“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Succos
14 Tishrei 5778/ October
4, 2017
Shortly
before we left to camp this past June, our landscaper did some cleanup work
around our yard. That included clearing pieces of wood that had been stacked on
the side of our house for quite some time, left there by a lazy worker who had
done construction in our basement a while back.
Our
landscaper brought the pieces of wood and boards to the top of our property,
where the garbage men would be able to easily clear them away. The problem was
that the garbage men did not clear it away. After a few weeks, we inquired and
were informed that they do not pick up construction materials, and apparently
our few pieces of wood were deemed ‘construction materials’. We were expected
to bring it to some other location and to pay for its removal. There was also another
unofficial option - to catch the garbage men on pickup day, offer them a few
cold beers and twenty dollars, and they would be sure to take it, despite
official policy.
Being
that we never seemed to be there at the same time as the garbage men, those
pieces of lumber sat at the top of our driveway throughout the summer. It
became a real eye sore for us, especially when they were still there when we
arrived home from camp.
Then,
last week, a friend noted that a neighbor of ours is doing construction and has
a dumpster in front of his house. He probably wouldn't care if I threw in a few
extra pieces. Indeed, our neighbor didn't mind at all. So, on Thursday night,
the night before Yom Kippur, I loaded those annoying pieces of lumber into the
back of our van, and disposed of them once and for all.
It
was a great feeling to finally be rid of the debris that had been there for
months.
Someone
asked me recently, what is the difference between Aseres Yimei Teshuva and the
rest of the year. After all, don't we know that sincere repentance can be
accomplished throughout the year? Can't we call out in tefillah to Hashem at
all times?
The
difference is that throughout the year, repentance is indeed attainable but it
requires a far greater initiation and effort by the penitent. During the Aseres
Yimei Teshuva however, there is a 'spiritual dumpster sitting on the lawn',
waiting for us to cast our sins in there. Undoubtedly, casting away our
spiritual debris requires sincere effort; however, it is far easier than the
rest of the year when such sins need to be "carted off", and only
then cast away. Doing teshuva during these days is part of the zeitgeist, and
the atmosphere in the air helps us along.
The
next morning, I had a further observation:
The
Medrash Tamchuma (Emor, 22)
curiously states that the first day of succos is the “first (day) for the
calculation of sins”. The Medrash then asks why the day after Yom Kippur isn't
the first day for the calculation of sins? It would seem that during the day
after we have been forgiven, we have to immediately begin reckoning the sins of
the new year?
The
Medrash answers that during the days between Yom Kippur and Succos one is so
busy readying himself for Succos and all of its endemic mitzvos (erecting his
succah and purchasing his daled minim) that he has no time to sin. Therefore,
it is only on the first day of Succos that one begins to calculate his sins.
When
I arrived home the night after I carted off all the lumber from the top of our
driveway, I couldn't fully appreciate the fact that it was gone. But the
following morning, as I got into my car, and saw the empty space and how nice
it looked after three months, it was a very good feeling.
During
the days between Yom Kippur and Succos we are consumed with preparation for the
upcoming holiday. But when the Yom Tov begins and we enter our regal succah,
and are permeated with a feeling of august holiness, it strikes us that the
weight of the sins we carried with us for so long, is gone. It is only then
that we can fully appreciate our Herculean efforts throughout the days when we
were engaged Teshuva. The first day of succos then, is our first opportunity to
begin calculating all of the sins and guilt that we have divested ourselves of.
It
is all part of the sublime joy of this incredible holiday, the consequence of
taking out the spiritual debris and being cleansed and purified.
Freilichen
Yom Tov & Chag Sameiach,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum