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Holy Days -
Sukkos
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Written by d fine
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There is a debate in the gemarra (Sukkah 11b) as to what our Sukkahs commemorate. Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion is that we commemorate the clouds of glory that HaShem protected Klal Yisrael with in the desert, whilst Rabbi Akiva’s opinion is that we are commemorating the fact that Bnei Yisrael actually lived in Sukkahs in the desert on the way out of Egypt. Now Rabbi Eliezer’s view is easily understandable; we relive HaShem’s protection of us and give thanks to Him for it. But what about Rabbi Akiva - what exactly are we commemorating; why is it significant that Bnei Yisrael happened to live in huts in the desert? There are two approaches here; the Ramban and the Rash bam - both on Vayikra 23:43. The Ramban writes that we are noting and reliving that even though we lived in primitive huts in the desert, we still lacked nothing - HaShem provided us with everything we needed. But the Rashbam puts another slant on it. He writes that on Sukkos we remember that we did not always live in houses and cities and did not always have a hold in the Land of Israel. Once we re-sensitise ourselves to these, thus appreciating that even our very houses are cause to thank HaShem for, we are imbued with a feeling of humility and thankfulness to HaShem. This is especially apt for Sukkos - the time of the harvest - for it ensures that we do not have the self-dependent attitude of ‘I did all this without needing HaShem,’ and instead thank HaShem for the success of the harvest. Indeed, this is why the word ezrach (guest) is used by the Torah (Vayikra 23:42) in relation to our living in the Sukkah - for the Sukkah reminds us that we are only temporary guests; just like a guest who is dependent upon his host, we can take nothing for granted and we must appreciate everything that we have.
May we merit to spend as much time in the Sukkah as possible this Sukkos - realising that every second spent there is a mitzvah and an opportunity to be ingrained with kedusha and a feeling of gratitude to HaShem for all His kindness.
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Holy Days -
Sukkos
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Written by d fine
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Imagine the following case. You wake up in the middle of the night, pick up a lulav (with its accompanying three species), and hold them in your hands until a few minutes after daybreak. Now one cannot fulfil one’s obligation of shaking a lulav at night, so in our scenario has our intrepid insomniac fulfilled his mitzvah of shaking lulav given that he was holding the lulav during the day? This is an old question which has been debated back and forth between the poskim. The Chazon Ish held that he has fulfilled his mitzvah, whilst the Chassam Sofer held that one had done the mitzvah. Their machlokes is based on what the Torah means when it said you shall take (u’lekachtem lachem) in reference to the four species. The Chassam Sofer held that it means that you must pick them up, in which case since our night-watchman picked up the lulav at night, he has not performed the mitzvah. But the Chazon Ish held that you shall take merely means to have the four species in your hands (as opposed to an active action of taking), and thus, since the four species were in our sleepy hero’s hands after daybreak then he has fulfilled his mitzvah. Personally I wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night and stand there for a few hours with my lulav, just to be on the safe side!
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Holy Days -
Sukkos
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Written by Rafi Jager
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The Midrash tells us that the holiday of Sukkot with its mitzvah of sukkah is a reward for having completed Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidut stress how Sukkot is actually an extension of these High Holy Days. 1. On Rosh HaShana, the shofar is blown 100 times, 60 tekiot (long blasts), 20 sh’varim (broken blasts), and 20 truot (staccato) blasts. The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew word for sukkah-roof foliage, s’chach, equals 100, and further, the value of each of the letters individually corresponds exactly to the number of each type of blast: samech=60, chaf=20,chaf=20. The blessings invoked through the call of the shofar come to fruition via the s’chach of the sukkah! 2. The seven days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur—one for each day of
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Holy Days -
Sukkos
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Written by rafi Jager
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First: the mitzvah of sukkah is done with the entire body — all of you sits in the sukkah — while most mitzvot are performed with specific parts of the body (e.g. tefillin with the hand and head). Second: a person can dwell in his sukkah virtually the entire holiday — the longer you stay, the more the mitzvah! — while most mitzvot are done for a limited period of time only (Shabbat candles-Friday afternoon). Third: since the sukkah is your “house” during Sukkot, you are centered there and “home-in” to it, and therefore are connected to the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah even when you leave it. It is as if it follows you around wherever you go! Fourth: through
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Holy Days -
Sukkos
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Written by Administrator
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