Lechem Hapanim in the Sukkah – Haazinu
יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ יִצְּרֶנְהוּ כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ. כְּנֶשֶׁר יָעִיר קִנּוֹ עַל גּוֹזָלָיו יְרַחֵף יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָיו יִקָּחֵהוּ יִשָּׂאֵהוּ עַל אֶבְרָתוֹ. (דברים לב, י-יא)
According to the Tur, when there is an event during the week, it is hinted at in the preceding parshat hashavua. The hint in this week’s parsha is not hard to find. Rashi on the above passuk says יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ means that HKB”H in the Midbar surrounded us with ענני הכבוד. As we know, one of the opinions as to why we celebrate Sukkot, is because of the ענני הכבוד.
This famous debate appears in the Gemara (Sukkah 11b). The two barei plugta are R’ Eliezer and R’ Akiva and the purpose of their machloket is to answer the question – “Why do we sit in Sukkot on chag Sukkot?”
So why do we sit in Sukkot on chag Sukkot? The answer is simple – because HKB”H told us to. As it says in parshat Emor –
בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כָּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת. לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי ה' אֱ-לֹקֵיכֶם. (ויקרא כג, מב-מג)
The first passuk should be enough. We do something because HKB”H tells us to, we don’t need a reason. However, since the second passuk already comes to “give a reason” – because HKB”H placed us in Sukkot when we left Egypt – so the Gemara comes to clarify and explain the reason.
According to R’ Eliezer – the reason is because HKB”H gave us the ענני הכבוד when we left Egypt.
According to R’ Akiva – the reason is because HKB”H placed us in Sukkot mamash when we left Egypt.
In last year’s shiur on Ha’azinu, I discussed at length the opinion of R’ Eliezer and the ענני הכבוד. This year I would like to explore the second opinion, of R’ Akiva, and learn an important principle and insight regarding the upcoming chag.
Before we begin, it is important to fully understand what R’ Akiva means when he says “Sukkot mamash”. At first glance it appears that R’ Akiva is referring to the temporary dwellings, the “booths” that Am Yisrael dwelled in when they left Egypt. Many of the Mefarshim interpret it thus, however, if this is the case, then there is a huge question on R’ Akiva. “When did Am Yisrael dwell in temporary dwellings called sukkot?” If you examine the psukkim following the Exodus from Egypt, only one mention is made of the word Sukkot –
וַיִּסְעוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵרַעְמְסֵס וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּסֻכֹּת (שמות לג, ה).
However, this seems to be referring to the name of a place called Sukkot and not to the temporary structure/dwelling called a sukkah. If you try to find a reference to Am Yisrael’s dwellings in the Midbar referred to as sukkot, you draw a complete blank. Not once are Am Yisrael’s places of dwelling in the desert called a sukkah. They are repeatedly referred to as a “tent”.
Here are some examples:
וַיֵּצֵא מֹשֶׁה לִקְרַאת חֹתְנוֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ וַיִּשַּׁק לוֹ וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וַיָּבֹאוּ הָאֹהֱלָה. (שמות יח, ז)
וְהָיָה כְּצֵאת מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָאֹהֶל יָקוּמוּ כָּל הָעָם וְנִצְּבוּ אִישׁ פֶּתַח אָהֳלוֹ וְהִבִּיטוּ אַחֲרֵי מֹשֶׁה עַד בֹּאוֹ הָאֹהֱלָה. (שמות לג, ח)
..... וּמְשָׁרְתוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן נַעַר לֹא יָמִישׁ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֹהֶל. (שמות לג, יא)
וְכִבֶּס הַמִּטַּהֵר אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְגִלַּח אֶת כָּל שְׂעָרוֹ וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם וְטָהֵר וְאַחַר יָבוֹא אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה וְיָשַׁב מִחוּץ לְאָהֳלוֹ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים. (ויקרא יד, ח)
וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה אֶת הָעָם בֹּכֶה לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָיו אִישׁ לְפֶתַח אָהֳלוֹ וכו' (במדבר יא, י)
וַיְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעֵדָה לֵאמֹר סוּרוּ נָא מֵעַל אָהֳלֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָרְשָׁעִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאַל תִּגְּעוּ בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם פֶּן תִּסָּפוּ בְּכָל חַטֹּאתָם. (במדבר טז, כו)
מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל. (במדבר כד, ה)
Always tents! You could say that their “tents” were a kind of sukkah, but that does not explain why the word “sukkah” is never mentioned in this regard.
Prior to the above commandment in Emor to sit in Sukkot on chag Sukkot, the Torah only uses the word “Sukkot” twice, both in reference to the name of a place. The first is in the time of Yaakov –
וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכֹּתָה וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת עַל כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם סֻכּוֹת. (בראשית לג, יז)
And the second is the above passuk after leaving Egypt –
וַיִּסְעוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵרַעְמְסֵס וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּסֻכֹּת. (שמות לג, ה)
Incidentally, although both these places are named Sukkot, they are not the same geographical location. The one in Breishit is located on the other side of the Jordan and the one in Shmot is located in Egypt.
So the first question on R’ Akiva is – if the meaning is referring to temporary dwellings called “sukkot”, why do we never find mention of these in the psukkim? And if, for argument’s sake they did dwell in sukkot in the desert, it was year round. Why davka celebrate sitting in sukkot on the 15th of Tishrei?
Secondly, if the meaning refers to the place called Sukkot, what was so special about these two places called Sukkot, that the Torah gives them as the reason we sit in Sukkot on chag Sukkot on the 15th of Tishrei, according to R’ Akiva?
So let us examine these two incidences of a place called Sukkot, beginning with Yaakov Avinu.
Before we talk about Yaakov’s 18 month stay (Rashi, Breishit 33, 17) in Sukkot, we need to understand the context. Yaakov has just finished working twenty years for Lavan - seven for Leah, another seven for Rachel and the final six for the sheep. Yaakov has just returned to ארץ כנען and has survived the reunion with Eisav. They part ways, Eisav returns to Seir and Yaakov goes to Sukkot (that was not its original name, as we will soon see).
When he originally left home, after the dream of the סולם, HKB”H promises Yaakov that no harm will come to him וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ וּשְׁמַרְתִּיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵךְ וכו' (בראשית כח, טו). Despite this, Yaakov feared his impending reunion with Eisav and the question is “Why?”
In Meir Panim I bring the principle that Yaakov was afraid that his having remained the extra six years to acquire sheep was a question on his כיבוד אב ואם. The sofei teivot of וַיִּירָא יַעֲקֹב מְאֹד וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ (בראשית לב, ח) is אב דר ו', that Yaakov stayed an extra 6 years with Lavan for material possessions. It was this insecurity, that he had perhaps placed too much importance on גשמיות, Yaakov thought might arouse the קטגור against him. And the fact is that he did arouse the קטגור, he wrestled with and triumphed over שרו של עשו who injured him in his thigh, the גיד הנשה and left him limping.
To understand what Yaakov did in Sukkot, we need to examine the passuk immediately after his stay in Sukkot. וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם עִיר שְׁכֶם וכו' (בראשית לג, יח). Rashi there says שלם בגופו שלם בממונו שלם בתורתו, Yaakov had healed from limping, has recouped all the money from paying gifts to Eisav and that he forgot none of his Torah while living with Lavan.
The fact that the word שלם is only used when Yaakov arrives in Shechem and not before that, in Sukkot, means that Sukkot had an essential role in making Yaakov שלם, which until then, it appears he was not.
וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכֹּתָה וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת עַל כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם סֻכּוֹת. (בראשית לג, יז)
Yaakov travelled to a place whose original name we do not know, because the Torah does not state it. Unlike בית אל where the Torah tells us that the original name was לוז, the place Sukkot - was thus named by Yaakov and the reason he called it Sukkot is because he built sukkot for his livestock. The passuk says he built a “house” for himself and for his livestock he made “sukkot” and that is why the place was called Sukkot.
The sefer ברוך יאמרו says that until then, nobody had ever built temporary dwellings for their livestock. The livestock lived outside in the field, perhaps fenced in to prevent them running off, but exposed to the elements. Yaakov made a chiddush – he built temporary dwellings for his livestock, enclosures and coverings over their heads. We know that Yaakov was blessed with prodigious livestock - that must have been a “lot” of sukkot he had to build and the question is why? What purpose did building sukkot for his livestock serve? An even bigger question is that 18 months later, he packed everything up and moved to Shechem. Why waste time building sukkot in Sukkot and then collapsing everything and moving to Shechem, why not build the sukkot for his livestock straight off in Shechem?
So obviously the meaning of the passuk is not literal. The Kli Yakar brings an amazing perush. It is impossible for us to judge the אבות, “If the rishonim were like angels then we are like men and if they were men then we are like donkeys (and not the donkeys of R’ Pinchas ben Yair and R’ Chanina ben Dosa)”. However, even great men are not perfect and the greater they are, HKB”H judges them בחוט השערה. The Kli Yakar says that even with his enormous greatness there was a תביעה on Yaakov regarding the sheep – material possessions. This is why Yaakov aroused the קטגור, this is why he feared Eisav. This is why שרו של עשו injured him in the גיד הנשה, from the lashon of נושה – someone you owe money to. HKB”H promised Yaakov He would look after him and provide for him. Yaakov should have placed his faith in HKB”H, without working an extra six years to acquire material possessions, sheep from Lavan. It was this “flaw” that Yaakov needed to repair, which he did – in Sukkot.
In Sukkot Yaakov built a “house”, not a house for himself to live – a beit midrash to study Torah! For himself and his possessions he build sukkot, temporary dwellings to, once and for all, define his relationship with materialism, that it is ארעי – temporary. The only permanent thing is the בית, the Torah. The material possessions are temporary and fleeting. In Sukkot, Yaakov defined the meaning of the word Sukkot, it means ארעי, something that is not permanent.
Once Yaakov had set the priorities straight he could then arrive in Schem שלם, complete in his health – no longer limping from the תביעה of the קטגור, in his money – that his material possessions finally were correctly prioritized, and in his Torah, that the first priority was building the beit midrash and then worrying about the sheep. This is why Yaakov called the place Sukkot – it was all about placing everything in the correct perspective and priority.
The location of Yaakov’s Sukkot is on the other side of the Jordan. It pops up again in sefer Yehoshua (13, 27) when the Tribe of Gad received their inheritance. When they originally asked Moshe to inherit land over the Jordan, they first mentioned their sheep and only afterwards their families. Sefer ברוך יאמרו says that Moshe said to them “You have your priorities mixed up. I have the perfect place to put your priorities straight – Sukkot. This is where you get a true perspective on material possessions.”
There is a second place called Sukkot in the Torah.
When Am Yisrael left Raamses in Egypt, the first place they arrived at was Sukkot. What happened in Sukkot? The Or HaChayim says that in Sukkot, Am Yisrael baked the dough they took with them from Egypt into matzot. The dough did not have time to rise because it was צְרֻרֹת בְּשִׂמְלֹתָם עַל שִׁכְמָם, the constant jostling against their bodies while walking was like kneading the dough, which prevented it from becoming chametz. In Sukkot Am Yisrael baked the dough into matzot. How long did these matzot last? Sixty days according to Chazal. After that HKB”H gave Am Yisrael the Mann in a place called אלוש. The bread/matzot they baked in Sukkot was not meant to last forever, it was a temporary stop-gap, something ארעי.
In Sukkot, Am Yisrael, who were laden with 90 Libyan donkeys stashed with riches, learnt the lesson that גשמיות is fleeting, it is only temporary. Sukkot was the last מקום יישוב Am Yisrael visited before they entered the Midbar. After Sukkot was Eitam בקצה המדבר. Am Yisrael were leaving the permanence of civilization and entering the wilderness. In the Midbar, diamonds and gold are worthless, 90 complete donkeys of them! After Sukkot, Am Yisrael entered the Midbar צילא דמהימנותא, the protective embrace of HKB”H. HKB”H protected Am Yisrael in the desert like an eagle protects its nest כְּנֶשֶׁר יָעִיר קִנּוֹ עַל גּוֹזָלָיו יְרַחֵף יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָיו יִקָּחֵהוּ יִשָּׂאֵהוּ עַל אֶבְרָתוֹ.
R’ Akiva says that the reason we sit in Sukkot on chag Sukkot is because HKB”H placed us in Sukkot mamash – in the place called Sukkot, a copy of the template of Sukkot that Yaakov instituted, a place of learning priorities and getting a true perspective on life.
This according to R’ Akiva is the ikar of chag Sukkot - it is internalizing our true set of priorities. The time of the year when chag Sukkot falls, is naturally a time to be indoors, at home! It is the end of the harvest season. We have finished gathering up all the barley, wheat, fruit, flax, etc. Our storehouses are jam-packed full for the upcoming winter. The rain clouds begin to gather. What better time to hunker down, wrap ourselves in the warmth and security of our homes, surrounded by fully stocked pantries and feel really good about ourselves and our situation. We are really happy with ourselves and we have a right to be.
And davka at this juncture HKB”H says to us – “Hang on! Before you get too comfortable, there is a lesson you need to learn. You need to leave the comfort of your homes, move outside to the yard for a week – you are going camping! Forget about mosquito screens and air conditioners, for one week you are moving out of your comfort zone and placing your trust in Me and moving into My צילא דמהימנותא. Not only are you going to be campers, but you are going to be HAPPY campers! In fact, the “event" that symbolizes Sukkot is שמחה. With Pesach it is freedom, with Shavuot it is Matan Torah, Sukkot is the “time” of your happiness it is the time that I will teach you what true happiness is.”
And just like Yaakov, we get a “crash course” in priorities. We learn that our material possessions are ארעי, they are temporary. The only permanence we have is not well stocked pantries or even a nice 3-storey home, but our relationship with HKB”H and the Torah. And this is the true simcha, the true joy!
In Meir Panim I bring the principle that the Lechem Hapanim, while being displayed on the Shulchan, is in fact sitting in a sukkah! The breads are covered from above with pipes that resemble סכך and they are surrounded by four “walls”, upright סניפין that support them from the sides. The question is - "What connection is there between Lechem Hapanim and a sukkah?"
From the above, the answer is obvious. Lechem Hapanim is a symbol for material wealth, for parnasa. HKB”H wants us to put parnasa and materialism in its correctly prioritized place. That place is a sukkah, that teaches us where materialism fits in the bigger picture. That it is ארעי and fleeting. Understanding this should fill us with simcha, the simcha of איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו and that is why the Lechem Hapanim, in its sukkah, is smiling, it is shaped like a smiling face.
This is the lesson R’ Akiva is trying to teach us about Sukkot.
יהי רצון that we should all have a chag SAMEACH, a chag of true simcha, the simcha of getting our priorities straight and experiencing one brief week of the year under HKB”H’s protective wings, experiencing mamash what it is like to be in the Beit Hamikdash, סוכת דוד הנופלת, that HKB”H will resurrect when Mashiach comes very soon בבי"א.
