Suffering on Sukkot??

Moadim l'simcha (& gut moed to all my Ashkenazi readers) :)

Did you know there is an actual mitzvah from the Torah to be happy during these 7 (or for you chutznikim, 8!) days of chag??
Sure, I mean, we all know that already, right? Because don't we sing that song "v'samachta b'chagecha v'hayita ach sameach!!! whoa whoa v'samachta b'chagecha vhayita aaaaacccchhh sameach!! oy oy oy oy!"

Did you know that Sukkot is actually the happiest of the shalosh regalim, and it is the time that HaShem is the "happiest" as well?!
The Alshich teaches us:
On Pesach, HaShem's joy was impaired because Am Yisrael were still mired in the impurity of Egypt, to the point that they had to purify themselves for 7 weeks before receiving the Torah.
On Shavuot, His happiness was dampened because He foresaw that soon after receiving the Torah, Bnei Yisrael would commit the grave sin of the golden calf.
But on Sukkot, right after Yom Kippur, HaShem forgave Bnei Yisrael for that sin (and forgives us every year) and commanded Moshe to begin building the Mishkan, which symbolizes closeness to HaShem.

The Vilna Gaon said that the most difficult mitzvah of the 613 mitzvoth is "you shall rejoice on your festival" because it entails being joyful for eight days of Yom Tov, avoiding worrisome and sorrowful thoguhts, allowing nothing to interefere with the simcha of the Yom Tov."
And boy, does the yetzer hara know how to give us thoughts to interfere with our happiness during these holy days!

To add meaning and happiness to our chag, let's dwell on a few thoughts, shall we?
-The mitzvah of sukkah is not exclusive to eating in the sukkah. Chazal teach us that we should hang out, learn, and sleep in the sukkah, just as we would in our own homes!
But wait. Isn't that soo hard? Depending on your climate, it's either hot or cold outside. There're flies. There's no heat or AC (in most sukkahs, anyway). There're no comfy couches. So why are we making this effort?
The Zohar describes the sukkah as "tzila dimehemenuta", the shadow of faith. Why? Because the sukkah symbolizes the protective shade of the Shechina!
So, by merely sitting in the sukkah, one can gain tremendous closeness to the Shechina. Isn't that a chessed? Isn't that a huge zchut?
-Hayashar v'hatov teaches us that we should NOT think that by ordering us to move from our oh-so-comfortable homes into the drafty sukkah, G-d wants to impose hardship on us and make us suffer! On the contrary! HaShem commanding us to be in the sukkah is a sign that He loves us, delights in our wellbeing, and tenderly protects us from hardship.
-So how many mitzvoth do we get on sukkot? 9,893,184 mitzvoth, actually! WOW!
How so?
The Divrei Yoel shares a fascinating insight:
Chazal tell us that every moment one sits in the sukkah, he is fulfilling a mitzvah. Let's figure out how many mitzvoth one can fulfill during the entire week of sukkot.
The Gemara (Brachot 7a) says that an hour is divided into 58,888 moments. One who stays in the sukkah for 24 hours fulfills 1,413,312 mitzvot (24 x 58,888). By staying in the sukkah for seven days, one can fulfill 9,893,183 mitzvot! (7 x 1,413,312)
Is that amazing or what?

So, if you're feeling down this sukkot, just think about how much HaShem loves us. How much He wants to be close to us, and for us to be close to Him, and how His Shechina is enveloping us in the holy sukkah.
Remember, the only true happiness in this world comes from being close to HaShem, fulfilling mitzvot, and being happy with our lot in this world. So, smile! :)

Wishing everyone a happy, holy, kosher, and meaningful chag sukkot!

May Flowers

Each Jew represents one letter in the sefer Torah. If even one letter is missing in a sefer Torah, then that sefer is pasul and can't be used. Similarly, every single member of Klal Yisrael is significant. If even one is on your hate/grude/lashon hara list, then Klal Yisrael is not complete. If there is hate among Am Yisrael, then it is as if we are creating a pasul Sefer Torah!

We are now in the mourning period during sefirat haomer. (According to some, the mouring starts in chodesh Iyar.) We remember Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students who perished because they disrespected each other. The Gmara refers to them not as 24,000 students, rather as 12,000 pairs. There's a great question about this Gmara. Why use the fancy language of 12,000 PAIRS? Why not just outright state 24,000?
A possible answer is that each individual respected his other half/pair (ie: chavruta). However, when it came to other people - the respect wasn't there.
A person's chavruta thinks similarly to him. It's easy to respect those who are similar to us and respect us. However, the challenge arises when our fellow Jew is DIFFERENT from us.

In this past week's parsha, parshat Kedoshim, HaShem teaches us the mitzvah of "v'ahavta l're'acha kamocha" - love your fellow Jew as you love yourself. It is no coincidence that this commandment falls during sefirat haomer/the mourning period. How can we deal with those who frustrate us? Be it because of personality, religious, social/ethnic clashes, etc.
-We must try to find the positive attributes in every person. Nobody is perfect, but there is also nobody who is completely flawed.
-Try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person. Ask yourself - "if I were him/her, how would I feel in this situation?" Find a benefit of the doubt/zchut/excue/rationalization for their behavior.
-You do not need to AGREE with a person in order to love him/her. You can say "I neither like nor agree with the lifestyle/attitude this person has." You can love someone who is sinning, irritating, rude, etc. Hate the dreadful action, not the person.

Shavua tov u'mevurach!

Take A Second Look

I passionately typed up a whole post about what a "bad" week I was having. You know, a week where everything seems to be going wrong?
But then I remembered: absolutely not! I'm the one who's wrong...not the week! A bad week isn't really a bad week. On the contrary...
a bad week is a good week!

It all depends on one's definition of bad. If bad means that it wasn't easy -- well, then that's not bad! Because the whole point of existence is to be challenged. (See above link.) Each one of us has a mission, and every single one of our missions involves closeness to HaShem. We need a relationship with HaShem.

I hope that G-d blessed each one of you with at least one good friend. I think of each one of my close friendships. What makes them my close friends? That we've had happy times together? Sure. But it's typical to have a "nice" time with someone. That's not rare. That's not what makes you CLOSE to somebody. It's adversity that makes you close to one another. Each one of my close friends have opened up to me, spilled their guts out, cried their eyes out, and complained. And vice versa with me. They were (and are) there for me when I'd call at 2 AM.
Friendships should teach us about our relationship with HaShem. How do we achieve closeness? Only through "nice" times?
HaShem needs to send us yisurim -- not merely for a kapara/atonement for our sins, but also to prompt us to grow close to Him! To prompt us to tell Him what's on our minds, why our hearts are heavy, what our goals, hopes, and dreams are.
Our problems and the method through which we overcome them really shape us to be who we are.

This past Motzei Shabbat (last night), I noticed a lady on the steet staring at me. Hmm, why was she staring at me? I had a nice winter outfit on (cute hat and all), but that couldn't be the sole reason. I recognized that look. It wasn't an admiration stare. It was a you-are-a-weirdo stare. And then I realized...
I was having a conversation with HaShem. I didn't even realize that I was doing it out loud --- aka not in my head! :)

Earlier today, I was driving and wanted to listen to my favorite CD. I lent it to a friend, so I decided to pop a different one in. It was the perfect song for sending me clarity: Itzik Eshel's "Hoshea Na."
The line that changed my entire mood: (roughly translated from Hebrew): "even when it's difficult for me, and I'm very hurt...I'll still call to You, loving Father. Please send me salvation; send me success."
It's far more powerful in Hebrew, but you get my drift. By sending us all of these hardships, HaShem is sending us a precious gift...opportunities to grow closer to Him! HaShem isn't giving up on any of us, and we certainly shouldn't give up on Him! If there's any advice I could ever give the world, it's that emunah and tefillah are the keys to all of the real successes in life.
Have a wonderful week :)