Tuesday 2 October 2007

Just what Makes Sukkot Z'man Simchateinu? Pt. 3

Originally published 10/2/07, 11:24 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
Introduction


Note: This is along the lines of why the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur are described as the TWO happiest days of the year in Mishan Ta'anit. In an earlier post, I showed the SPECIFIC connection between those 2 dates in contrast to the catastrophic dates of the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av; thereby showing that contextually in Ta'anit, these dates are all inter-related. In other words, the dates of the TWO happiest days are SPECIFICALLY IN CONTEXT of Masechet Ta'anit

Similarly, I am seeking a specific Sukkot-timed event, not a generality that we might be told to observe during Sukkot such as God's Divine Protection. While it may be TRUE that the Sukkah DOES remind us of God's protection it does not point to the 15th of Tishrei as a time of Simcha per se; it is NO anniversary! After all, Z'man means z'man! Thus, my goal is a specific temporal-historical anniversary. Anything LESS than this goal is imho NOT a satisfactory answer but a rationale to justify "regnant culture" as a friend of mine would say!
Reprise, parts 1 and 2
On 10/2/07, Richard Wolpoe rabbirichwolpoe@gmail.com wrote:

Why is Sukkot termed Z'man Simchateinu [time of rejoicing]?

The 3 Regalim [pilgrimages] correspond to at least 2 holiday matrices; i.e. historical and agricultural. [While, there may be many more, let's address these two based upon Torah and Oral Tradition.]

Agricultural [All in the Torah]

  1. Passover - Barley -Omer - Barely
  2. Shavuot - Wheat - Minchah hadashah shtei Halechem
  3. Sukkot - Hag Ha'assif [also Geshem!]
Historical:
  1. Passover - Exodus
  2. Shavuot - Giving of the Torah [primarily oral but hinted in text]
  3. Sukkot - ?????
If you say that the historical event was the Clouds of Glory I would counter that that took place ALL year 'round. What was SPECIAL about Sukkot as a DATE in history?
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The Part 2 Questions, with the answers interwoven.
Hints:
  1. What is the SADDEST day of the year?9th of Av
  2. What MADE that day the saddest day of the year?
    The Destruction of the 2 Temples
  3. What would its converse be?
    The Construction of the Temple -e.g. by a King Like Shlomoh!
  4. What liturgical texts support this hypothesis?
    The haftarot of Day 2 And Shmini Zteret in the Golah
    The "yakim lanu et Sukkat DAvid Hanofelet.." which is found in both Birkat Hamazon and the Zulat [a type o Piyyut] by Kallir
  5. How is Hag haSukkot translated in older Bibles?
    Tabernacles - a possible reference to the Temple's predecessor

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Part 3
Thus Sukkot is the Rejoicing of the Mikdash like 9th of Av is the Mourning of the Mikdash. Makes sense to celebrate the positive as much as it is to Mourn the negative.

The only weakness to this model is that is not in Humash but in the Nevi'im. And so possibly Sukkot had not yet earned the title Simchateinu until later on! It is obvious that the Construction of the Bet haMikdash is the culmination of the model of the First Commonwealth as outlined in Devarim.

Completing the above Matrix
Historical:
  1. Passover - Exodus
  2. Shavuot - Giving of the Torah [primarily oral but hinted in text]
  3. Sukkot - Construction of Solomon's Temple [as documented in the Haftarot] This also explains how Shmini Atzeret is ALSO Z'man Simchateinu.
All of the above give cause for celebration indeed.

So, Rabbi Wolpoe, why isn't this the OBVIOUS reason! Why is this reason not better publicized? Well, after the destruction of the Temple, pushing this theme to the fore would offer a mixed message.

Any Evidence of this phenomenon?
Well, some see the "Harachaman who yakim" as problematic on Yom Tov. They therefore do not say it then because it recalls that the Temple is in ruins. And so it is that this reminder, while depressing on Yom tov, is OK during Hulo Shel Mo'ed.

RRW

3 comments:

thanbo said...

I disagree. I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

Rabbi Richard Wolpoe said...

Question to Thanbo:
When did Shavuot First manifest as Zm'man Mttan Torateinu? Is there ANY scriptural reference to this confluence of Sahvuot and Mattan Torah or is this nomenclature a product of a Bayyit-Sheiin-Rabbinic era liturgical formulation?

E.G. if the Exodus was on Thursday, and Mattan Torah on Shabbat, then the origianl Mattan Torah ws not on the Pharisaic Shavuot.*

[And it probably NEVER coincided for the Sadducean Shavuot which ALWAYS falls on a Sunday.]


*[NB: Given this model the original Mattan Torah would indeed not have coincided with Shavuot at all, Mattan Torah Could have coincided with the 6th of Sivan - which during THAT year would have been the day after Shavuot. That would imply that z'man mattan Torateinu was only literally and consistently true in the days of the fixed calendar of Hillel II when the 6th of Sivan began to ALWAYS coincide with Shavuot. If that is the case then Z'man Mattan Torateinu as a literal term only emerges about 1300 years after King Solomon!]

KT
RRW

Rabbi Richard Wolpoe said...

Antoher connnexion between Sukkot and the CONCEPT of mikdash is: Usemachtem lifnei Hashem shiv'as Yamim which tells us that we reqqjoice with the 4 species in front of Hshem - namely the mikdash 7 days. [in contrast to outside the mikdash for only ONE day]

Clearly the sukkot ritual as originally conceived in Emor involves:
...Simhca
...4 species
...Mikdash

This does not prove my earlier point, but it does demonstrate a corelation between this Hag and the Temple [or Mishkan before the Temple] Ture ALL pilgrimmage holidays have an element of Mikdash in them and cetainly the Passover sacrifice wound up to be held in Jerusalem, but the scripture does not relate the concepts of simcha and mikdash in the same fashion. I guess the Mikdash concept is not unique to Sukkot - just more intense with Sukkot