“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Hoshanah Rabbah - Erev Shabbos Kodesh Shemini Atzeres
21 Tishrei 5783/October 6, 2023
ANNUAL INVESTMENT
A few weeks ago, our family joined our
yeshiva, Heichal HaTorah, for a “yeshiva Shabbos” on the grounds of Camp
Nageela in Fallsburg, NY. After a beautiful Shabbos, we headed to the nearby
pizza shop for melava malka before heading home.
While we were there, the store was
relatively quiet with only a handful of other customers coming in to pick up
orders. I struck up a conversation with the frum worker who was managing the
store. He noted that only a few weeks earlier the store was packed on Motzei
Shabbos. But now that the summer season had come to an end, most of the summer
frequenters had returned to their communities, and business was much slower.
Although there were occasional holiday weekends during the coming months when
business picked up, for the most part it remained relatively quiet during the
winter. Essentially, the store generated sufficient revenue during the summer
months to make it worth staying open all year.
When I asked the manager if it was
worth it, he replied “we’ll see!” He added that this is the fourth year that
they have remained open, so it seems that it has been worth it so far.
Every Yom Tov we daven, “Vhasiainu
Hashem Elokainu es birchas moadecha - Load us up Hashem, our G-d, with
the blessing of Your festival (lit. set meeting).” Every Yom Tov has its own
spiritual focus and blessing. Yom Tov is not merely a break from our regular
routines. Rather, it is meant to be a time of investment when we can “stock up”
on the endemic blessing of the holiday so that its spiritual revenue remains
with us all year.
Rav Yechezkel Sarna zt”l would say
that when reciting Aleinu at the end of davening daily, he would mentally
connect with the sanctity of the Yomim Noraim, when Aleinu is recited during
the sublime moments of Mussaf.
A friend related that throughout the
year, whenever the Torah is being taken out, as he recites the words “Ki
miZion tetzei Torah” in his mind he sings the words in the tune jubilantly
sung on Simchas Torah. He does the same with the pesukim recited as the Torah
is being returned. It gives him a momentary throwback to the intense joy of
Simchas Torah.
In addition, throughout the year,
whenever we reference the mitzvah of remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim at the end
of Shema, it should spark within us a feeling of connection to the august
nostalgia of Seder night.
Rav Yitzchak Hutner zt”l was legendary
for his incredible ma’amarim, deep and penetrating constructs of
Torah outlook and thought, masterfully developed and elucidated. The ma’amarim were
long and deep, and required constant focus and understanding. (They have been
recorded for posterity in the seforim, Pachad Yitzchak.) Each ma’amar provides
its own foray into a nuanced explanation of the meaning, essence and depth of
one component of each Yom Tov. If one was able to comprehend the profundity of
a ma’amar, his understanding of the holiday was revolutionized and
galvanized forever.
Rav Hutner would convey those
fundamental thoughts specifically during the Yomim Tovim of the year. He felt
that such depth of thought could only be appreciated and internalized when one
is in a heightened state of spiritual joy, romimus hanefesh. That
state could only be achieved on Yom Tov, including Chanukah and Purim.
Our Yomim Tovim themselves demonstrate
the greatness and uniqueness of Klal Yisroel and the Torah. I convey to my
students that there will never be a Pachad Yitzchak about Thanksgiving or Labor
Day. One can relate the history of turkey on Thanksgiving, but there isn’t much
to say about the deeper symbolic meaning of how eating turkey connects
Americans to their ultimate mission and purpose.
In short, secular holidays are days
off; Yomim Tovim are days on!
We ask Hashem to please help us lock
in the blessings of the beautiful Chag. We hope we can maintain a spark of the
spiritual elevation we feel, so that it continues to inspire us and elevate us
throughout the year.
Piska Tava
& Git Kvitel
Shabbat Shalom
& Good Shabbos
Gut Yom Tov
& Chag Sameiach,
R’ Dani
and Chani Staum
