Happiness Under All Conditions
Parashat Re'eh concludes with the command to celebrate the festival of Sukkot. The Torah instructs: "You shall rejoice on your festival... For seven days, you shall celebrate before Hashem your G-d... for Hashem your G-d will bless you with all your grain, and in all your endeavors; and you shall only be joyous" (16:14-15).
Twice in these verses, the Torah appears to command us to rejoice on Sukkot. It first commands, "Ve'samahta be'hagecha" ("You shall rejoice on your festival"), and then says, "Ve'hayita ach same'ah" ("You shall be only joyous"). What is the meaning of this dual imperative?
Rashi cites two interpretations of these verses. First, he suggests, the Torah adds "Ve'hayita ach same'ah" not as a command, but rather as a promise. If we properly fulfill the mitzvah of simha (rejoicing) on Sukkot, we will be assured to experience genuine happiness and joy throughout the coming year. Secondly, Rashi cites the Gemara's understanding of the phrase "Ve'hayita ach same'ah" as extending this obligation to the eighth day, the day of Shemini Atzeret. The Torah first introduces the mitzvah of rejoicing during the seven days of Sukkot and then adds that we must also joyously celebrate on the eighth day.
Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, in his Meshech Hochma, suggests a different explanation of "Ve'hayita ach same'ah." He notes that in the first verse, the Torah commands celebrating the year's crop, which is gathered into the warehouses around the time of Sukkot – "You shall rejoice... for Hashem your G-d will bless you with all your grain..." The celebration of Sukkot is integrally linked to the harvest, to the farmer's joy upon completing that year's agricultural cycle, having just now brought all his produce into storage for the winter.
However, Rav Meir Simcha notes, there are some years when no produce is collected. Every seven years, farmers must observe shemitta, refraining from agricultural work for an entire year, and granting all people free access to their fields. At the end of the shemitta year, the farmer does not harvest anything because he had not worked the fields, and anything that grew was taken by other people. Rav Meir Simcha thus suggests that the additional command "Ve'hayita ach same'ah" refers to the Sukkot after the shemitta year.
The Torah emphasizes that even during this year, when there is no harvest to be thankful for, the farmer must still observe a festive Yom Tov and celebrate his relationship with Hashem.
Baruch Hashem, most of us have "filled warehouses" for which to be grateful to Hashem. The vast majority of us have an income, a home, and the ability to purchase all that we need, and much more. But the Torah here teaches us that even when our "warehouses" are not "filled," even in times of financial uncertainty, we can and must still retain our joy. We must be able to celebrate our relationship with Hashem and the privilege we have to serve Him under all conditions, even in times of hardship. No matter what we are going through, we can find comfort and joy in the knowledge that we are Hashem's beloved children and that He has chosen us as His servants. The command "Ve'hayita ach same'ah" calls upon us to experience joy in our connection to Hashem at all times and under all circumstances, even during life's more challenging moments.
RABBI SHRAGA FREEDMAN
RABBI ELI MANSOUR
