A Succos Thought
There are many different approaches to serving Hashem. Some differences are based
on individual traits. For example, some people may be more capable of learning Torah
all day, others more gifted in offering advice, and still others in organizing the multiple
services needed in each community. Regardless of their individual strengths, everyone
must keep all the Mitzvohs. Nevertheless, people should focus on their areas of
strength. There are also different seasons which require different approaches to serving
Hashem. For example, the Yomim Noroim focuses on Teshuva, and not indulging
in unnecessary pleasures, as people try to focus on their relationship with Hashem.
Succos has its individual message. This requires it to have its individual form of
serving Hashem. In this article I’ll focus on one aspect of Succos, a focus that “follows”
that of the Yomim Noroim.
There are several Medroshim which describe the different ways that Avrohom Avinu,
and Dovid Hamelech, served Hashem. Avrohom made a Bris (treaty) with the Yeitzer
Horo. The Malbim (in his Sefer Artzos Hasholeim) explains that Avrohom “partnered”
with the Yeitzer Horo, by utilizing the pleasures of the world for the good of mankind.
His home offered fancy foods to everyone, and instead of ignoring pleasures, he utilized
them to serve guests and, thereby, introduce them to Hashem.
Dovid Hamelech had a different approach; he “killed” his Yeitzer Horo, by withholding
pleasures, avoiding sleep, fancy foods, and other unnecessary pleasures of this world.
Most people won’t live their lives exclusively (if at all) with either of these two
approaches. Nevertheless, understanding these approaches, and their value, will help
people serve Hashem. The Yomim Noroim represent, at each person’s “level”,
abstaining from pleasures as a form of serving Hashem. Succos is about serving
Hashem without giving up pleasures. On the contrary, Succos celebrates the
harvest, and the Brocho of wealth, given to Klal Yisroel.
This article discusses how to serve Hashem without rejecting the Brocho of wealth or,
for those not wealthy, the proper way to enjoy the pleasures that Hashem makes
available to people.
The Torah tells people to live in a Succoh for seven days, in order to separate them
from the pleasures of the world. One of the purposes of living in a Succoh is to allow
people to experience a life that’s not centered on physical pleasures, with the hope of
teaching them a long term message with a short term Mitzvoh. While most pleasures
are permitted, people are expected to be mindful that those pleasures are incidental to
their purpose in this world, and should be used only when they don’t get in the “way” of
their life mission. (Of course, there’s a higher form of serving Hashem, which is
reserved for the Tzadikim, and that’s to refrain from any unnecessary pleasures.)
Most people believe that they only enjoy the pleasures available to them when it doesn’t
get in the way of their serving Hashem. In reality, it’s very difficult to do this, and most
people aren’t as calculated as they’d like to believe.
Most people aren’t completely honest, or objective, with themselves. If they want
to do something that’ll get in the way of their Mitzvoh performance, they’ll say their
decisions are harmless, even though other people are critical of their decisions. Most
people will say, “I know myself better than others know me, because I’m different from
everyone else”. They say this knowing that other people make the same comments
about themselves, and are just as skeptical.
In addition to the danger of not being honest in deciding that some pleasures are
harmless, there’s an even greater danger. The Chachomim repeatedly remind people
how they may evolve into “someone else” as a result of their actions. For example,
people who surround themselves with honest people, generally evolve into honest
people. People who surround themselves with people who curse, learn to curse. After
interacting enough times with people who curse, they’ll not only act differently, but they’ll
have become different.
As a side note, some parents have the same fault as their children and will respond, “I
know myself better than others know me. I’m different”. These parents will make
decisions which were only made possible by saying this, even if they only think it
subconsciously.
When people are focused on pleasures (which is different than taking a break from life),
they become, to the degree of their focus, self-absorbed. I’ve seen people who can’t be
interrupted when they’re eating, smoking, or reading a book. At that moment, everything
is about their achieving the maximum pleasure that they can achieve.
This is what makes the task of enjoying pleasure in moderation difficult. In many ways,
people’s perspectives towards pleasure is “all or nothing”. I learned this when I stopped
eating cake several years back. Initially, I wanted to limit the amount of cake that I ate,
but I found that I couldn’t do it, and this is why:
Allowing myself some cake allowed me to continue to think about cake whenever I saw
it, or when I wasn’t involved with anything productive. Cake, in concept, was something
that I was allowed to have. While I may have only eaten it for several minutes a day (if I
chewed slowly), I’d think about it throughout the day. Thinking about it throughout the
day would result in one of two outcomes:
I’d eat more cake than was healthy, and rationalized each opportunity. The alternative
was not to eat more cake than was healthy, but I’d go “crazy” thinking about the
pleasure I couldn’t access.
Therefore, I decided that the healthiest decision was for me to stop eating cake
altogether. While that may have seemed extreme, it offered me the most peace of mind,
and I definitely preferred peace of mind over a piece of cake.
While all people are different in how they’ll react to circumstances, almost all people will
find it easier to step back from the types of pleasures that will negatively affect them
(while allowing themselves other pleasures), rather than allow themselves a little of
everything.
The decisions they make will be individual based. For some people foods aren’t a
challenge, while cars are. For others, cars are trivial, but clothing is their challenge.
People should decide which pleasures will cause them to evolve into people they won’t
be happy being.
After living in a Succoh for a week, people may not be willing to abstain from life’s
pleasures for the entire year. However, they should be willing to limit the amount of their
pleasures, and change their attitudes towards pleasures. Doing this will internalize the
message of Succos, and help them evolve into the people they really want to become.
Wishing everyone a Happy, and meaningful Yom Tov.
on individual traits. For example, some people may be more capable of learning Torah
all day, others more gifted in offering advice, and still others in organizing the multiple
services needed in each community. Regardless of their individual strengths, everyone
must keep all the Mitzvohs. Nevertheless, people should focus on their areas of
strength. There are also different seasons which require different approaches to serving
Hashem. For example, the Yomim Noroim focuses on Teshuva, and not indulging
in unnecessary pleasures, as people try to focus on their relationship with Hashem.
Succos has its individual message. This requires it to have its individual form of
serving Hashem. In this article I’ll focus on one aspect of Succos, a focus that “follows”
that of the Yomim Noroim.
There are several Medroshim which describe the different ways that Avrohom Avinu,
and Dovid Hamelech, served Hashem. Avrohom made a Bris (treaty) with the Yeitzer
Horo. The Malbim (in his Sefer Artzos Hasholeim) explains that Avrohom “partnered”
with the Yeitzer Horo, by utilizing the pleasures of the world for the good of mankind.
His home offered fancy foods to everyone, and instead of ignoring pleasures, he utilized
them to serve guests and, thereby, introduce them to Hashem.
Dovid Hamelech had a different approach; he “killed” his Yeitzer Horo, by withholding
pleasures, avoiding sleep, fancy foods, and other unnecessary pleasures of this world.
Most people won’t live their lives exclusively (if at all) with either of these two
approaches. Nevertheless, understanding these approaches, and their value, will help
people serve Hashem. The Yomim Noroim represent, at each person’s “level”,
abstaining from pleasures as a form of serving Hashem. Succos is about serving
Hashem without giving up pleasures. On the contrary, Succos celebrates the
harvest, and the Brocho of wealth, given to Klal Yisroel.
This article discusses how to serve Hashem without rejecting the Brocho of wealth or,
for those not wealthy, the proper way to enjoy the pleasures that Hashem makes
available to people.
The Torah tells people to live in a Succoh for seven days, in order to separate them
from the pleasures of the world. One of the purposes of living in a Succoh is to allow
people to experience a life that’s not centered on physical pleasures, with the hope of
teaching them a long term message with a short term Mitzvoh. While most pleasures
are permitted, people are expected to be mindful that those pleasures are incidental to
their purpose in this world, and should be used only when they don’t get in the “way” of
their life mission. (Of course, there’s a higher form of serving Hashem, which is
reserved for the Tzadikim, and that’s to refrain from any unnecessary pleasures.)
Most people believe that they only enjoy the pleasures available to them when it doesn’t
get in the way of their serving Hashem. In reality, it’s very difficult to do this, and most
people aren’t as calculated as they’d like to believe.
Most people aren’t completely honest, or objective, with themselves. If they want
to do something that’ll get in the way of their Mitzvoh performance, they’ll say their
decisions are harmless, even though other people are critical of their decisions. Most
people will say, “I know myself better than others know me, because I’m different from
everyone else”. They say this knowing that other people make the same comments
about themselves, and are just as skeptical.
In addition to the danger of not being honest in deciding that some pleasures are
harmless, there’s an even greater danger. The Chachomim repeatedly remind people
how they may evolve into “someone else” as a result of their actions. For example,
people who surround themselves with honest people, generally evolve into honest
people. People who surround themselves with people who curse, learn to curse. After
interacting enough times with people who curse, they’ll not only act differently, but they’ll
have become different.
As a side note, some parents have the same fault as their children and will respond, “I
know myself better than others know me. I’m different”. These parents will make
decisions which were only made possible by saying this, even if they only think it
subconsciously.
When people are focused on pleasures (which is different than taking a break from life),
they become, to the degree of their focus, self-absorbed. I’ve seen people who can’t be
interrupted when they’re eating, smoking, or reading a book. At that moment, everything
is about their achieving the maximum pleasure that they can achieve.
This is what makes the task of enjoying pleasure in moderation difficult. In many ways,
people’s perspectives towards pleasure is “all or nothing”. I learned this when I stopped
eating cake several years back. Initially, I wanted to limit the amount of cake that I ate,
but I found that I couldn’t do it, and this is why:
Allowing myself some cake allowed me to continue to think about cake whenever I saw
it, or when I wasn’t involved with anything productive. Cake, in concept, was something
that I was allowed to have. While I may have only eaten it for several minutes a day (if I
chewed slowly), I’d think about it throughout the day. Thinking about it throughout the
day would result in one of two outcomes:
I’d eat more cake than was healthy, and rationalized each opportunity. The alternative
was not to eat more cake than was healthy, but I’d go “crazy” thinking about the
pleasure I couldn’t access.
Therefore, I decided that the healthiest decision was for me to stop eating cake
altogether. While that may have seemed extreme, it offered me the most peace of mind,
and I definitely preferred peace of mind over a piece of cake.
While all people are different in how they’ll react to circumstances, almost all people will
find it easier to step back from the types of pleasures that will negatively affect them
(while allowing themselves other pleasures), rather than allow themselves a little of
everything.
The decisions they make will be individual based. For some people foods aren’t a
challenge, while cars are. For others, cars are trivial, but clothing is their challenge.
People should decide which pleasures will cause them to evolve into people they won’t
be happy being.
After living in a Succoh for a week, people may not be willing to abstain from life’s
pleasures for the entire year. However, they should be willing to limit the amount of their
pleasures, and change their attitudes towards pleasures. Doing this will internalize the
message of Succos, and help them evolve into the people they really want to become.
Wishing everyone a Happy, and meaningful Yom Tov.