Our
family received some difficult news a few weeks ago. A friend of mine in his late thirties was diagnosed with cancer. Besides our
concern for my friend, we are concerned for his wife and four young
children. Needless to say this upsetting
news reminded us both of our own mortality. As we have stood in judgment on
Rosh HaShanah, as we have appealed to God’s merciful aspect on Yom Kippur, we
now begin preparations for Sukkot. We build a sukkah, we decorate a sukkah, we
purchase our Lulav and Etrog, and we, actually my wife, prepares numerous
festive meals. Amid all these preparations I am reminded of the Torah’s command
concerning Sukkot Samachta b’Chagecha
– celebrate in your holiday. Then my
thoughts drift towards my friend. I wonder how anyone with real pain, real
tsuris such as this, how do they put it aside in order to Samachta
b’Chagecha?
On
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, the Intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot holiday, one of
the Five Scrolls is traditionally read.
On this particular Shabbat, we read from Sefer Kohelet, the scroll of
Ecclesiastes. According to the tradition, Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon,
towards the end of his life, wrote this Megillah, this scroll. Tradition has
this perspective because the language is not one of optimism but rather
realism. This is a person who as “seen it all” – Ein Kol Chadash Tachat HaShemesh – There is nothing new under the sun! There is a certain harsh
realism and a certain sense of harsh optimism. The author provides us with a no
holds barred sense of comfort. He does not coddle us. He does not baby us. He
doesn’t offer any artificially sweetened philosophy, or anything will dull our
pain, diminish our disappointment, or ease the fear of death. Rather the author
shoves our faces in “reality” and gives us a perspective on how to deal with a
world that may not be as wonderful as we thought when we were younger and more
innocent. Like our sages, I often wonder if one can derive any comfort.
Our
sages have asked, is why is such a text, a text that does not offer such
explicit hope, a text that does not offer explicit comfort, and is universally
recognized as a “downer” of a text, why is such a text read on the holiday that
is commonly regarded as Zman Simchateinu
– the time of our joy? Historically and agriculturally speaking, "the time of our joy" was the harvest season. In Eretz
Yisroel, the Autumn Harvest is complete. We unabashedly celebrate our joy on a
physical level because of a successful harvest. We also unabashedly celebrate
our joy for having been judged favorably by God, (Rosh HaShanah), having been
the recipients of God’s mercy (Yom Kippur). On Sukkot we are commanded to Samachta b’Chagecha – celebrate in your holiday. Yet this text
tempers our celebration. While the nature of the Sukkot holiday is to celebrate
our unrestrained joy in receiving God’s blessing, we also know that very often
it is human nature to forget God and celebrate our achievements and ourselves.
Kohelet reminds us that, like the fragile nature of the Sukkah itself, not
everything is as much in our control as we think. V’Zerach HaShemesh U’Vah HaShemesh – the sun rises and the sun sets- no matter what we do, no matter how
much control we may perceive that we have, at the end of the day, we are
ultimately powerless. God is the ultimate cause of all things. The sun rises
and sets because of God, not mankind. Kohelet helps us maintain our
perspective. Kohelet reminds us that we are not the center of the world.
Kohelet reminds us that for all the physical pleasures we seek, for the all the
material comforts we work hard to afford, such things are fleeting.
So how can such a text offer us comfort? Well if we have
the perspective of Kohelet, then we can understand how an elderly person, who
has seen everything: man’s goodness, man’s evil, the joy of life and the
futility of life, offers us comfort. With
control comes responsibility. With power comes responsibility. Kohelet teaches
us that we should celebrate the fact that we have so little control. Kohelet
teaches us that we should derive joy from the fact that we don’t need to worry
about the sunrise or the sunset. We shouldn’t be so overly joyous when good things occur nor overly upset when sad things occur. Intellectually
speaking, life and death is not within our control. Living our life is within
our control. Living the best possible life is within our control. Living a life
that has spiritual meaning and the acquisition of wisdom is the crux of our
existence, the purpose for our living. Perhaps that is what we the Torah means when we are told to Samachta B'Chagecha - celebrate in your Holy Day.
I
have spoken with my friend only a few times since I heard the news. We talked about his cancer, we
talked about the increased sense of “chaos” in his life, and loss of control. Remarkably, he innately understood Kohelet’s message. As we talked he
realized that there are certain things in his control; the most important things remain in his control: his
attitude, his perspective, and his outlook on life. Needless to say, he very much looks forward to celebrating Sukkot this year. I imagine the concept
of V’Samachta, V’Chagecha will be
even more meaningful when he sits in the Sukkah with his wife and children celebrating and cherishing his most precious blessings. He deeply and intuitively
understands the awe inspiring nature of being able to celebrate life under any
circumstance. Sof Davar Ha’Kol Nishmah
et Ha’Elohim Y’rah v’Et Mitzvotav Shmor
Ki Zeh Kol HaYamim- The sum of
the matter, when all has been considered: Be in Awe of God and keep his
Commandments, for that is man’s whole duty.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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