Parashat HaShavua - Sukkot 2021
This Shabbat, in honor of Sukkot, we read the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). I began thinking about Kohelet last week as we ended Yom Kippur with a liturgical poem that repeats a verse from the 9th chapter of Kohelet. Kohelet 9:7 states:
לֵ֣ךְ אֱכֹ֤ל בְּשִׂמְחָה֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וּֽשְׁתֵ֥ה בְלֶב־ט֖וֹב יֵינֶ֑ךָ כִּ֣י כְבָ֔ר רָצָ֥ה הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶֽת־מַעֲשֶֽׂיךָ׃
Go, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your action was long ago approved by God.
Midrash (Lekach Tov) suggests that we should not understand this verse as literally speaking about bread and wine, but rather about Torah and mitzvot. If you toiled in your lifetime and busied yourself with the study of Torah, you should feel assured that you will receive reward in the eternal world.
And yet, in the liturgical poem (written by Moshe Ibn Ezra in the 12th century) at the end of Yom Kippur, as part of the Neila service, it seems that the verse repeats itself at the end of each stanza to in fact suggest that the time to end the fast is quickly approaching: prepare to break bread! And rest assured that your prayers have been accepted.
In the final stanza of the poem, we call God’s attention to the heavenly gates that are closing. We ask God to pour the waters of atonement on the people whom You have chosen. What a beautiful image of water as both a symbol of God’s forgiveness and a symbol of God’s love. We hold this image close to our hearts as we prepare for the final days of Sukkot followed by Shemini Atzeret where we recite a special prayer for rain.
We end the fast on Yom Kippur asking God to pour the water of forgiveness and bless us with rain. However, we do not fully accept the latter half of the verse from Kohelet: “your action (prayer) was long ago approved (accepted) by God.” Rather, we spend the holiday of Sukkot shaking our lulav and praying for rain. This prayer intensifies on the last day of Sukkot (also known as Hoshana Rabbah). And then on Shemini Atzeret when we begin to proclaim in the Amidah prayer that God is:
מַשִּׁיב הָרֽוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּֽשֶׁם
The one who causes the wind to blow and rain to fall
As we sit in the Sukkah this Shabbat, may we take Kohelet’s words to heart. May we enjoy a festive and delicious meal. And then, may we merit the faith that our actions have been recognized and that the season ahead (in Israel especially!) will be rainy and bountiful.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!
Rabbi Dahlia Kronish
High School Associate Head