Feeling Joy

There is no holiday in the Jewish calendar that places so much emphasis on joy as Succot. There are three different references in the Torah, that connect the idea of Simcha, or happiness, with this holiday.

It is strange that there is a commandment to be happy. This is an emotion that a person feels. How can we be expected to feel joyful, simply because this is a Torah commandment.

It appears that there is a connection to this entire holiday period. If the proper intention was paid to all of the preparations before this before the month of Tishrei, this is part of the process.

During the month of Elul, the Shofar was blown each morning. The week before Rosh Hashanah, we began the Selichot service.

The Ten Days of Teshuvah between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, were very intense. The peak of this period was a full day of fasting and asking for forgiveness, on Yom Kippur.

We have been elevated as a people with this injection of spirituality, for the past forty-five days. The feeling of joy that is felt when we build and enter our Succah, is a natural consequence of this spiritual elevation.

The Succah has a certain of magic to it. When we live in our temporary dwelling, we can almost feel the Divine Presence descending upon us. The colorful decorations add to this happy feeling.

We can see that it is appropriate to ask us to be joyful on Succot. We are being told that this will be the natural consequence of observing this entire holiday as delineated in the Torah and by our Rabbis.