Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur have passed. Each of us would like something from those days could remain for the rest of the year, not lose their influence and ensure a true sweet year and blessings.
Rabbi Jayim Fridlander, Zt “L, in his book” Sifté Jayim “, explains how we can get there.
“In the Zohar (Räya Mehemná, parashat Emor) we can find the following, regarding the flight of Yaäcov from Ësav:” At first he sent him gifts – just as on Yom Kippur the scapegoat was sent to the Azazel – and then escaped of him and hid in Succoth: “Since the great accuser of Yakov went away with the presents he sent to Ësav, Di’s wanted to rejoice with his sons, as it is written:” And Yakov traveled to Succoth and built there a dwelling … for this reason the place was called Sukkot. Because Yaacov and his sons settled on Succoth they were protected from the Great Accuser, and Di’s – then – rejoiced with his children. “
Having passed Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, Sukkot arrives – just like our father Yaacov, who wanted to assure himself and his children, never to bow to the bad instinct (who is also the Great Accuser), for that reason he fled to take shelter on Sukkot.
What great merit can the Sukkot celebration have that by its power we manage to protect ourselves from the malign influence of the Low Instinct?
In the Zohar it appears that whoever sits in the Sukkah is within the Clouds of Faith. With the simple fact of remaining within it the person is filled with spiritual strength and his trust in the Eternal solidifies. In a nutshell; The Sukkah teaches us a lesson about how God supervises all creation.
It is true that on the fearsome days of Rosh HaShanah and Kippur we were moved, we decided to return to the Creator of the universe and we were strengthened in our faith and traditions, the question is: And then what? In what way will it be possible for us to fulfill and take care of all the decisions made in those high moments?
The advice is: “Let’s hide in the Sukkah”, strengthening the fact that we are always before His Presence, practicing during the year the feeling that God constantly observes us and supervises our actions, protects us from all evil and fills us with blessings as long as we trust Him. “
And in practice, what most gives us the possibility of feeling His Presence are the blessings we recite throughout the day; from the morning when we get up, every time we eat, etc. For in this way we constantly remember that He Who provides us with everything is only the Almighty.
Jag Sameaj and Shabbat Shalom
Yair Ben Yehuda