Celebration Under Fire - Sukkot 5785

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(Reminder to make an Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday in order to be permitted to cook on Friday for Shabbat.  See the details here.)


The “Time of Our Joy” is upon us.  Sukkot follows the solemn High Holidays, when we accomplished great spiritual things and brought new Divine light to the world, and now on Sukkot we celebrate that with great joy.  It is the celebration that brings the potential blessings of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to fruition.


Well, how easy is it to celebrate when Israel is facing an existential war for its very existence?  As we sit in our Sukkah and as we wave our lulav, etrog, willows and myrtle to the Hallel songs, our brothers and sisters are sacrificing their lives at war with enemies on all sides.  It seems difficult to celebrate with abandon and to express open joy, let alone to dance.


In 1973, right after the beginning of the Yom Kippur war, when our enemies sought to wipe us off the face of the earth, the Rebbe addressed the same question.  This was three days after all of Israel’s Arab neighbors attacked, and if nature had been allowed to take its course, Israel would have been overrun.  The Jewish people were fighting for their lives.  The Rebbe gathered the Chassidim together for a “Farbrengen” - a Chassidic gathering, in honor of the Yartzeit of the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson, and in preparation for the upcoming holiday.  


Right at the beginning of his talk, the Rebbe asked the question, how can we have a farbrengen when Jews are at war?  His phenomenal answer applies today as it did then.  I still remember the position that many Rabbis around the world took, that we should cut back on the holiday festivities.  Many even cut out any dancing on Simchat Torah, allowing only for the reciting of the verses of Hakafot and walking somberly around the Bimah.


The Rebbe took the opposite approach.  As we have known throughout our history, our survival depends on Hashem;s miraculous protection.  We need to take all natural measures to protect ourselves, and the bravery and heroism of Tzahal’s soldiers, as well as many citizens, is legendary.  But all of that is crowned by Hashem’s Divine Providence.  There are many ways to evoke Hashem’s protection.  Prayer, fasting and supplication are mainstays of our historical approach to Hashem in times of trouble.  But there is a time andplace for everything.


Beginning from the day before Yom kippur until the end of the month of Tishrei, we skip parts of the prayer that are  not said on Shabbat and holidays, known as Tachnun, because these are days of joy. If Tachnun - which includes confession and supplications, are needed to bring us Hashem’s blessings, how does that happen when we skip it?  The answer is that the joy of the time brings the blessings.


The Rebbe also quoted a teaching from the Ba’al Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement, based on the verse (Psalm 121:5):  “Hashem is your shadow.”  What does that mean?  The Ba’al Shem Tov quoted the Arizal - the great founder of “Lurianic Kabbalah,” who explained that just as a shadow moves in response to a person’s every move, so Hashem responds to us.  If, the Arizal says, a person shows a joyous face, Hashem responds with joy and showers us with blessings.   Rather than waiting for Hashem’s blessings to celebrate, our celebration itself can evoke Hashem’s blessings.


That Sukkot in 1973, Chassidim around the world celebrated the holiday of Sukkot and Simchat Torah like never before, dancing and singing with tremendous joy.  The miraculous outcome of the war validated our happiness.


Today as we enter the “Time of our Joy,” the festival of Sukkot, we have the same opportunity.  Dancing and ce;ebrating is not a sign of callousness and lack of caring about our people’s predicament.  It is the vehicle to bring Hashen’s protection and miraculous blessings.  May we celebrate this holiday with true peace.  May our enemies be decisively vanquished so that they will no longer be able to  - or even consider - attacking us.  May our hostages return safely.  May our soldiers no longer need to put their lives on the line.  And may our enemies around the world see that Am Yisrael Chai!


Happy Sukkot.

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