Simchat
Torah and Sukkot
Unleashing the Power
of Joy and Dance
Transcribed
and translated from previous recordings of
HaRav
Eliezer Berland Shlit”a
”And you shall rejoice in your festivals” (devarim 16:14)
Even though during all of the Jewish
Holidays there is a mitzvah to rejoice, on the Holiday of Sukkot it is a
mitzvah of it’s own! The verse “And you shall rejoice in your festivals”
is said about Sukkot. On Sukkot in the Bet Hamikdash there was unusual Joy. The
Sages established extra Joy for the Holiday of Sukkot, multiplied Joy! The
entire Holiday was set aside for non-stop dancing and rejoicing!
Certainly one must study Torah as well,
for if a person doesn’t have Torah he lacks the ability to dance [from holiness
and purity], as Rebbe Nachman explains (LM2 31): “Through melody
it can be recognized on a person if they accepted upon themselves the yolk of
Torah, and the sign is “On their shoulders they will yisa’u (lift it)”
(Bamidmar 4) as our Sages expound (arachin 11) “There is no mention of the word
yisa’u in the Torah without reference to song as it says ‘sa’u zimra -
raise up song’”, and this verse was said in regards to the sons of Kehat whose
jobs were to lift up the Holy Ark on their shoulders which refers to one
accepting upon themselves the yolk of Torah.”
One who accepts upon himself the Yolk of
Torah can sing, dance and make music.
In the Bet Hamikdash there was extraordinary
joy as the Torah itself says “And you shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d
seven days”, it’s a mitzvah d’oraita, a Biblical Commandment! This
commandment is not said by Pesach, not by Shavuot, it is said only by Sukkot.
It is a biblical commandment to rejoice constantly for seven days! The Torah
commanded us to rejoice and dance non-stop, day and night, for 7 days!
How would they do this?
They would bring every musical
instrument, they would play with violin, harps, and cymbals etc. Each and every
person would play with the instrument he’s familiar with. But the dancing? The strongest,
stormiest dancing? The dancing while juggling? This only the greatest Tzadikim
would do! The moment the dancing began only the greatest loftiest holiest Tzadikim
would dance; they would do flips, cartwheels, somersaults etc., like it says
about King David. Only esteemed men who toiled all day in Torah and Mitzvos and
faithfully taking care of the needs of the community, who didn’t sleep all
night and day, who sacrificed their entire beings for G-d and His People – only
they were the ones who would be dancing, flipping and spinning in the Holy
Temple.
Nowadays, it is incumbent on every Jew to
dance and rejoice during these holy days, and to know that this happiness and
dancing is a great and awesome rectification for the soul. A person does not
know which kind of harsh spiritual judgements are waiting for him in the coming
year. The Rebbe says (LM 206), A person sins and harms his soul, at first
things continue to go well for him, Hashem then begins to send him slight hints,
if he still doesn’t get it Hashem calls to him louder, until the person starts
getting kicked and pounded with suffering.
You sinned? Do teshuva! The same Torah
that told you it’s a sin tells you about teshuva! But if you don’t do teshuva
then maybe after some suffering something will start to sink in, you will begin
to do teshuva, begin to sob over your spiritual blemishes, get shaken up a drop!
If not, then G-d forbid, a spouse will get sick, if not a spouse then the
children G-d forbid!
The Rebbe promised that he will fix
everything, but the question is how will he fix? Which suffering much a person
prevail in order to receive his fixing. Sometimes it hurts to go to a doctor,
and if someone is really sick the surgery can be painful. We are Jews! Nothing
is rectified for free! By the Christians nothing is needed to be done, just go
to the Priest and confess to him once a year and he says ‘forgiven forgiven’
afterwards everyone continues as before. By Jews there is no such thing! For
sins a person must pay! On every transgression he must pay! If a person doesn’t
do teshuva, and doesn’t wake up then he starts getting hit with suffering as it
says “There is no suffering without sin”.
There are 22 days from Rosh Hashana until
Simchat Torah to fix everything. Kabalistically, from Rosh Hashana until Yom
Kippur the Judgements and sweetened, we sweetened our yetzer harah that
it shouldn’t control us. Now from Yom Kippur until Simchat Torah there are 12
days for forgiveness of sins, we are now building the New Year. Until now we
got the Ktiva and Chatima writing and sealing of the decree. Rosh
Hashana is the sealing for the complete Tzadikim, Yom Kippur for the beinonim
regular people. Now is the time to build! The building is on Sukkot! With joy!
Dance! Song! Fervorous prayer! And according to how much a person sings and
dances during these days that is how he builds the coming year.
Through dancing and singing all of a
person sins are forgiven. What is the Hebrew word for dance? Machol. Machol
means to be forgiven! All of a person’s sins are forgiven! Through the Mecholot
dancing not one sin remains! No sins! No Judgements! The Arizal says that in
addition to the joy which we are commanded on Simchat Torah, whoever rejoices
and dances on the night after Simchat Torah, dances until dawn, he merits that
all his sins will be completely nullified!
The dancing and the joy are what’s
building the coming year. Through dancing one imbues healing into the coming
year, through dancing one imbues salvation and all of one needs into the coming
year, the spiritual consciousness of the coming year, the heart of the coming
year.
With the help of Hashem we will merit
this year, through the joy, the singing and dancing - forgiveness of sins and sweetening
of judgements, and the complete redemption speedily in our days, Amen!
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