Quotation על פסחים 223:12
Kedushat Levi
This also enables us to answer a statement in Tanchuma on Parshat Emor, concerning Leviticus 23,40 ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון פרי עץ הדר וגו', “acquire for yourselves on the first day (of the Sukkot festival) the fruit of the citrus tree, etc.” The description “on the first day,” seems curious, as the day in question is the fifteenth of the month. The Midrash explains that the word “first” refers to the first day after the day of Atonement, which was followed by four days when any new sins committed were not inscribed in G’d’s ledger. At first glance this statement seems puzzling; what is the linkage of that statement to the Day of Atonement mentioned in the Torah 14 verses previously? The subject has drawn the attention of earlier commentators who have tried to come up with a plausible explanation.
Actually, the answer is relatively simple. Our chapter basically deals with festivals, though the period between New Year’s day and the day of Atonement hardly fits the description of “festivals,” seeing that during these days we are preoccupied almost exclusively with repentance, i.e. our mood is somber and introspective. Until the conclusion of the day of Atonement we are full of fear rather than filled with joy, as befits the festival days. The Torah had set aside the last of these ten days as one on which each one of us is to practice self-denials as part of the process of repentance. (Leviticus 23,29) so much so that anyone not following these instructions is warned that he will lose his share in the hereafter for having failed to do so. Anyone exploiting these ten days for repentance, however, has only fulfilled the minimum requirement, i.e. he has repented out of a fear of punishment. When the Day of Atonement has passed and we are preoccupied with the various commandments that enable us to celebrate Sukkot joyously, our mood undergoes a drastic change and we are happy to have the opportunity to fulfill the many commandments connected with that festival. The effect of all this is that our repentance, which previously could be attributed merely to our fear of punishment, has now become repentance from a feeling of love for G’d and His Torah. The effect of this is so powerful that iniquities we were guilty of before the ten day period of repentance, have now become the catalyst of our mitzvah performance so that in retrospect these iniquities also have become something constructive, as without the need to repent them and to take steps to rehabilitate ourselves we would never have done so.
The principal name of this festival, i.e. סכות, “huts,” in the sense of protective cover, symbolizes that we are prepared instead of seeking the relative safety of solid structures to dwell in, to rely on the flimsy cloud cover, reminding us that G’d watches over us. Seeing that this is a demonstration of our faith in Him, and the effectiveness of our repentance, the first day of this festival is like a new leaf in our post Yom Kippur life, and even any errors we may have committed during the days that intervened since Yom Kippur have not been recorded in our ledger as a debit. The word ראשון in the verse above therefore may be applied to the entire Sukkot festival, as it ushers in a new period in our lives. As a result of our preparations for this festival, G’d renews dispensing of His largesse for us with renewed energy. This reminds us of the statement in Pesachim 112 that the mother cow is even more desirous of providing the calf with its milk than the young calf is anxious to drink it.
Actually, the answer is relatively simple. Our chapter basically deals with festivals, though the period between New Year’s day and the day of Atonement hardly fits the description of “festivals,” seeing that during these days we are preoccupied almost exclusively with repentance, i.e. our mood is somber and introspective. Until the conclusion of the day of Atonement we are full of fear rather than filled with joy, as befits the festival days. The Torah had set aside the last of these ten days as one on which each one of us is to practice self-denials as part of the process of repentance. (Leviticus 23,29) so much so that anyone not following these instructions is warned that he will lose his share in the hereafter for having failed to do so. Anyone exploiting these ten days for repentance, however, has only fulfilled the minimum requirement, i.e. he has repented out of a fear of punishment. When the Day of Atonement has passed and we are preoccupied with the various commandments that enable us to celebrate Sukkot joyously, our mood undergoes a drastic change and we are happy to have the opportunity to fulfill the many commandments connected with that festival. The effect of all this is that our repentance, which previously could be attributed merely to our fear of punishment, has now become repentance from a feeling of love for G’d and His Torah. The effect of this is so powerful that iniquities we were guilty of before the ten day period of repentance, have now become the catalyst of our mitzvah performance so that in retrospect these iniquities also have become something constructive, as without the need to repent them and to take steps to rehabilitate ourselves we would never have done so.
The principal name of this festival, i.e. סכות, “huts,” in the sense of protective cover, symbolizes that we are prepared instead of seeking the relative safety of solid structures to dwell in, to rely on the flimsy cloud cover, reminding us that G’d watches over us. Seeing that this is a demonstration of our faith in Him, and the effectiveness of our repentance, the first day of this festival is like a new leaf in our post Yom Kippur life, and even any errors we may have committed during the days that intervened since Yom Kippur have not been recorded in our ledger as a debit. The word ראשון in the verse above therefore may be applied to the entire Sukkot festival, as it ushers in a new period in our lives. As a result of our preparations for this festival, G’d renews dispensing of His largesse for us with renewed energy. This reminds us of the statement in Pesachim 112 that the mother cow is even more desirous of providing the calf with its milk than the young calf is anxious to drink it.
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