THE FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT

 THE FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT

Eric Levy, French, 1800's

Sukkot is called the “Festival of Ingathering” and” the” Festival of Booths”.

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TORAH SOURCES FOR CELEBRATING SUKKOT

Exodus 23:14 and in part 16 – states:

שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, תָּחֹג לִי בַּשָּׁנָה

“Three pilgrimages in a year shall you celebrate for Me”.

וְחַג הָאָסִף בְּצֵאת הַשָּׁנָה, בְּאָסְפְּךָ אֶת-מַעֲשֶׂיךָ מִן-הַשָּׂדֶה

“…and the festival of ingathering at the departure of the year, when you gather in your labors from the field”.

Exodus 34:22 (in part):

וְחַג֙ הָ֣אָסִ֔יף תְּקוּפַ֖ת הַשָּׁנָֽה

“…and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year”.

Leviticus 23:34:

דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר:  בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם, לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי הַזֶּה, חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, לַיהוָה

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, is the Festival of Succoth, a seven day period to the Lord”.

“Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of Hashem, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.

 On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Hashem your God for seven days.

You shall keep it as a festival to Hashem seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever throughout your generations.

 You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths,

 so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Hashem your God”.

Deuteronomy 16:13:

חַג הַסֻּכֹּת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים:  בְּאָסְפְּךָ--מִגָּרְנְךָ, וּמִיִּקְבֶךָ

“You shall keep the feast of booths seven days, after that you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress”.

These Torah sources about Sukkot date back to the time of Moses, 3,500 years ago. There is a lot more to say about Sukkot in the time of King Solomon around 900 BCE, the return of the Exiles in the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah in the 6th century BCE, in the 2nd Temple period around the year 100 BCE and as recently as the 16th century.  

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Some time ago, Rabbi Wein had somethings to say on Sukkot . Here are some excerpts:

The holiday of Sukkot is, perhaps, unique amongst all the holidays of the Jewish calendar year. The laws pertaining to the commandments particular to this holiday are almost all exclusively derived from the oral law given to our teacher Moshe on Sinai

There is no way that a succah can be successfully and traditionally constructed without recourse to the intricacies and nuances that the oral law that the Torah provides for us.

Here in Israel when Covid was rampart the construction of succah was much more muted and minimal than in previous years. There was a far greater reliance upon the so-called imaginary walls that the oral law envisions for us, to somehow be halachically acceptable and valid, and allowed much outside air to enter and escape, as mandated by the health authorities.

Simply reading the text in the Torah itself does not allow for partial walls to be considered as complete walls, and for walls and roofs to be considered as touching each other, even though strictly speaking to our human eyes, they do not touch.

There are myriad laws involved in the proper construction of a succah. But these laws are not readily apparent from the reading of the text of the Torah itself. It is only the oral law that breathes life into words and letters of the Torah and gives them meaning and practical vitality.

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 DO NOT MISS THIS FILM: "USHPIZIN"

Ushpizin is an Aramaic word meaning "guests".  It refers to a Kabbalistic tradition where "Exalted Guests" such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are invited into your succah.  In the film, however, the exalted guests are escaped criminals.

Moshe and Mali Bellanga are an impoverished, childless couple in Jerusalem.  They cannot pay their bills, much less prepare for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  After some anguished prayer, they receive an unexpected monetary gift on the eve of the holiday.

Moshe admires a particularly beautiful etrog required for the holiday observance.  Moshe buys the etrog for 1000 shekels, a large sum of money that is much more than he can afford.

The couple is visited by a pair of escaped convicts, one of whom knew Moshe in his earlier, sometimes violent non-religious life, and the story really takes off.

Don’t miss it…great acting…great characters.

https://dai.ly/x75803o

https://dai.ly/x75803o

https://dai.ly/x75803o

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Rav Kook on Sukkot, excerpted and adapted from Mo'adei HaRe’iyah p. 96, Chanan Morison:

The Talmud in Sukkah 27b makes a remarkable claim regarding the holiday of Succoth:

“For seven days... all who belong to the people of Israel will live in sukkot [thatched huts]” (Lev. 23:42).

This teaches that it is fitting for all of Israel to sit in one sukkah.

Obviously, no sukkah is large enough to hold the entire Jewish people. What is the meaning of this utopian vision — all of Israel sitting together in a single sukkah?
During the holiday of Succoth we absorb the light of Torah and a love for truth. Conflicting views become integrated and unified. Through the spiritual ascent of the Days of Awe, we attain a comprehensive unity, a unity that extends its holy light over all parts of the Jewish people. During this special time, it is as if the entire nation is sitting together, sharing the holy experience of the same sukkah.

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YOM KIPPUR -FAST OF GADALIAH

 

YOM KIPPUR-FAST OF GADALIAH

“Kol Nidrei”

Kol Nidrei (Aramaic: כָּל נִדְרֵי) is an Aramaic declaration recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur.  Kol Nidrei includes an emotional expression of penitence that sets the theme for Yom Kippur.

Kol Nidrei’s name is taken from the opening words, meaning "all vows". The formula proactively annuls any personal or religious oaths or prohibitions made upon oneself to God for the next year, so as to preemptively avoid the sin of breaking vows made to God which cannot be or are not upheld.

There is also a kabbalistic or spiritual purpose to Kol Nidrei: God has vowed, in Scripture, to punish Jewry for its sins; therefore by demonstrating that we can and do cancel our own vows, we hope to induce God to cancel His own dire decrees.

 According to the holy Zohar, Kol Nidre is recited on Yom Kippur because, at times, the Heavenly judgment is handed down as an 'avowed decree' for which there can normally be no annulment. By reciting the Kol Nidre annulment of vows at this time, we are asking of God that He favor us by annuling any negative decrees of judgment that await us, even though we are undeserving of such annulment.

 This declaration has often been held up by anti-Semites as proof that Jews are untrustworthy, In fact, the reverse is true: Jews cherish this ritual because they take vows so seriously that they consider themselves bound even if they make the vows under duress or in times of stress when not thinking straight. . This ritual gave comfort to those who were forcibly converted to Christianity, yet felt unable to break their vow to follow Christianity.

The legendary Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt sings "Kol Nidre" in this 1930 recording.

He was regarded as the greatest cantor of his time.

https://youtu.be/Fha6WfKLXy4

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The Shabbat before Yom Kippur is called the “Shabbos of Return”, Shabbos Shuvah, שבת תשובה.

The haftorah portion is taken from the Book of Hosea, and starts out at 14:2:

שׁוּבָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ:  כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ, בַּעֲוֺנֶךָ

‘Return, Israel to the Lord your God, for you have been led astray by your iniquity”.

The setting for the Book of Hosea is in the Northern Kingdom where Jeroboam the 2nd is King, at around the mid-8^th century BCE.  The Kingdom is prosperous, but continues to worship Canaanite gods and to also perversely worship Hashem using golden calves as an idolatrous representation. 

Hosea’s personal life is used as a metaphor to describe the fractured relationship between God and us.    He learns that his wife (in the role of Israel) is an adulteress.  As a symbol of Israel’s estrangement from Hashem, Hosea names one of children Lo-ruchamah, which translates as "not pitied", and another as Lo-ammi, which translates as "not my people".  These children as well as the kingdoms of Israel and Judah are redeemed at 2:3.

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In 2015, Rabbi Wein said:

"We live with our past decisions, no matter whether they were fortuitous or ill advised. However, in spiritual matters regarding our soul, we are granted this great gift of a new start. And this is not just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but we are given this chance for renewal on an annual basis, on this holy day of Yom Kippur".

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 "Unetanneh Tokef"

Unetanneh Tokef   (ונתנה תוקף) ("Let us speak of the awesomeness ") is a  that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy for centuries. It is chanted while the Torah ark is open and the congregants are standing.  It is a central poem of the Day of Atonement.  It is one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Holy Day.

"All mankind will pass before You like a flock of sheep. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the living; and You shall apportion the destinies of all Your creatures and inscribe their verdict.

On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed – how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die after a long life and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword and who by beast, who by famine and who by thirst, who by upheaval and who by plague, who by strangling and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquility and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.

But Repentance, Prayer, and Charity annul the severity of the Decree."

https://youtu.be/_t5bK53Q0Ic

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THE FAST OF GEDALIAH

 On the day following the 2nd day of Rosh Hashannah we have a fast day, the Fast of Gedaliah.  Who was Gedaliah?

When the Kingdom of Judah fell in 586 BCE and our capital Jerusalem was utterly destroyed, we became a Babylonian province called Yehud.  The first appointed Governor was Gedaliah who oversaw the administration of the province from the city of Mitzpe, located just north of Jerusalem in lands allotted to the Tribe of Benjamin.

Using the Book of Jeremiah (40-41), the 2nd Book of Kings (25) and an on line course entitled “The Rise and Fall of Jerusalem” as guides let’s explore what Gedaliah may be about:

Gedaliah was part of the aristocracy.  Both his father and grandfather played prominent roles in the royal court of the Kingdom of Judea.  Although part of the aristocracy, Gedaliah was not a descendent of David; he was not in line to sit on the throne.  That is one the reasons that Gedaliah was chosen as Governor; descendants of David were considered to be trouble makers. Gedaliah was indeed assassinated by a member of the royal bloodline.

The Babylonians wanted stability.  And with Gedaliah at its head, Yehud began to return to stability.  Jews, not necessarily the exiles to Babylonia, but those who had fled to neighboring lands began to return.  Gedaliah ruled for about 4 to 5 years before being murdered.  It is thought by many that with his passing, the end of an Era had gone by, and that our land was completely depopulated, this being the reason for the Fast of Gedaliah. 

I do not think this is so.  While it is true that the aristocracy and those of the royal bloodline as well as the Priests had been vanquished, the farmers and those who worked the Land had remained behind. The Babylonians did not want people who had the potential to foment rebellion to remain in the Land.  But what they wanted more than anything else was the wine, oil and wheat paid as tribute from their vassal province

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There is something celebrated by our Cousins that tells of the influence of us on the world at large. In July, Shite Muslims celebrated their solemn holiday called “Ashura”. This holiday falls on the 10^th day of the 1^st month in the Muslim calendar. It is a day for fasting and introspection.

Sounds familiar? On the 10^th day of the 1^st month, Tishrei, we celebrate Yom Kippur. Ashura is just a Knockoff.

https://youtube.com/shorts/HGdIMt8aCJc?si=ENjI_s-Q0xWncKVpThis video shows Ashura being celebrated in NYC with a parade down Park Avenue.

It does not bring out any warm fuzzies and is celebrated in other USA cities where large numbers of Muslims reside.

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