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Succot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land 

"ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון... ושמחתם לפני ה' א-היכם שבעת ימים" 

"Blessed are You HaShem our God King of the Universe who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us on the taking of the Lulav."

The heart is filled with joy as we enter 'the Time of our Joy', the holiday of Succot, and this joy is accentuated with the mitzvah of the four species upon which the Torah specifically attaches a special commandment to be joyful especially in the Bait HaMikdash - 'and you shall be happy before HaShem your God (i.e in the Bait HaMikdash according to the Sages) seven days'. As we noted a few weeks ago, true joy is achieved in connection to the Holy Presence which illuminates the soul to perceive the Providence of HaShem on all earth, and this Presence is more greatly encountered in our Holy Land, and especially in the Bait HaMikdash.

'Being happy before HaShem' in the Bait HaMikdash has halachic ramifications as well, such as the Biblical obligation to take the four species all seven days of Succot, while other locations are obligated to do such on a Biblical level only on the first day, the other days being Rabbinically obligated.

Another implication is the halachic obligation to display joy in music and dancing in the Bait HaMikdash (albeit on the weekdays of Succot), a practice given memory to in many communities under the name 'Simhat Beit Hashoeva' (Joy of the Water Drawing in the Bait HaMikdash). Yet another ramification is the ability to take the four species even on Shabbat in the Bait HaMikdash and in the Land of Israel on the first day when the Bait HaMikdash is standing, which is not so in other locations.

If so, why is joy so tied to the taking of the four species? As we mentioned before, joy is the feeling of the revelation of the soul in one's being. However, if we examine this 'revelation' we find that it can only come forth, or make steady progress, with the unity of different facets, or different 'sparks of illumination' of the soul, for a singular and sudden 'lightening' of illumination will easily be 'enveloped' by darkness and forgotten. Once these 'sparks' of illumination are united, one notices that there is a constancy and truth involved in this illumination, causing one to be consistently aware and illuminated, thereby giving one joy.

This 'unity' of sparks of light can be hinted to in the mitzvah of taking the four species, as one unites different species, that represent different 'sparks' of holiness, thereby bringing one to joy. In this way Hebron yet again acts as 'the key to Jerusalem', for Hebron reminds us all that we all stem from the same roots, thus bringing unity to our People. Once unity is achieved, our souls are illuminated from each other, allowing for the great light of the Holy Presence, especially present in the Bait HaMikdash, to illuminate the entire earth with its joy. 

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #91:

"I was learning in hevruta and discussed what the Zohar says that just as there are levels on how one person recognizes another (first dress, then body, then deeper soul-connection, etc) so too there are levels in the depth of Torah learning (simple-pshat, then homiletics-drash, then secrets of the Torah, etc). Just about 5 minutes later I learned with another hevruta, who I verified that did not hear my previous conversation, and he started to discuss the exact same passage that 'just as one recognizes another, so too in depth of Torah learning, etc." (M.A.Y) 

Sources: Rambam Shofar, Suca and Lulav,7, 13-18 and 8, 12-15  

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