WHY DOES HASHEM REJOICE ON SHMINI ATZERES?

By Rabbi Boruch Sholom Cohen

From a sicha of the Rebbe Rayatz on the night of Simchas Torah 5707/1947.

NESHAMOS 
VERSUS ANGELS

All information that is received up above comes by way of announcements. These announcements are made by angels. An angel is merely what he announces, for an angel is not an entity onto itself. His sole function is to carry out a given mission, even as he knows that it is not about him and it does not pertain to him.

A neshama, however, is an entity onto itself. It knows that… the announcements pertain to itself, as it is the neshama that needs to carry it out. The main avoda is in action, and by doing it, the neshama is elevated…

A NESHAMA DOESN’T JUMP

At the Simchas Beis HaShoeiva farbrengen in 5658/1897, the Rebbe Rashab spoke about the difference between angels and neshamos:

Angels are excited and in a commotion, because all these declarations don’t affect them except in that they come through them. Therefore, they can be excited and jump at “Kadosh.”

A neshama is an entity onto itself. It hears the announcements and absorbs them in order to carry them out. A neshama doesn’t jump; it needs to walk. It knows when to walk and when to jump, as in the folk saying, “Until you jump over, you don’t say ‘Hup!’”

THE ESSENCE OF THE SOUL WOULD BURN THE WORLD!

The Rebbe Rashab then asked: Why is it that the essence of the neshama doesn’t come down to this world and only a glimmer comes down?

He explained that if the essence of the neshama came down, it would burn up the world. A glimmer of the soul refines and purifies the world. It enters the body, and the animal soul (not the evil inclination) enclothes her. It is sometimes disguised as a pauper, or a rich person, or a comedian, and sometimes even as a nobleman. You need to recognize it in all its clever permutations and refine it, which is only accomplished through the avoda of t’filla.

VERY SHARP WORDS FROM THE REBBE RASHAB

Chassidim need to be involved in the avoda of t’filla. You need to start davening!

At a farbrengen in 5656/1896, the Rebbe Rashab spoke at great length about avodas ha’t’filla. He said: He who is involved in avodas ha’t’filla, the [Alter] Rebbe and all the Rebbeim bless him!

A maskil (intellectual) who learns Chassidus and is not involved in avodas ha’t’filla is told: “Get out of here! You are not wanted here. Don’t stand in my presence,” and other very sharp things that I don’t want to repeat.

This is aside from what was said many times, that if a person does not bring down haskala (intellectual grasp of divine concepts) into avodas ha’t’filla, that indicates that he understands nothing. His haskala and understanding are not haskala and understanding at all. Additionally, it is improper because the main thing is actual avoda.

TOMORROW SHOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN TODAY

For avodas ha’t’filla to have the desired effect, there needs to be the Bedtime Shma before that, making a spiritual accounting and finally coming to the conclusion, as R’ Hendel would say, quoting R’ Gershon Ber, that “We must be different!”

He [R’ Gershon Ber] would say to himself: Change, and tomorrow will be different than today.

WHAT MAKES HASHEM REJOICE ON SHMINI ATZERES?

On Shmini Atzeres we say in the t’fillos, “Es Yom Shmini Atzeres HaChag HaZeh.” The question is, on all the other holidays, we first say the word “chag” and then the name of the holiday (“Es Yom Chag HaMatzos,” “Es Yom Chag HaShavuos”), so why is the order of the words different on Shmini Atzeres?

It is because Shmini Atzeres itself makes the holiday. On Shmini Atzeres, Hashem is pleased that He did a good piece of work in that He gave the Jewish people a good year. On Rosh HaShana the books are opened and the prosecutors make their demands and their claims are correct, because to a simple person the month of Elul is no different than the month of Av, and the days of Slichos are no different than the month of Elul, and so too with Rosh HaShana, the Aseres Yemei T’shuva, Yom Kippur and the four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkos.

But when Sukkos comes along, then a Jew is completely different. He goes to the sukka, even if it’s raining when he is exempt according to the din, and he does it out of love! He gets up at six in the morning to say the bracha on the esrog. Since he doesn’t have an esrog he runs to shul to say the bracha on the esrog and to daven. He pawns his work tools in order to buy a little mashke for Yom Tov. When Shmini Atzeres comes, he dances with the Torah in his torn shoes and pays no attention to the curses that his wife heaps on him, and how it’s a pity on the children who are naked and barefoot and the tools he pawned, and after Yom Tov he won’t have a way of redeeming them, and he won’t have the means to begin work after the holiday.

Yet he rejoices wholeheartedly… and then all the claims of the accusers fall away and Hashem gives every Jew a good year and this is what makes Hashem rejoice. This is what is meant by Shmini Atzeres itself making the chag.

The Rebbe Rayatz concluded: This is a Jew, this sincerity and this devotion, which is why Atzmus chose the neshamos of Israel. We, however, have intact shoes and we ought to dance.

YES, THIS IS A CHASSID!

When the Tzemach Tzedek was 9, the Alter Rebbe told him about the period he was in Mezritch as well as the periods before and after Mezritch, about the Baal Shem Tov and about his father R’ Boruch and his uncle R’ Yosef Yitzchok, who were the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples.

When the Tzemach Tzedek was 13 and he had a deep comprehension, he dismissed the davening of simple people and said about one of them: Yeah right, he’s a Chassid.

When he spoke about this to the Alter Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe said: Yes, he is a Chassid! When I came to Mezritch, I saw the davening and enthusiasm of the Jews in the beis midrash and I thought they were proficient in Bavli, Yerushalmi, Sifra, Sifri, Kabbala and Chassidus. But when I spoke to them, I realized they were Ein Yaakov Jews who knew a bit of Shulchan Aruch, but didn’t know the inner meaning of the Aggados (in Ein Yaakov). I felt downcast by this and said (in wonderment): These too are Chassidim!?

The Alter Rebbe concluded to the Tzemach Tzedek: You need to get “sanded down” by spending time around the elder Chassidim who will scour you properly as they scoured me in Mezritch.

HE WISHED FOR HIMSELF THE SINCERITY OF A SIMPLE PERSON

The Rebbe Rashab repeated in the name of the Rebbe Maharash, who stated in the name of the Tzemach Tzedek: The Alter Rebbe would wish for himself to attain the level of sincerity of a simple person!

The Tzemach Tzedek added that when the Alter Rebbe would say this, he had two tears in his eyes. The Tzemach Tzedek found this astonishing, that a baal mochin (great intellect) such as the Alter Rebbe would have a kivutz mochin (compression of the intellect caused by encountering a concept that is beyond its capacity), for as it is known, tears are from kivutz ha’mochin.

THE MAAMER THAT QUIETED THE HEARTS

There is a maamer of the Rebbe Maharash that begins with “On Chaf-Hei Kislev” (referring to the maamer “Boruch Sh’Asa Nissim” which is a hemshech to the maamer “On Chaf-Hei Kislev”). This maamer is originally a maamer of the Alter Rebbe, recorded by the Chassid R’ Pinchas Reizes, who was in charge of recording the maamarim by the Alter Rebbe in Liozna.

In this maamer, the Alter Rebbe disparages excitement of the heart – the Alter Rebbe in his maamarim always praised excitement of the heart – so that once, Chassidim went to daven outside the city because their hearts were so aflame that they could not tolerate the limitations of the city. That is when the Alter Rebbe said the maamer in which he disparaged excitement of the heart and he thus quieted and cooled off the fiery fervor of the excitement of the heart.

THERE IS NO TIME TO UNPACK THE BUNDLES

One year, when the dates fell out as it does this year (5707/1946) such that Shabbos B’Reishis is immediately after Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, the Rebbe Rashab spoke about Shabbos having holiness onto itself with its own aspects. He said [with Shabbos immediately following Yom Tov] there is no time to unpack the bundles.

The practice of businessmen is that when they return from the fair and they need to start selling merchandise (that they bought at the fair), it takes several days until they unpack the sacks of merchandise that they bought and check it all out.

He thinks: It is worth such-and-such and it cost me so much effort, and then he establishes the price for the merchandise…

Likewise it is so with Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, Sukkos and Shmini Atzeres. He received much in the way of resources and he packed many bundles. When there is a break between Simchas Torah and Shabbos B’Reishis, he has time to unpack the merchandise and to set it up for sale, but this time [with Shabbos B’Reishis immediately following Simchas Torah] he did not yet have time to unpack and it’s already Shabbos B’Reishis.

On the other hand, there is an advantage in that he knows what is in the packages, even if they are still packed, for they are there and he can say: Ai, what wonderful merchandise I bought! I have this and I have that. It’s still packed but it’s here! And in the meantime, he goes and dances.

He cannot forget to unpack the merchandise so that it won’t become rotten and dried out. Sometimes mice can eat the merchandise, which is why he needs to immediately unpack it.

The Rebbe Rayatz concluded: For those living in Eretz Yisroel, even when Shabbos B’Reishis is immediately following Simchas Torah, they have a break of one day (because Shmini Atzeres-Simchas Torah is one day for them, and Friday is a weekday) and on this day they can unpack the merchandise.

BURNING THE “REFUSE”

You need to start davening and become another person! Before that, there needs to be the Bedtime Shma and indeed Chassidim would say Al Cheit during the Bedtime Shma. Al Cheit needs to be recited and not said mindlessly.

Especially after Yom Tov, when he has built up the “refuse of your holidays,” by saying: I am a mekurav. He received Shlishis or shishi (in the Aliyos L’Torah) and he calls himself a “shlishi’diker” or a “shishi’diker.” Then there is the person whose “refuse” is from the fact that he learned Torah, from knowing how to learn not only Gemara with Rashi but also Tos’fos and commentaries, and he understands them. And he even knows all the maamarei Chazal, and in the Aggados Chazal he also knows the inner meaning. From all this he has built up quite a bit of “refuse.”

This is why he needs the Bedtime Shma, to make a true spiritual accounting applied to himself, and then there needs to be avodas ha’t’filla done properly, and by doing this, he fulfills the Supernal Will.

The Rebbe Rayatz concluded: Material matters in general are only secondary, but material things need to be for the sake of spiritual matters.