The question is asked, why does the Torah use different expressions when speaking about the שמחה of סוכות. Regarding the Yom Tov itself, the Torah says, “ושמחת בחגך” — you shall rejoice on your Yom Tov. Regarding the ד' מינים it says, “ושמחתם לפני ה' אלקיכם” — you shall rejoice before Hashem. Yet regarding שמיני עצרת the Torah says, “והיית אך שמח” — you shall be only happy.
Why does the Torah describe the same mitzvah of שמחה in different ways, and what is the deeper meaning of these expressions? The Midrash teaches that after the seven days of סוכות, Hashem says to Klal Yisrael, “קשה עלי פרידתכם” — your separation is difficult for Me. Hashem therefore asks us to remain with Him for one more day, שמיני עצרת.
We can ask: פסח also lasts seven days. Why, then, does Hashem not say after פסח, “Your separation is difficult for Me; stay with Me for one more day”? Why is this special additional day given only after סוכות?
The Ruzhiner Rebbe zt”l explains that during סוכות, Klal Yisrael brought seventy bulls, corresponding to the seventy nations of the world. At that time, the deeds of Klal Yisrael and the deeds of the nations come before Hashem. When Hashem sees the difference between Klal Yisrael and the nations, His great love for His children is awakened.
Therefore, specifically at the end of סוכות, Hashem says, “קשה עלי פרידתכם” — your separation is difficult for Me. After seeing the special greatness of Klal Yisrael, Hashem desires to remain with them alone for one more day and says, “Stay with Me for another day” — the Yom Tov of שמיני עצרת.
This message is especially meaningful during our long גלות. At times, we may feel that we are not serving Hashem on the level that we should. Yet when Klal Yisrael is compared to the nations of the world, we can recognize how precious and special every Yid truly is to Hashem. Despite all our shortcomings, Hashem sees the unique greatness of His children, and his great love for Klal Yisrael is awakened.
Accordingly, we can explain the difference between the שמחה of סוכות and the שמחה of שמיני עצרת. On סוכות, our happiness comes from the special Mitzvos of the Yom Tov — sitting in the סוכה and taking the ד' מינים. On שמיני עצרת, however, our joy comes from something even deeper. There are no special Mitzvos such as סוכה or ד' מינים; Rather, our greatest joy is simply being together with Hashem and knowing how precious Klal Yisrael is to Him. The שמחה of שמיני עצרת is the joy of celebrating the special love and closeness between Hashem and His children.
As the Zohar teaches regarding שמיני עצרת, “אשריך ישראל מי כמוך עם נושע בה'” and “ישראל אשר בך אתפאר.” On this special day, our שמחה is simply the שמחה of knowing how beloved Klal Yisrael is to Hashem.
This is the unique שמחה of שמיני עצרת. Our happiness does not depend upon any particular Mitzvah of the day. Rather, it is the pure joy of knowing how precious and beloved Klal Yisrael is to Hashem, and how proud Hashem is of His children.
We can explain this further with a משל from the דובנא מגיד; A wealthy man once returned home from a long journey, bringing many presents with him. For his wife’s children from her first marriage, he brought many large and expensive gifts. But for his own children, he brought only small gifts.
When asked why, he explained: “The other children are happy because of the presents I bring them, so I must give them many gifts. But my own children should be happy mainly because their father has come home and they can once again be together with him. I do not want their excitement over the presents to take away from their joy of simply being with their father. For my own children, small gifts are enough.”
The נמשל is the same. During סוכות, many קרבנות were brought corresponding to the nations of the world, because their happiness depends on the blessings and gifts they receive from Hashem. But on שמיני עצרת, when Hashem remains alone with Klal Yisrael, only one bull and one ram are brought.
Klal Yisrael does not need many “gifts” in order to rejoice. Our greatest happiness is simply being close to our אבינו שבשמים. This is the special joy of שמיני עצרת — the joy of being alone with Hashem and knowing how much He loves us.
Perhaps this is why the Torah says, “והיית אך שמח” — you shall be only happy. On שמיני עצרת, there is nothing else needed to create our שמחה. The very fact that we are Hashem’s beloved children, privileged to remain alone with Him for one more day, is itself our greatest joy.
Story
אתה הראת לדעת - When Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev zt”l returned to his father-in-law’s home after spending time with his Rebbe, Rav Shmelke of Nikolsburg zt”l, his father-in-law asked him, “What did you learn from your Rebbe?” Rav Levi Yitzchak answered, “I learned that there is a Creator of the world.”
His father-in-law called over the maid and asked her, “Do you know that there is a Creator of the world?”
“Of course,” she replied.
Rav Levi Yitzchak then explained the difference in a few powerful words:
“She says it — but I know it.” It is one thing to believe in Hashem. It is an entirely different level to know and feel it with absolute certainty, until it becomes a living reality in our lives.
Wishing you a good Shabbos and a חג שמח
Rabbi Ari Spiegel – [email protected]