeChag - The
celebration, as it is also called, but all humankind
will be united in the joy of affirming God's sovereignty
over the world.
This messianic character of Succot - praying for the
unity of all nations - had one specific physical
expression: during the 7 days of festivity, 70 oxen were
sacrificed to request the wellbeing and the happiness of
the 70 nations of the world. Without renouncing the
united national character of this pilgrimage of all the
Jewish People to Jerusalem, the main emphasis is that
God governs the world, and that He made all of us - the
Nations of the World - brothers and sisters under His
transcendent Kingdom.
Why was Succot chosen to
bear the weight of this universal character, the message
of the unity of humankind in Jerusalem? The first
reason is perhaps the extraordinary festive spirit of
this celebration. After finishing the last harvest -the
reason for another of the names of Succot, Chag
ha'Asif - people met in an unusually spirit of joy,
having concluded the hard and urgent work of the year.
If we add to that the hymns that were sung, Simchat
Beit HaSho'evah - the ceremony praying for rain,
with torches lit in the Beit Hamikdash that illuminated
the whole city of Jerusalem, music played, songs and
dances - all that explains the immense joy of Succot.
Indeed, the joy was so great that every 7 years the king
himself taught the Torah in public (the Hakel).
There could be no better occasion to reach the hearts of
humankind and to impart the message of union and
brotherhood than such a festivity sharing joy, happiness
and the sense of accomplishment.
When we want to transmit something important to
someone, we invite him or her to our house, dress our
table in the finest tablecloth and create a festive
atmosphere predisposing our guest to dialogue and
communication. In order to summon all men and women to
unity and the recognition of God's kingdom, what could
be better than Succot, when so many reasons converged to
produce happiness. Sharing our joy, we generate joy; we
induce others to goodness and mutual cooperation.
In our time, can we transmit something of the messianic
yearning of Succot? What is that we must do to maintain
this message of wellbeing for all the Peoples of the
Earth?
The answer is most
likely in the concept of the joy illuminated by the lit
torches of Succot, that contagious joy uniting all
individuals celebrating it. During Succot we all want to
be happy, because we understand that others' joy
increases our own, that the well-being of our fellows
increases our own satisfaction. A world where
each person is made happy through the happiness of
others is a world that exiles envy and intrigue, where
man measures his achievements according to the efforts
he invested, not by comparison with the failures of
others. Today, the messianic spirit remains in Succot,
and thus in our own lives, when we wish for humankind
the same joy which we ourselves enjoy in Succot,
even without making neither korbanot (sacrifices) nor
Simchat Beit Hashoevah.
Succot teaches us that
others' growth and improvement, increase the progress
and joy of the world and consequently, our own
development and joy. It impels us to create a society
raised under the welcoming shelter of the Succah,
which speaks to us of peace and unity between human
beings, so that God in His infinite mercy fulfills the
vision of the prophets, and our prayer during each
Shabbat and each Festivity: "Ufros aleinu sucat
shlomecha" - "May God covers us with the Succah of
Peace".
May God bring to all of you in this Succot lots
of happiness, joy and hope.
May God inspire us to realize that joy is a
constructive force
capable of transforming the world, beginning
with our nearest and dearest, then spreading and
multiplying the joy of all our People.
And May God find us on
this Succot
happier and more complete because richer in
achievements,
joyously celebrating the countless opportunities
of our daily lives.
With best wishes,
Chag Succot Sameach!
