"And you shall rejoice in your Festival!"
(Deuteronomy 16:14)
Tishrei 14, 5779/September 23, 2018
"Seven days you shall celebrate the Festival to HaShem, your G-d, in the place which HaShem shall choose, because HaShem, your G-d, will bless you in all your produce, and in all the work of your hands, and you will only be happy." (Deuteronomy 16:15)
Can G-d really command us to "only be happy?" Yes He can! Can we fulfill this commandment? Being happy isn't a given, and being only happy is an even greater challenge. But we can surely do it!
On Sukkot we take the four species, etrog (citroen), lulav, (palm frond), hadas, (myrtle branches), and aravot, (willow branches), each symbolizing one of the four archetypes of man: he who studies and pursues good deeds, he who studies and is lax in pursuing good deeds, he who is lacking in study but zealous in pursuing good deeds, and he who neither distinguishes himself in study or in the performance of good deeds. We take all four species, hold them tightly together and make a blessing over all four! By accepting one another, and embracing another, whatever our strengths and our weaknesses, we achieve a sublime happiness!
For seven days we sit, we eat, and we sleep in the sukkah, a fragile, temporary structure which provides us only with a minimum of protection from the elements, but with a plethora of G-d's blessing and benevolence, as our true and direct connection to Him becomes undeniably clear. This is pure joy!
In the Holy Temple offerings are made every day of Sukkot for the well-being of the seventy nations that make up the community of man. Imagine the joy and happiness!
In the Holy Temple the Water Libation Ceremony takes place every day of the intermediary days of Sukkot, a celebration legendary for its unfettered and unmitigated joy!
Yes, we have every reason in the world to be happy as we sit in our humble sukkot, hold tightly together our arba minim (four species) and focus our thoughts on the great joy that will fill the world when the Holy Temple is rebuilt and the festival of Sukkot is marked by all the nations. When we are happy G-d is happy, and that is the greatest blessing of all!
The Temple Institute wishes a Chag Sukkot Sameach - a very happy Sukkot - to all our friends and supporters, to all who attach their lives to the G-d of Israel and to the people of Israel. This Sukkot be happy: it's a commandment! Chag Sukkot Sameach!
