(משיחת שמחת בית השואבה ה’תשכ”ד)
A. Historical Background
At the end of seventy years of Babylonian exile, Ezra led the Jewish people back to Jerusalem where they celebrated Sukkot with great joy, “for it had not been celebrated since the days of Joshua” (Source 1).
How can it be said that the Jews did not celebrate Sukkot until then? The commentaries explain that for all those earlier years it wasn’t done in the most optimal manner, and that is why there was great joy in the time of Ezra. (Source 2).
The Rebbe asks: Why wasn’t Sukkot celebrated with such joy in the days of King David and Solomon, and only in Ezra’s time, when they weren’t even completely liberated yet?
B. The Meaning of the Primary Festivals
There are two central festivals in the year: Sukkot, concluding with Shemini Atzeret, and Passover, which ends with Shavuot.
Passover represents the Divine service of the always-righteous person; Passover was the “conversion” of all the Jewish people, and we derive laws of conversion from this event (Source 3). A new convert is compared to a newborn child (Source 4) and is thus on the level of the always-righteous (Source 5). Sukkot, however, symbolizes the Divine service of the penitent; historically it followed the sin of the golden calf and theJews’ repentance over it, and annually, it follows the Ten Days of Repentance.
This is why the Jews are divided into four kinds specifically on Sukkot, as the Midrash explains the meaning behind the mitzvah of taking the Four Kinds (Source 6). On Passover, the Jews were likened to newborns, and then, when everyone was just starting out in life, they were all equal. On Sukkot, however, after the sin and repentance for the golden calf, there were different levels of penitents, and accordingly, different kinds of Jews.
The Rebbe emphasizes that all four kinds of Jews repented completely and received G-d’s forgiveness, but were at different levels depending on the magnitude of their sin and the level of their repentance. Quoting the Zohar and the Midrash, the Rebbe says that all kinds of Jews are accepted by G-d (Source 7).
C. A Joyous Holiday
The Yalkut Shimoni observes that the Torah doesn’t use the word “joy” once for Passover, but uses it three times for Sukkot. (The simple explanation is that Sukkot is more joyous because of the people’s economic standing. At that time of the year, the crops had sufficiently dried and were taken into the storehouses [Source 8]).
According to what we learned, we can now understand on a deeper level why Sukkot is so joyous: the repentance increases the joy. The verse states “peace, peace to the far and near,” and the Sages expound that G-d blesses everyone with peace, but first blesses those who were far and drew near. When the far become close, this elicits special joy.
This explains the great joy of Sukkot for those returning to Israel from exile. When the Jews entered Israel during Joshua’s days, they were on the level of the always-righteous, and they celebrated Sukkot accordingly. When Ezra came up to Israel after the destruction of the First Temple due to severe transgressions, the Jews repented and brought G-d presence down again, causing the tremendous joy they experienced.
