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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Jewish Holidays
- Sukkot
2. All Is Vain?
3. Sukkot – Preparation for Winter
4. Taking the Sukkah Apart
Sukkot – An End-of-the-Year Celebration
The Sukkot festival is a harvest festival on which farmers joyfully finish ingathering the year’s produce. And like farmers, every Jew should, on Sukkot, make an account of all of the good things he or she has done during the course of the year.
However, since it may be assumed that we have all sinned during the year, we must first cleanse and purify ourselves during the High Holidays, the days of repentance. After repenting and learning from out mistakes, we may sum up the year from a more positive standpoint and rejoice in all of the good deeds we have had the privilege to perform during the past year.
All Is Vain?
The Ashkenazi custom is to read the Book of Ecclesiastes on the Sabbath that falls during Sukkot. And according to the custom of the Gaon of Vilna it should be read from a parchment scroll and with the pronunciation of a blessing (Mishnah Berurah 490:19).
What was it that caused Kohelet to reject the importance of all worldly matters, to the point where he says, "Vanity of vanities…all is vain"? Is there no value to wisdom, honor, wealth, beauty, and human endeavor?
Rather, all of these things, when they are not accompanied by fear of Heaven, are of no value. They are empty. And therefore they vanish as quickly as they appear. It appears to a person that if he could attain more of these qualities he would be happier, but, in practice, King Solomon, who was blessed with exceeding wisdom, honor, and splendor, teaches us that all of these things, when taken alone, are worthless. Only when a person attains fearful reverence for God do all of these matters take on their true worth. "The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God and safeguard His commandments, for this is the whole of man"
Sukkot – Preparation for Winter
Before winter begins, before we recluse into our home to take shelter from the cold and the rain, we must remember God, Who gives us life and everything we need to exist. This is one of the ideas that underlie the sukkah – that a person consider his transience in the world. We leave our permanent home and take shelter in a makeshift dwelling, and this should lead us to contemplate God’s providence in the world.
A person who does this will indeed be better protected, for while a home can guard one from the cold and the rain, the principal danger a person faces in life is forgetting his purpose, being influenced by negative views. Therefore, by sitting in a sukkah, by fulfilling this holy commandment, a person is granted the most profound security possible. And this is what a person should keep in mind with winter’s onset.
May it be God’s will that the sukkah’s spiritual protection bring peace into our homes, tranquility between husband and wife, between parents and children, between all Jews, between all of our varied desires, between Israel and the Almighty. May God cause His presence to dwell among us, and may we merit building the holy city of Jerusalem and, in its heart, our Holy Temple.
Taking the Sukkah Apart
Many people are uncertain about the status of their "skhakh" (palm fronds) and "arba’at haminim" (four species) after the festival: Must they continue to be treated respectfully, or do they return to being just like any other foliage? In other words, is it permitted to throw "skhakh" and "arba’at haminim" into the garbage after the festival?
To begin with, it should be pointed out that there is a basic difference between "tashmishei mitzvah" (religious articles, or literally, "commandment articles") and "tashmishei kedusha" (sacred articles).
"Tashmishei kedusha," such as tefillin, mezuzot, and Torah scrolls, continue to possess sanctity even after they have aged and become worn, for they contain holy names. They must therefore be put in a "genizah" (special depository), and from the genizah they are taken away and buried.
However, "tashmishei mitzvah," such as prayer shawls, "skhakh," and "arba’at haminim," possess no intrinsic sanctity and their importance derives entirely from the fact that we use them to perform commandments.
Therefore, the law is that it is permitted to throw "tashmishei mitzvah" into the garbage, and the Shulchan Arukh rules accordingly (Orach Chaim 21:1) that torn prayer shawl tassels may be thrown into the garbage because this is a commandment-fulfilling article that has no intrinsic sanctity. And the same is true regarding "skhakh" and "arba’at haminim."
However, the Shulchan Arukh states that such articles should not be used in a dishonorable manner, i.e., a prayer shawl should not be used as a floor rag. And the Rema adds that such articles should not be discarded of in a disgraceful place.
Therefore, one should not throw the "skhakh" and "arba’at haminim" into the garbage with other sordid refuse, because this desecrates the commandment. But it is permitted to place them on the ground next to the garbage cans. If the palm fronds remain until Passover there is a laudable custom to use them to burn the remaining chametz on the eve of the festival.
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
