Keeping the Inspiration Alive
Someone asked a Karliner chassid who merited being with his Rebbe for yom tov, "How did the yom tov pass?" The chassid replied, "The yom tov didn't pass. It went inside me, and it became a part of me." We must bring the inspiration that we had into the rest of the year.
In the yom tov tefillos we say, 'ה והנחילנו קדשיך מועדי ... אלקינו, “You gave us as an inheritance Your holy holidays...” An inheritance is something one takes with him. Now that the holidays are over, we are left with the inheritance to take along with us for the rest of the year.
This is alluded to in the zemiros that we say on Friday night, עמיה על דתשרי קמיה רעוא יהא. Hinted in these words is a tefillah that דתשרי עמיה על, that Tishrei, and the mitzvos we performed in it, should remain with the Jewish nation the entire year.
Chazal say that after the seven days of Succos, Hashem asks the Jewish nation to celebrate one more day (Shemini Atzeres) because פרידתכם עלי קשה, "It is hard for Me when you leave." One translation of פרידה is a mule, which is an animal that doesn't bear children. We can explain that Hashem says, פרידתכם עלי קשה, it is distressful for me when you don't take the yom tov with you to act upon the inspiration you received, and you act like a mule that doesn't bear fruit.
There was a town fool whom everyone called "Mottel Naar" (Mottel the Fool). People saw Mottel crying on his wedding day and asked him about that. He said, "Now, people call me 'Mottel Chasan,' but when the week of sheva brachos ends, people will call me "Mottel the Fool" once again. That's why I'm crying."
Rebbe Hershel Ziditchover zt'l said over this mashal and expressed that this is what happens to people after yom tov passes. They felt connected to Hashem during the days of Tishrei, and they used their time wisely. But as soon as the yomim tovim pass, they return to their foolish selves again. We must find a way to keep the inspiration alive so that it will remain with us all year.
Perhaps the following mashal will help us:
A Yid from Lelov was traveling to Lublin. He wanted to be with the Chozeh of Lublin zt'l. He didn't know the way, but he was told that there would be a sign at the fork in the road pointing to the path that leads to Lublin. The problem was that there was a snowstorm, and the pole with the signs had fallen to the ground. When the man arrived at the fork, there were three roads to choose from, and he didn't know which one to take. He found the pole buried in the snow. One arrow read "Lublin," another hand read "Lelov," and so on, but he didn't know how to erect the pole to figure out which direction to take.
Suddenly, he came up with a clever idea. He had come from Lelov, so he knew which road led to Lelov. So he set the arrow which read "Lelov" in the direction he came from, and then he was able to see which hand pointed to Lublin.
I heard this story at a sheva brachos. The speaker told the chasan, "You are beginning a new life, chartering new waters, and you are afraid because you don’t know the path. But you do know where you came from. Remember the house you were brought up in, the chinuch you received, and that will help you find your path in your new life.
We can use this same mashal for this time of year after the yomim tovim have passed. Perhaps your inspiration has dwindled. It isn't the same as it was on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succos, and Simchas Torah. But you know where you came from. You know the thoughts and ideas you had then. Let those be your guide for the upcoming year. Follow your inspiration to know what you should do in the future.
