Today we have another class on connecting the holiday of Succot to Achdut/unity. Yesterday we spoke about the actual Succah. But as we know, there's another Mitzvah on Succot, which is the Arba Minim, and they also symbolize unity. The four species, as the midrash tells us, correspond to four different types of people. Like the four species, there are some people that have taste and smell- Taste referring to Torah, smell referring to Mitzvot. Then there are people who have taste and not smell. Some have only smell and no taste, and others have neither smell nor taste. And each one of the four species corresponds to one of them. The Etrog has a taste and a smell. The Lulav has a taste and no smell.
The Hadas has a smell and no taste, and the Arava has neither. And on the holiday of Succot, we bind them all together as a symbol that all the Jewish people need to be bound together and influence each other for the better.
And why is it that on the last day of the holiday we bang the Aravot? There’s a joke about this, with either a positive twist or a negative twist depending on which camp you want belong to. The positive twist is that we bang the Aravot because this Arava, which has no taste and has no smell, and symbolizes the Jew who doesn't do enough mitzvot (that a smell comes from it), and doesn't learn Torah, now that he is bound together with the other three, he's so uplifted that now we can do a service with him alone. That's the upbeat approach. The pessimistic approach is that we tell the Arava, “You've been around the three other types for a full week, and you still remain the same Arava with no taste and no smell? Now we're going beat you and you're going to get five lashes from being pounded on the ground.”
Those are jokes, but the bottom line, which is real, is that we want all Jews to unite together and to influence each other for the good on the holiday and therefore we have these sign of unity, firstly in the Succah, which we spoke about yesterday and symbolizes that all the Jews could be together in one Succah, and also have the four species, which represent the four types of Jews.
Both aspects of the holiday have the symbolism of unity.
Regarding Succot and Shalom, Rabbi Dessler explains that one of the reasons we have dissension is because we're focused on the physical aspects of this world, which causes jealousy and hatred, etc.
But when we go out into the Succah and we lower our physical standards and don't stress worldly matters, it’s a great source of bringing peace. That's why it's not just the Mitzvah of the Succah that has the power to bring unity. It's also the aspect of limited physicality that enables us to unify with each other. And that's the power of the Succah-That message of Succot, which he calls Bitul HaYesh nullifying the worldly existence, is the source of the shalom that the Succah has.
And to continue with the shalom theme, it's no coincidence that the Succah that we sit in reminds us of the clouds of glory. The clouds of glory came in the merit of Aharon HaKohen, who was Ohev Shalom V’Rodef Shalom, he loved peace and chased peace, and therefore his trait of peace is infused into the Succah.
Aharon was known as making peace among the Jewish people, and the Shalom Bayit of husbands and wives was enhanced by Aharon HaKohen. As it says about the Mitzvah of Succah, if it’s done properly, it can help one’s shalom bayit.
So let us take advantage of all the shalom aspects of the Succah:
-The unifying force of the Succah
because all Jewish people could fulfill their Mitzvah in one Succah,
-The unifying force of the four species,
-The fact that we don't stress physicality,
-And the spiritual force of Aharon Hakohen…
All those factors together allow us to get the shalom, the peace of the Succot, and that's what we are aiming for.
Have a Shabbat Shalom and a Hag Sameach.