When You Harvest | Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Beit Midrash

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קטגוריה משנית

Shabbat and Holidays
The Essence of Sukkot

Harav Shaul Yisraeli – from Vesamechta Bechagecha p. 10
The Torah describes Sukkot as happening "when you harvest" (Devarim 16:13), and the gemara calls it "the holiday that comes at the time of harvest" (Rosh Hashana 13a).
We are to leave the "fortress," the house where you tend to hole yourself up, specifically at the time of harvest. At the time of sowing, it is not possible to isolate oneself in one’s house because there is a need for help from other elements. You need sunlight and rain, and often there is a need for external help. However, once the time of reaping and of drying the grain is over and the grain is ready to be stored, a person can think he no longer needs partnerships. At that time, the commandment comes to "live in sukkot." You are not a creature who is unconnected to his surroundings, for all the days of your life you depend on the good graces of others. Let the stars, and the people who walk down the streets, see into your private domain. You should remember that you live within a world and that you cannot isolate yourself with your own interests alone and sleep quietly alongside your pile of grain. The goodness you receive that allows you to live should be joined by the goodness you grant to others.
These are ideals that do not only exist until the time of harvest, but are specifically highlighted at the time of harvest. It is a "mutually beneficial agreement" [involving Hashem]. "If you come into My house, I will come into your house. If you make My people happy, I will make your people happy."
What makes the joyousness of Simchat Torah special is that it does not involve the rejoicing of the individual but the joy [of the community and the nation]. It includes a plan of practical action. It is not just words at a time that they require no action, but they specifically bring joy because they relate to the following practical plan – "I was happy, and I made others happy" (mishna, Maaser Sheni 5:12). This is what the whole Torah is about. We do not know about compartmentalizing our lives. We do not believe in the saying: "Give Caesar that which belongs to Caesar." For us, all philosophical ideas have value to the extent that they are applicable in a proper manner within practical life. It has to pass the test of practicality, and only then can we assess its value.
The mitzva of hakhel, when the king of Israel would read the Torah portions that deal with the behavior of the individual and the collective, is something that has to be read specifically by the king. It is the king and not the crown prince, and not the candidate for a leadership office, because the Torah is not a platform for elections. There are those who know how to talk beautifully but do not know how to fulfill what they set out to do. Rather the Torah parallels the plan of the cabinet which is set out to be applied and it sets out the relationship between the nation and the individual.

The Essence of Sukkot

Parashat Hashavua