Debunking Viral Claim About the Talmud and Minors
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Why the Jewish holiday of Sukkot is the apex of joy.
The Torah writes the reason for the mitzvah to dwell in a sukkah on the holiday of Sukkot is “This is so that future generations will know that I had the Israelites live in huts when I brought them out of Egypt. I am Hashem your Lord.”1 The Talmud2 cites the interpretation of Rabbi Eliezer that the “huts” referred to in the Torah is actually a euphemism for the Clouds of Glory, the Divine presence that protected the Jewish People in their 40-year journey through the Sinai desert after the exodus from Egypt.
This leads to a problem. Why does this holiday take place on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, five days after Yom Kippur, when the Divine presence started shielding the Jewish People in the month of Nissan, Passover time, when the Hebrews left Egypt? Why this time of the year?
Secondly, why do we commemorate the protection God afforded the Jewish People by living in a sukkah, a hut purposely built so as to be exposed to the elements, an act which is defined by the Talmudic expression of “leave your permanent dwelling and enter a temporary one”?3
Lastly, the Torah defines the holiday of Sukkot as the harvest festival.4 How does remembering God’s shielding the Jewish People from harm coincide with the harvest season, a time of celebration for the successes of the years agricultural production?
Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, known as the Vilna Gaon, provides an explanation5 for the connection between the commemoration of the Clouds of Glory and the 15th of Tishrei. After the Jewish People sinned by manufacturing and worshiping a Golden Calf 40 days after the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the Divine Presence left the Jewish camp and the Jewish people’s relationship with God was fractured. A period of introspection and repentance followed, culminating with God forgiving the Jews on Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei. The next day God commanded the Jewish people to build the Mishkan, or Tabernacle, where the relationship between God and the Jewish people would recommence.
The Jews immediately began gathering the necessary materials needed for the Tabernacle’s construction and started building on the 15th of Tishrei. On that day the Divine Presence returned to the camp. This is the historical significance of the date on which Sukkot starts. Sukkot celebrates the return of the Clouds of Glory, signifying the reconciliation and closeness between God and the Jewish People after Yom Kippur.
Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk6 (1843-1926) uses Rabbi Eliyahu’s explanation to draw a broad arc of three major Jewish holidays, Passover, Shavuot (the commemoration of the giving of the Torah at Sinai), and Sukkot.
Passover is a celebration of God’s goodness. The Jewish people weren’t particularly meritorious7, yet God, sensing their potential, chose to take them out of Egypt.
Shavuot is a dual celebration of God gifting the Jewish people the Torah and the acceptance of that gift. The Jewish people understood that the mission God was asking them to carry out would be effortful and at times difficult, and they wholeheartedly accepted. This is a holiday acknowledging both God’s goodness and an achievement of the Jewish people.
Finally, the holiday of Sukkot honors the accomplishment of the Jewish people in putting the effort into successfully rekindling their relationship with God after the incident with the golden calf. Following this map, we can view our observance of Sukkot as a joyful time celebrating the rededication to ethics and morals we’ve achieved from a successful high holiday season and Sukkot as the finale of the Jewish calendar.
Rabbi Yitzchak Meltzin8 (1854-1916) offers a related approach to explain the opening line of the central blessing of the holiday Amidah, or silent prayer. “You (God) have chosen us (the Jewish people) from the other nations, you have loved us and desired us.” These three terms of affection, “chosen,” “loved,” and “desired,” are a reference to the three holidays when this prayer is recited and their distinctive role in the Jewish calendar. Passover is the start of the holiday cycle when God chose us and led us from Egypt. This was a logical decision on God’s part, calculating the future abilities of the Jewish people, but not an emotional event, hence the term “chosen.” “Love” is the feeling God had for the Jewish people when they accepted the Torah on the holiday of Shavuot. The commitment displayed by the Jews created a deeper bond than the one initiated by logic on Passover. God saw his efforts being reciprocated, resulting in feelings of love.
However, feelings of love can come to a halt if a partner in a relationship violates the trust of the other partner. This is what took place during the incident of the golden calf, and God’s presence left the encampment of the Jews. Later, when the Jewish people redoubled their efforts to earn God’s trust once again, the reuniting of God and the Jews was in a relationship stronger than ever. When God saw how committed the Jewish people were and how willing they were to admit their mistakes and improve themselves, He noticed that they possessed the qualities to be engaged in a permanent, unbreakable relationship. He didn’t just reactively love them. He “desired” the relationship and wanted to commit to it totally. This is the source of the joy we express on Sukkot.
Two people may fall in love because of admirable qualities they appreciate in one another. Yet the full commitment and desire for each other is often only achieved after hurdles are overcome. When both partners see the effort the other is committing to them, they reciprocate with their full commitment.
The sukkah9 is a metaphor for a person viewing their financial and materialistic goals as being of secondary importance. One tends to view their home as the central component of their fiscal accomplishments and the most visible part of their socioeconomic status. To symbolically leave the home and enter a hut open to the elements demonstrates an ambition to identify oneself based on their values and morals rather than on their material success and social status.
During the harvest season, when the wealth of an effortful year’s work lies gathered in the storehouse, lies the greatest danger for identifying oneself with material success. It is precisely at this time that the Torah commands us to take the lessons of the High Holiday season and apply them to our successes and accomplishments. All the empathy, sensitivity, and moral clarity achieved during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur now are applied to the real world.
To emphasize that this process should be a joyous one, the holiday of Sukkot has a greater emphasis on joy than all the other Jewish holidays. The Torah writes that Sukkot should be a holiday when “You will be only joyful,10” meaning joyful without any sadness whatsoever.11 This language is unique to the holiday of Sukkot. Furthermore, one who would be physically uncomfortable12 with entering the sukkah if, for example they aren’t feeling well or it is raining13, is not obligated to do so. The experience of the sukkah and what it represents should be a pleasant ritual of great joy and meaning. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, massive celebrations and festivities were held14, which were so joyous the Talmud proclaims “one who never witnessed them (the Temple celebrations on Sukkot) never witnessed true joy in all their days.” Many communities will host parties and celebrations on Sukkot to emulate the festivities held in the Temple.
However, Sukkot is more than just the culmination of the High Holiday season. It is the culmination of the entire cycle of the previous year’s holidays, just as the harvest season is the completion of the year’s farming work.
As previously mentioned, Sukkot is the final holiday of the cycle that began with Passover, moved on to Shavuot, and ends with Sukkot. The Jewish people acknowledge and pay homage to God for choosing us and taking us out of Egypt. Next is an appreciation for the giving of the Torah and a celebration of our ancestors embracing the gift of the Torah. Finally, after a year of spiritual growth and development, we celebrate our ethical accomplishments with great joy and commit to incorporating them in all our successes and achievements. Sukkot is a holiday when we can proudly look back at a long, hard, but ultimately successful year where we have achieved material success in unison with our spiritual ideals.
How can such a material thing as a sukkah not represent Hashem’s material blessing? And what does it mean when a wind storm obliterates your sukkah and blows it away? Is that bad omen? Is there any tie between the “wellness” of your sukkah and Yom Kippur? And why is Sukkot during one of the stormiest seasons? Is it just not rainy in Canaan or Israel this time of year and all other geographical locations are just out of luck?
We read Kohelat on Succot which was written by King Solomon, and tells in the end what would bring you joy, to adhere to Judiasm and have a purpose in life, also sitting in Succah teaches how fragile live is, and you need 4 different species that represents different types of Jews, and we have a holiday called Simch Torah to be happy to get the Torah and it is a way of life that helps people find meaning in life by adhering to the Torah
just doesnt seem to answer the question! WHY be joyful? Explains THAT you have to be joyful, dont come in the sukkah if it doesnt make you joyful, dont focus on materiality etc but not WHY be joyful. Best suggestion is - "Finally, after a year of spiritual growth and development, we celebrate our ethical accomplishments with great joy and commit to incorporating them in all our successes and achievements." Ie that we should be happy for what WE accomplished lol. Comon