Sukkot: Joy and Fragility

(מ) וּלְקַחְתֶּ֨ם לָכֶ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הָרִאשׁ֗וֹן פְּרִ֨י עֵ֤ץ הָדָר֙ כַּפֹּ֣ת תְּמָרִ֔ים וַעֲנַ֥ף עֵץ־עָבֹ֖ת וְעַרְבֵי־נָ֑חַל וּשְׂמַחְתֶּ֗ם לִפְנֵ֛י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִֽים׃

Leviticus 23:40

(40) On the first day you shall take the product of hadar*hadar Others “goodly”; exact meaning of Heb. hadar uncertain. Traditionally the product is understood as “citron.” trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy*leafy Meaning of Heb. ‘aboth uncertain. trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before your God יהוה seven days.

דברים ט״ז:י״ג-ט״ו

(יג) חַ֧ג הַסֻּכֹּ֛ת תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בְּאׇ֨סְפְּךָ֔ מִֽגׇּרְנְךָ֖ וּמִיִּקְבֶֽךָ׃ (יד) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ (טו) שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים תָּחֹג֙ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֣י יְבָרֶכְךָ֞ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ בְּכֹ֤ל תְּבוּאָֽתְךָ֙ וּבְכֹל֙ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔יךָ וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ׃

Deuteronomy 16:13-15

(13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You*You See note at 12.7. shall hold a festival for your God יהוה seven days, in the place that יהוה will choose; for your God יהוה will bless all*all Lit. “you in all.” your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.

קהלת א׳:ב׳-ג׳

(ב) הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃ (ג) מַה־יִּתְר֖וֹן לָֽאָדָ֑ם בְּכׇ֨ל־עֲמָל֔וֹ שֶֽׁיַּעֲמֹ֖ל תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

(2) Utter futility!—said Koheleth—
Utter futility! All is futile! (3) What real value is there for a person
In all the gains he makes beneath the sun?

D'Var Torah By: Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin

Sukkot, however, is purely about gratitude. Everything has been brought in. Sukkot is the holiday of joy because it marks the completion of the work. Maybe it was a successful year, maybe not, but either way, there is no longer anything we can do to affect the result. Certainly, we should learn from the process that has passed, but for the moment, there is no longer anything we can control about the year that was. And, as we enter the colder months, we are not yet ready to prepare for the year that is to come. The agricultural year is over, so Torah urges us to feel content and joyful simply because it is the end of the cycle.

ילקוט שמעוני על התורה תרנ״ד:א׳

אתה מוצא שלש שמחות כתיב בחג ושמחת בחגך. והייתי אך שמח ושמחתם לפניי ה' אלהיכם שבעת ימים. אבל בפסח אין אתה מוצא שכתוב בו אפילו שמחה אחת למה. אתה מוצא שבפסח התבואה נידונית ואין אדם יודע אם עושה השנה [תבואה] אם אינו עושה [לפיכך אין כתוב שם שמחה].

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 654:1

The expression of rejoicing occurs three times in connection with Sukkot...but no such expression occurs even once with regard to Pesach. Why? Because the fate of one's crops is still in balance on Pesach, and one does not know whether there will be a yield or not.

Is joy made stronger by fragility?

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