Sukkos, which is Zeman Simchaseinu, is really a continuation of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah made us especially precious and dear to Hashem. Yom Kippur cleaned us and purified us. Now we are ready for the days of joy.
The joy of Sukkos has a certain form and shape. Hashem brings us into His home, so to speak, which is the sukkah. We live the presence of Hashem. And we have good “neighbors”: the Ushpizin. Avraham, Moshe, David... It builds us up so that we truly live our lives with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. This is the main goal of Chag Hasukkos.
Our avodas Hashem when we are in the sukkah is joy. And we attain this state of joy by recognizing that only the atmosphere of the sukkah is pleasant and desirable to us. This is the company we prefer; this is where we want to be. That’s the simchah of Sukkos. We are happy to be with Hashem and the Avos Hakedoshim. This is how we like it!
In this time of simchah, we eat, drink and enjoy. And we daven to Hashem. When a person is in good spirits, he is willing to grant things that you can’t even ask him for at other times. And so it is with Hashem. Let us grab this time of simchah to daven for the things we so deeply wish to come true.
So Much to be Happy About
In Elul and Yamim Nora’im we recite: לדוד ה' אורי וישעי וגו' כי יצפנני בסוכה ביום רעה. The word אורי is Rosh Hashanah, and ישעי is Yom Kippur, and בסוכה refers to Sukkos.
We similarly recite in the Amidah: מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן. The word מלך is Rosh Hashanah, עוזר is Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, מושיע is Yom Kippur – when only Hashem can save us – and מגן is Sukkos. On Sukkos, Hashem protects and “shields” us: כי יצפנני בסוכה ביום רעה.
We start with Melech – Rosh Hashanah. Hashem becomes the focus of our life. We are servants of the King, and our lives revolve around Him, not around our own needs and interests. How do we adjust ourselves to walking with such a great and lofty King, Who takes such wide steps, so to speak? Ozeir. Our King “helps” us to walk with Him.
However, we are still burdened with impurity. How can we accompany such a holy King? Moshia. He cleanses and purifies us, thus “saving” us from our tum’ah and sin. Since Hashem is doing the cleansing, we emerge incredibly clean without even a microscopic spot of filth.
After this whole wondrous process of אורי וישעי, this process of מלך עוזר ומושיע, we are pure and clean. Now we need protection. Because without protection we could fall down and get all dirty again. And that is all too easy.
