The Mishnah in Succah (27a) cites a dispute between Rebbi Eliezer and the Chachomim as to how many meals one is obligated to eat in the succah over Succos. Rebbi Eliezer says, one is obligated to eat 14 seudas, one every day and one every night. The Chachomim argue and say there is no fixed amount. Although we pasken like the Chachomim, many people are noheg [accustomed] to fulfil the opinion of Rebbi Eliezer, and try to eat 14 meals in the succah over Succos.
The Mishnah in Avos (3:4) teaches, that if three people sit at a table and don’t discuss any Torah it’s as if they have eaten from offerings which have been offered up to the dead (i.e., avodah zorah). This applies all year round, imagine how much worse eating in the succah and not saying any Torah is? Therefore, to ensure this doesn’t happen I have prepared 14 divrei Torah and 14 riddles, in order to ensure that you have what to discuss at every one of your 14 meals eaten in the succah.
Vort for Meal #1 - “Grand Opening - Going Out of Business!”
A story, which hopefully never happened, is told about a Yid who moved from Eretz Yisroel to New York with the hope of opening a store and making a parnassah. Although not knowing a word of English was a great disadvantage, nevertheless he was determined to discover what will draw the most customers to his store. He decided to walk down the streets and take notes from the various stores he passed, and see which ones were drawing the most attention. As he passed one store, he noticed a big crowd inside. He tried to figure out what it was that attracted so many people to this store. He then noticed in the storefront a huge banner that read, “Grand Opening.” Although he had no clue what those words meant, he figured that they must be what is attracting the enormous crowd. So, he took out a paper and copied those words down. Then, he continued his trek down the street, and a few stores down he noticed another store full of customers. Once again, he tried to figure out what it was about this store that was drawing so much attention. He then noticed a huge sign on the storefront that read, “Going Out of Business.” The Yid figured that this sign must be it! So again, without understanding at all what those words meant, he jotted them down and continued on his way.
A few days later, he was ready to start his business. He figured (with his “Gemara-kup”), that if each one of the signs he saw were able to draw so much attention on their own, then certainly if he put them both together, they will surely draw a bigger crowd! So he went to a place that makes banners and asked them to make him a huge banner that read, “Grand Opening - Going Out of Business!”
Obviously, when people saw the sign, they suspected that it must be some sort of scam, and just walked away.
This amusing scenario is unfortunately the reality of many people. As we walk out of shul after Yom Kippur, we feel good, we feel clean from our aveiros, and we are energized and inspired to be better people. However, faster than we could imagine, the inspiration dwindles, and we find ourselves more or less exactly where we were before Rosh Chodesh Elul. It’s like a “Grand Opening – Going Out of Business!” We get so uplifted and have a “Grand Opening” in our ascent in ruchniyus, but then, almost immediately afterwards, we “Go Out of Business.” Why does it have to be this way? Why do we have such difficulty holding up our “high” of the Yomim Nora’im?
The Higher We Go, The Harder the Challenge
R’ Shlomo Brevda zt”l once heard a powerful lesson from the Chazon Ish. When R’ Brevda was a bochur, he was once miraculously saved from a near-death situation r”l, and became sincerely inspired to become a better person because of it. However, the next morning, he woke up a lot later than anticipated, and ended up davening pretty much the same way that he had been doing before this life-changing incident. This bothered R’ Brevda tremendously, so he went to the Chazon Ish and shared his predicament. The Chazon Ish taught him a very important lesson. He said that the way Hashem made everything work in this world is zeh l'umas zeh – one opposite the other. Therefore, if a person becomes inspired by something which brings him closer to Hashem, the yetzer horah is given the ability to counteract that energy and motivation in order to bring him back down. Because the inspiration was so strong, that’s why it was faced with so much adversity from the yetzer horah, and that’s why his upward gain dwindled so quickly.
This is very relevant to us as well. As we walk away from the Yomim Nora’im, we are on such a high, but because of this high, we are faced with tremendous hardship in our Avodas Hashem that tries to pull us down and counteract the inspiration.
Grab Those Mitzvos
It is with Hashem’s infinite kindness that He gives us the “tools” to channel our inspirations from the Yomim Nora’im by giving us the lessons of Succos immediately afterwards to battle and counteract of the yetzer horah. How does this work?
The Gemara teaches us in the beginning of Maseches Succah (2a): צא מדירת קבע ושב בדירת עראי, which literally means, “Leave your permanent dwelling and sit in a temporary one.”
The Chida (Sefer Simchas Haregel) writes that this is one of the most important lessons that we must absorb from the Yom Tov of Succos – that we are not on this world forever. Just like we live in the succah temporarily, so too we are only in this world temporarily. We tend to live our lives as if we will be here forever, but in truth, our days are limited, and every moment is precious. The more we contemplate this lesson, the more focused we’ll be on grabbing as many mitzvos as possible that will in turn bring us to eternity in Olam HaBah.
Besides for the mitzvah of sitting in the succah, we have a second mitzvah during the Yom Tov of Succos, the mitzvah of simcha. What is the connection? Sitting in the succah, recognizing that we live in a temporary world, serves as a reminder that true happiness can only be attained when we keep the mitzvos that bring us to eternity; any other happiness and contentment is only temporary.
Keep It Strong
The message of Succos, as explained, is to remind us that this world is temporary, and we need to grab as many mitzvos as possible to prepare for the Eternal World, Olam HaBah. What can we do to keep this message vibrant year-round?
Harav Avrohom Ehrlinger zt”l told of an elderly Yid who learned in the Beis Medrash of one of the Yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel with the same diligence and fervor as the young bochurim there. Someone once asked him what gives him this incredible drive and motivation? He replied that it is because he accepted upon himself to learn the first perek of Mesilas Yeshorim every day. It is there that the Mesilas Yeshorim expounds at length about how this world was created to serve as a preparation for the next world. This is what gave this man the dedication he had for learning Torah, even in his later years.
Although it may not be practical to learn the first perek of Mesilas Yesharim every day, Rabbi Avigdor Miller zt”l suggested something that all of us can do, to set aside a few seconds a day to contemplate about Olam HaBah. Perhaps, as we enter into the Yom Tov of Succos, this is a practical concept that we can take with us from the lesson of the succah to ensure that after Yom Kippur we will not “Go Out of Business.” Rather, we will be able to keep the inspiration going throughout the year! (Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Weg)
