A Holiday Message

From Rabbi Simon Benzaquen

The Ten Days of Penitence from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur, our Rabbis tell us, are days of introspection. Although Rosh Hashana is the Day of Judgment, when it is decided what kind of year each one will have, those whose number of merits and sins are equal are also judged during this period. Hence we cannot sit tranquil and pretend that Rosh Hashana has passed and we are done.

Each one of us should be considered in that category, not righteous nor wicked, but "benoni"; i.e., hanging in the balance to be decided on Yom Kippur. We are encouraged to do acts of charity, to be extra stringent in the performance of our duties, "the Mitzvoth". We are bidden to create a mood of repentance. On Yom Kippur itself we spend the entire day in the Synagogue praying and fasting for more than 24 hours. These are called the Days of Awe.

We should expect then, that such solemn days should be followed by days which would encourage us to continue the mood and atmosphere of seriousness created by the High Holidays so that their influence will continue into the New Year. Instead, the Torah commands us to celebrate the holiday of Succoth. It is a festival in which we are bidden to eat and drink and be very happy as the Torah commands, "Vesamahta Behagueha", you should rejoice in your festival. It is the only festival in the Torah with so much emphasis on joy and gladness. The Rabbis even interpret that there is no happiness without wine and meat. Every man is urged to build his succah and enjoy his best food and drink there. Is this not a paradoxical contradiction to the theme of the seriousness of the High Holidays?
The answer given by many rabbis is that the entire period and the behavior of the High Holidays are to create a permanent impact in the way we live, even if it changes us just a little. If our self-denial during the "Days of Awe" is to mean anything, its purpose must be reflected in the way we return to the rest of the year. Succoth then becomes a symbol of that change, of the desire to be more refined, more sensitive, more spiritual in our daily lives. From the self-impaired affliction of the Ten Days of Penitence we literally step into the holiness of a Succah, where eating and drinking, the very human satisfaction of the appetites, are elevated to the Mitzvah of Vesamahta, a sublimated enjoyment of the blessings of G-d’s world.