When talking about Succos, the Torah tells us (Devarim 16:14-15) “You shall rejoice in your festival…and you shall have nothing but joy.” There is a mitzvah to be happy on all three of the major Yomim Tovim – Pesach, Shavuos and Succos, but Succos is different. The theme of the Holiday of Succos is “Simcha” - happiness and joy. We constantly refer to Succos as “Zman Simchaseinu – The time of our happiness,” and the Torah commands us to be happy specifically on Succos.
In reality, Succos is a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. We sit in Succos to remember the huts (or, the clouds of glory) which Hashem provided for us as we left Egypt. Why then does Succos require an extra joy more than the other Holidays? What is the added happiness which we must feel on Succos? Rav Mendel Kaplan, zt"l, an elder Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshiva of Philadelphia, would still drive his old car from his home in Brooklyn to Philadelphia even as he approached eighty years old. The car was fueled by miracles, and often passengers would share some of the amazing journeys with his students. My father, a talmid of Rav Kaplan, heard the following story from a classmate. Rav Mendel was driving near Cherry Hill, New Jersey when another motorist gestured wildly toward the bottom of his car. Rav Mendel pulled into the nearest service station and the student who had accompanied him went out to look for the problem. Meanwhile, a burly service attendant came running toward the car. He too had noticed a strange smoke emanating from the hood. "Rabbi," he ordered. "Get out of the car fast!" The mechanic opened the hood and quickly extinguished a small fire that had ignited in the worn wiring. "Wow," he exclaimed. "You sure are lucky that your tire was low and you came in here!" Rav Mendel smiled and just said in his sweetly accented English, "Tenks Gott!" (Thanks to G-d) "Yeah, Rabbi, thanks G-d that you were lucky to have a low tire and come on in here!" Rav Mendel looked at the man, shook his hand and smiled. "No, I wasn't lucky about the tire, just, tenks Gott!" My grandfather, Rav Binaymin Kamenetzky, zt”l, explained. The Gemara tells us (Shabbos 118b) “One who reads Hallel every day is tantamount to one who curses and blasphemes G-d.” The reason is because Hallel is reserved for thanking Hashem for performing extraordinary miracles for us. On Pesach, He smote the Egyptians and split the sea. On Chanukah, He saved us miraculously from the Greeks and their decrees, etc. One who recites Hallel every day is saying that Hashem is only deserving of thanks for miracles where He defied nature and saved us miraculously. He forgets that every single day is another gift, with another set of small miracles, and he is disregarding the importance of recognizing the daily kindness of Hashem.
Succos is the time when we gather our fruits and crops into the house. One can easily mistakenly think that it was his own strength, determination, and hustle that produced his success in his field. But as we leave the comfort and safety of our homes and venture into our temporary structures in the outdoors, we remind ourselves that all our success is from Hashem.
Our daily successes, our small wins throughout the year, and most of all, our health, our families, and life itself are all gifts from Hashem.
That is why are happy on Succos. We leave the ever-felt presence of Hashem Himself of High Holy Days, and we go out into the world. But we go with a renewed joy. The joy of knowledge that Hashem is there with us every day – as we go work, plant, harvest, and gather. He is always performing miracles under the guise of nature and taking care of all our needs.
And for all that, we celebrate with an extra joy - the happiness of everyday miracles.
Good Yom Tov!
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky is the Director of Advancement at Yeshiva of South Shore - ישיבה תורת חיים -בית בנמין . He is currently compiling the vast storehouse of all the Torah thoughts from his grandfather. If you have any stories to share from his grandfather, you can email him at skamenetzky@yoss.org.
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