A Bad Day in the Sukkah – Sukkot
א"ר לֵוִי בְּכָל חֹדֶשׁ וְחֹדֶשׁ שֶׁבַּקַּיִץ בִּקֵּשׁ הַק' לִתֵּן לְיִשְׂרָ' מוֹעֵד. בְּנִיסָן נָתַן לָהֶם הַפֶּסַח, בְּאִיָּר נָתַן לָהֶם פֶּסַח קָטָן, בְּסִיוָן נָתַן לָהֶם עֲצֶרֶת, בְּתַמּוּז הָיָה בְּדַעְתּוֹ לִתֵּן לָהֶם מוֹעֵד גָּדוֹל, וַעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם אֶת הָעֵגֶל, וּבָטֵל תַּמּוּז וְאָב וֶאֱלוּל, בָּא תִּשְׁרֵי וּפָרַע לָהֶם (פסיקתא דרב כהנא, כח).
The Midrash tells us that when HKB"H gave us the Torah on Har Sinai it was intended to be a "resetting" of the world to its original state before Adam Harishon sinned. HKB"H intended to give Am Yisrael chagim in all of the summer months – Pesach in Nisan, Pesach Sheini in Iyar, Shavuot in Sivan, Rosh Hashana in Tammuz, Yom Kippur in Av, Sukkot in Elul and Shmini Atzeret in Tishrei.
However, when Am Yisrael sinned with the egel (and the meraglim), that upset the whole plan and instead, HKB"H changed the essence of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot and moved them all to the month of Tishrei, together with the originally planned Shmini Atzeret.
The originally planned Rosh Hashana was supposed to be in the month of Tammuz, on the 17th of Tammuz to be exact. When Am Yisrael began to sin the day before with the egel, Aharon said to them .... וַיֹּאמַר חַג לַָה' מָחָר (שמות לב, ה) This day was intended to be the day Moshe Rabbeinu descended from Har Sinai with the luchot. Am Yisrael would joyously accept the Torah and their covenant with HKB"H, the luchot would be ceremoniously installed inside the Aron Habrit (like a hachnasat sefer Torah) and the 17th of Tammuz would be the day the world was reset to its state when HKB"H created it at the beginning of time הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם, the commencement of the Geulah!
Yom Kippur was originally planned for the 15th of Av. This was to be another day of celebration, the day that Am Yisrael entered the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey - Am Yisrael's original and authentic Yom Ha'atzma'ut - the day of the founding of the Kingdom of Eretz Yisrael. The celebrations on this day were to include joyous festivities, including "National Shidduchim Day", with all the unmarried girls dancing in the vineyards and the unmarried bochrim looking for a suitable match. This would be followed by the respective families having kiddushin and chinnot ceremonies with much festivity, drinking of wine, giving gifts to each other - very much like פּוּרִים, (כְּפּוּרִים).
Sukkot was originally planned for the month of Elul. It was the end of the summer, the end of the agricultural year, the storehouses were filled with grain, fruit and כָּל טוּב. It was time to rest up, take a vacation and go "camping" and revel in the beauty of nature in Eretz Yisrael, enjoying the great outdoors.
However, Am Yisrael sinned (twice – once with the egel and again with the meraglim) and this completely changed the nature of these three chagim Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Instead of being chagim of boundless celebration, they became chagim of "tikkun", to repair the damage caused by these two sins. Rosh Hashana turned into a day of commemoration of the sin of Adam Harishon and his pardon. Yom Kippur became a day of commemoration of HKB"H pardoning Am Yisrael for the sin of the egel and Sukkot became a day of commemoration of freedom from the slavery of Egypt, when HKB"H "housed" us in Sukkot. Yes, these are days of celebration to be sure, but a "somber" type of celebration גִּלּוּ בִּרְעָדָה, a pale shadow of the celebration HKB"H originally planned for us.
Sukkot, a "somber" celebration? What about the Mishna (Sukkot 5, 1)-כָּל מִי שֶׁלֹּא רָאָה שִׂמְחַת בֵּית הַשּׁוֹאֵבָה לֹא רָאָה שִׂמְחָה מִיָּמָיו? Yes, Sukkot is indeed a celebration, but it has become a גִּלּוּ בִּרְעָדָה type of celebration, with the participants being the Gedoei Hador only, to not overstep the bounds. The original Sukkot was intended as an "entire Am Yisrael participation" event, where the entire Am Yisrael would be of the stature of Gedolei Hador.
Of the Shloshet Regalim, Sukkot is the "odd man out". It is the only one of the regalim that does not commemorate a historic event on the date it actually took place. Pesach commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, in Nisan, when the Exodus actually took place. Shavuot celebrates Matan Torah – when Matan Torah actually took place – on 6th Sivan. Sukkot, supposedly commemorating the fact that am Yisrael dwelled in Sukkot when they left Egypt כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם (ויקרא כג, מג), is celebrated in Tishrei? What connection is there between Tishrei and leaving Egypt? There is no historical correlation. Yes, the Vilna Gaon gives a reason for celebrating Sukkot in Tishrei, connected to the עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד, (see shiur on Haazinu 2021), however, while a great perush, does not match the pshat of the passuk.
In this shiur, I would like to present the essence of the chag of Sukkot in a completely different light to that most are familiar with, a surprising and slightly "shocking" light and it is all learned davka from the Lechem Hapanim.
While Sukkot is a very enjoyable chag, with much festivity and celebration, it is undoubtedly a chag that takes us out of our "comfort zone". If HKB"H wanted us to have unbridled joy, accompanied by unbridled comfort, He would not have commanded us to leave our homes for seven days, leave the comfort our of plush three-piece lounge suite, the comfort of our Sealy Posturepedic© mattress beds, the comfort of our hi-tech, inverter air-conditioners, the comfort of our mosquito screened windows, the comfort of our dining room suite with upholstered chairs, the comfort of a roof and not being rained upon, etc. etc.
Instead HKB"H commanded us davka to move into a squashed, ramshackle structure, out in the yard, with fold up tables, plastic chairs that are sensitive to leaning too far over to the left, with flies and mosquitos buzzing around your head and food incessantly, with the sun beating on your backs as it traverses a trajectory around the Sukkah from the beginning to the end of the meal, giving each in turn a nice suntan and a mild dose of heatstroke, with an uncomfortable Jewish Agency mattress and sleeping bag, trying to sleep amid the buzzing of various nightlife around you and the chill of the early morning (never mind the rain), the squashed quarters as you "enjoy" your meal with aunt Sarah digging you repeatedly in the ribs as she reaches for the potato salad.
Couldn't HKB"H have instead told us "I want you to enjoy the great outdoors – inside! Take a few palm branches and decorate the lounge, some fresh cut flowers for the bedroom, the smell of fragrant potpourri in the dining room, rent-a-budgie for the week, or better still - play "relaxing bird sounds" clips on YouTube, looping the entire day. Inside the house! enjoy the best of both worlds!" Would that have been so terrible?
So (here is the chiddush), HKB"H does not want us to have unbridled enjoyment in the Sukkah, because the Sukkot as we know it today, is not the Sukkot HKB"H originally planned for us - it is an adapted version whose main purpose is to do tikkun!
We get a hint to this in the mizmor "LeDavid Hashem Ori" that we recite from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Hoshana Raba, (Tehilim 27, 5) כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכֹּה בְּיוֹם רָעָה יַסְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ בְּצוּר יְרוֹמְמֵנִי. David HaMelech is saying that the purpose of a Sukkah is to shelter us on a "bad day", that the purpose of Sukkot is to simulate a "hostile environment", far out of our comfort zone, in which we rely on HKB"H to shelter us and protect us from the dangers that lurk there!
We learn this principle from the Lechem Hapanim davka.
Meir Panim brings the principle that the Lechem Hapanim on the Shulchan is "sitting in a Sukkah". The two stacks of bread are surrounded on the outside by four Kesavot/Snipim, resembling four walls. The loaves of Lechem Hapanim are covered by a series of half pipes, Menakiyot/Kanim, resembling סְכַךְ - as it says in the passuk וּקְשׂוֹתָיו וּמְנַקִּיֹּתָיו אֲשֶׁר יֻסַּךְ בָּהֵן (דמות כה, כט). The Lechem Hapanim is the equivalent of us sitting inside the Sukkah.
However, that is only partly true. On Shabbat, there is no Sukkah. Before Shabbat comes in, the Kohanim dismantle the side supports and the pipes so that the two stacks of Lechem Hapanim are sitting on the Shulchan supported by their own weight. It is only in this way that the sets of Lechem Hapanim can be switched on Shabbat with a new, fresh set, without interference. On Motzei Shabbat, after Shabbat has gone out, the Kohanim enter the Heichal and re-assemble the "Sukkah" around the Lechem Hapanim, the side supports and the pipes. The Sukkah around the Lechem Hapanim is only during the six days of the week.
We learn this from the bracha Moshe gives to the tribe of Zevulun in parshat VeZot HaBracha כִּי שֶׁפַע יַמִּים יִינָקוּ וּשְׂפוּנֵי טְמוּנֵי חוֹל (דברים לג, יט). The Targum Yonatan, Midrash Sifri, Rashi, Sforno etc. say that Zevulun was worried about the fact that they had no agricultural land to grow food. HKB"H placated them – "Do not worry, in your inheritance only, buried under the sand, there will be an abundant supply of the Chilazon, (the insect from which the Techelet is derived). You will be able to sell it for a small fortune and provide for your families". Sefer Meir Panim offers an alternative perush for this passuk, that it is referring to the שְׂפוּנֵי, the "ships", the Lechem Hapanim shaped like a dancing ship, that are "buried" טְמוּנֵי under pipes during the days of the week חוֹל. Just as Zevulun provides material parnasa for Yissachar to study Torah, the Lechem Hapanim provides material blessing, providing olive oil for the Menorah, symbolizing the light of the Torah!
From this we learn, that the Lechem Hapanim do not need a Sukkah on Shabbat, only during the days of the week. On Shabbat, they have the special הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית and protective power of the Shabbat to watch over them, however, during the week, they are in need of the extra protection of a Sukkah. The weekdays are the יוֹם רָעָה that David Hamelech in Tehillim above is referring to.
Meir Panim says that we learn from this that making a parnasa during the week is equivalent to the miracle of יוֹרְדֵי יָם in the Korban Toda. As we know, a person is obligated to bring a Korban Toda if they fit four categories, one of which is - someone who goes on a sea voyage and returns safely. A sea voyage is a perilous undertaking (think of the Titanic) and if someone returns safely from such a voyage, it is nothing short of a miracle. Similarly, when someone conducts their business dealings during the week, they enter perilous waters. They are faced with temptation and danger from every side. The Torah says that you need to cover the Lechem Hapanim with Menakiyot, during the week, from the lashon of נָקִי. You must be completely "clean" and honest in your business dealings and not get ensnared by temptation, for example do not take interest (the gematria of וּמְנַקִּיֹּתָיו is רִיבִּית). If someone succeeds in getting through the entire week of their business dealings without mishap, it is nothing short of a miracle. To help achieve this, the Lechem Hapanim rests in a Sukkah on weekdays. The Sukkah is the mechanism to spiritually protect the Lechem Hapanim during the week.
Sukkot is a "tikkun". We have not yet achieved the Geulah, where Sukkot will revert to its originally intended framework of unbridled joy. Meanwhile, we have to "rough it", we have to simulate the יוֹם רָעָה, a parable for our lives in this material world before the Geulah, where it is totally apparent Who is running the show, far away from the כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי of our own comfortable homes and our technology. On Simchat Beit Hasho'eva we only allow the Gedolei Hador to dance and juggle and entertain, because we have not yet achieved the level of נְקִיּוּת that is required to rejoice without sin. After the Geulah, when HKB"H cancels the yetzer harah, we will all be able to actively participate in this rejoicing, with no fear of sin. Meanwhile it is a festivity of גִּלּוּ בִּרְעָדָה.
On Sukkot, we all in effect become like the twelve loaves of Lechem Hapanim, the Twelve Tribes, sitting in a Sukkah, on the Shulchan.
It is a common misconception that the "material" part of the Korban Lechem Hapanim is the bread and that the "spiritual" part is the Shulchan on which they rest. Meir Panim brings the Zohar HaKadosh (זהר, ח"ב קנ"ד ע"ב) who says exactly the opposite. The Shulchan is likened to the עוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה, the sfira of מַלְכוּת, which if left unchecked, can chas vechalila turn into an "entity" on its own - כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי. On the other hand, the two stacks (six loaves in each) of Lechem Hapanim, resemble the זְעֵיר אַנְפִּין, the six sfirot of חֶסֶד, גְּבוּרָה, תִּפְאֶרֶת, נֶצַח, הוֹד, יְסוֹד - the Torah and the middot. The two stacks of six loaves resemble two Serafim (angels), each with six wings, facing each other, smiling at one another, reminiscent of Adam and Chava before the sin.
In this parable, the "Shulchan" part of the Sukkah is the ground, the earth. The earth can be a dangerous entity if not "controlled" by the Torah and the middot. The material earth, the עוֹלַם הָעֲשִׂיָּה, if not kept in check by the Torah and the middot, can turn into a form of עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. If you think that is far-fetched, think of our modern world and the "global economy", which, for all intents and purpose is considered an "entity" unto itself. This is why the סְכַךְ, (from which the word Sukkah is derived), resting on top of the Sukkah cannot be foliage connected to the earth, it must be detached from the earth - tempered by the Torah. For סְכַךְ to be kosher it has to have וְשֶׁצִּלָּתָהּ מְרֻבָּה מֵחַמָּתָהּ, כְּשֵׁרָה (משנה סוכה ב,ב). Shade, צֵל is reminiscent of HKB"H, as Chazal explain – "Why is one of HKB"H's names אֶ-הְ-יֶ-ה אֲשֶׁר אֶ-הְ-יֶ-ה"? Because one of the attributes of HKB"H is that He is like a "shadow" kiveyachol. On a sunny day, when you stretch out your leg, you see the shadow of your leg on the ground, when you make a funny shape with your hand, you see its shadow on the ground. Whatever we do down here, HKB"H "mirrors" up above, like a shadow. If we behave well with Him, He behaves well with us, if we behave badly towards Him, He behaves badly to us. In a Sukkah you want to have more צֵל, more HKB"H and less חַמָּתָהּ - from the lashon of חֵמָה, meaning anger.
There is a practical נָפְקָא מִנָּה from all of this, and that is – if we are meant to resemble the Lechem Hapanim, the middot and the Torah, in the Sukkah, our presence in the Sukkah must reflect the Torah and the middot. It is forbidden to be angry in the Sukkah, חֵמָה is persona non-grata in the Sukkah. Just as the twelve loaves of Lechem Hapanim (the Twelve Tribes) rest in peace on the Shulchan, one with the other, so too should peace prevail in the Sukkah. We should conduct ourselves in the Sukkah, as if we are in the Heichal – mamash. Think that every time you are walking into the Sukkah, that you are walking into the Kodesh of the Beit Hamikdash. Imagine if B"H the Geulah arrived today and the Mikdash descended ready built from Heaven and you were a Kohen walking into the Heichal to perform the Avodah – what a sense of awe and elation you would have. This should be our feeling while we are in the Sukkah, that the Sukkah is not a place for גַּשְׁמִיּוּת, and that we are under the צִילָא דִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא mamash. We should carefully watch what we say in the Sukkah, how we say it.
The Lechem Hapanim was on the Shulchan for seven days, just as we sit in the Sukkah for seven days. Sukkot can only begin on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Shabbat. There is no combination in which one of the days is not Shabbat. Shabbat is the injection of energy, the "recharge" that sustains the remaining six days. The Lechem Hapanim remained fresh the entire week by virtue of Shabbat. Every one of the seven days in the Sukkah should be equally "fresh", we must maintain our enthusiasm from beginning to end. The Ushpizin help in this regard, lending a novel ambience to each day.
Imagine yourself spending the first day mamash together with Avraham Avinu in the Sukkah, his middah of chessed and hachnasat orchim. The second day with Yitzchak Avinu who was so tolerant of all his children, he even allowed Eisav to live in his house with his idol worshipping wives. Yaakov Avinu, the "ish tam", sitting in the tent studying Torah. Yosef Hatzaddik who suffered insult and abuse from his brothers and did not bear a grudge. Moshe Rabbeinu who was the humblest person on the face of the earth. Aharon Hakohen, who was an "ohev shalom and rodef shalom" and smiled at everyone he saw. David Hamelech who sang praises to HKB"H every waking hour of his life. Let us try spend each day in the Sukkah, "playing charades", copying the behavioral patterns of each of the Ushpizin. If Aharon actually visited you – for real – wouldn't you smile at him? If Moshe visited you – wouldn't you act humbly? Imagine if the Gadol Hador decided to visit your Sukkah (we had a Gadol Hador, HaRav Schachter shlit"a, visit our "sukkah"/workshop two months ago and believe me it was a humbling experience). Imagery and acting out as if it were real – are an essential part of our avodat Hashem and help us bring about tshuva and the tikkun.
The Sukkah is a tikkun for the sins of Adam Harishon, the selling of Yosef, the egel and meraglim, all bundled into one. If one enters the Sukkah with that frame of mind, then every fly, every mosquito, every ray of baking sun, every teetering plastic chair, etc. – becomes a nisayon, a test, that if dealt with correctly, in the correct spirit and with the right attitude – will effect a part of the tikkun for those sins and bring us closer to the Geulah and the celebration of Sukkot the way HKB"H originally intended for us to celebrate it, with unbridled joy - like the Lechem Hapanim on Shabbat, יוֹם שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ טוֹב לְחַיֵּי עוֹלָמִים, with no need for the "extraneous" protection of the Sukkah.
