“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month . . . you shall take on the first day of the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and the boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you will rejoice before the L-rd your G-d seven days. Celebrate this festival of the L-rd for seven days each year. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month live in booths for seven days: all native-born Israelites are to live in booths, so that your generations shall know I made the (“at” essence)- sons of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt . . . “ Lev.23.39-44We are called to “sh’coon” “L’succah” which literally means, “to dwell within succah”, and not just to build it for parties and things. Rabbi Akiva explained that “succot” (more than one succah) meant literal structures that protected Israelites from the sun, but many disputed his opinion saying that there were no materials in the desert for making a succah. Instead they took the theory of Rabbi Eleazer who said the succah were the clouds of HaShem’s glory that covered the camp. Rabbi Eleazer maybe correct that HaShem did cover our fathers with His glory and protection, but this doesn’t discount the words of Rabbi Akiva in our eyes (He also gave them literal food and water even if He did so through miraculous intervention). And the American Plains Indians clearly show that one does not need an abundance of trees to build temporary shelters that you take with you as you go.
To put in another way, if G-d could provide our fathers with food from heaven and water from a rock, He most certainly would be capable of providing the materials necessary to construct humble shelters to take with them on their journey through the wilderness. After all, isn’t it evident that the Holy of Holies was within such a shelter and are we going to make the Tent of Meeting a pure symbolic tent? So let’s review those harvest symbols to see if perhaps HaShem had a different succah in mind, based upon what He commanded: that we should “sh’coon” within:
Reviewing the harvest symbols:
1. The first fruit of goodly trees- In Hebrew we actually read, “the (future) first to bear fruit tree” (tree is singular). Yet the word “to bear fruit” is missing an aleph at the end. Why? In Hebrew, aleph is the ox and the ox is the face of one of the Four Living Creatures- Partzuf Ima, the face of the mother. It is this aspect of the Father that brought the very providence that our fathers depended so much on that we are to remember during Succoth. So why when we seek out the “(future) first fruit of the tree” is YHVH’s providence not there? We believe these are those who are written in the Book of Life, but all they need to see Him is to see Him through the gifts of providence, which we share with them, which ultimately come from Him. Thus it is written in the Catechism:
2446. “St John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.’ [St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Lazaro 2,5: PG 48, 992.] ‘The demands of justice must be satisfied of all; that which is already due in justice is not offered as a gift of charity’; When we attend to the needs to those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying our debt to justice. [St. Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis. 3,21:Pl 77,87.]”What is ours is not really ours, but that which belongs to those in need. This is a revolutionary thought in our modern society, but it is also found in the Talmud though the rabbis say this in a different way (we can’t remember the reference unfortunately). They say that that our father Av’raham lived by this edict, “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours”. Whereas the people of Sodom and Gomorrah cried out “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.” We are called to be like our father Av’raham and not the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, as the great Saint John Chrysostom and our beloved righteous pope, Gregory the Great were!
On the first day, after the succah is up and you’re settled in, you are to go out and find those whom G-d’s providence has not yet reached because He’s been waiting on you! It is these we are to invite into our succah. Is this literal or spiritual? We can see both aspects here. For the financially poor, they would be better served by giving them the sustenance they need versus having them join us in our succah. Catholic Charities is a charity that is highly efficient with its resources in reaching the poor and the needy of all faiths; and this is one we can personally vouch for. However this is the “first future fruits of the Tree” and as we explained in Tu B’Shevat, there is one Tree and that is the Tree of Life. Therefore, we see the brethren of the end times as these first fruits, as stated in Rev.14.4-5 (we already eluded to this in the section on the Feast of Ingathering- Chapter 2). Keeping Mitzvoth is easy for those who were raised in it, but many within our movement we were raised solely Catholic. Those who understand the Laws should be more than willing to invite those with an interest to assist the people are unsure as to how to implement this celebration. We are considering making a second succah this year (if we truly succeed in our first for dwelling) to show others what we did. This also will give them an opportunity for privacy if they decide to stay the night. Another option is to help them construct theirs in their own yard.
2. Branches of palm trees (or lulavim)- These are “goodly” or “choice” branches of palms and not just any old branch. And because it mentions “trees”, there should be at least two. Palms branches mean victory, which is why the masses threw them before Yeshua on His entry into Jerusalem- they saw their King coming! The “choice” branches may cover more than the palms. What we mean is this - doesn’t the word merely denote that all our materials that we use should be of the best quality? Thus even if we are going out into our shack, this doesn’t mean we should cut back on quality and produce an inferior product. After all we are to rejoice within them and use this as a witnessing tool, so we should do the best job possible to make both rejoicing and witnessing possible! But why does HaShem say to get these?
Palm trees are valuable for making mats and ropes. And when researching the housing of those people indigenous to our local climate we found out that in summer they wove together cattails branches for a summer shelter because these not only provided shelter, but if properly placed, it would stop the rain and still allow for ventilation. The climate of Israel in the autumn is still mostly warm weather (like that of south Georgia) so an airy but waterproof dwelling makes perfect sense. The date palms were plentiful then and would work as well, if not better than cattails do here. Also the branches would provide fiber for making the rope as mentioned earlier and this can be used to attach those leaves to the shelter, by no strange coincidence.
Unfortunately, here in the northeastern section of the United States, palms are scarce, but snow is plentiful and it is possible to have some snow during Succoth. As believers in Yeshua, we look to the Spirit of the Law and the idea was and is to dwell within these structures. We are looking into making our roof from the same materials the Indians used in this region for those colder days, which was bark or sod (use sod if angle of wall/roof is not greater than 45 degrees), not cattails (for summer only) or palms. We have the Basswood tree that we can get rope from to attach the bark with, and we should seek out the best quality to make our dwellings. In this same way, we believe all should adapt to their environmental so you can keep the Spirit of the Law.
3. Bough of leafy trees- The Hebrew text literally reads, “branches (or spouts) trees-foliage: or more naturally “foliage trees branches”. These we read as deciduous trees, not evergreen, even though the evergreen needles are leaves. This is because foliage is not a word we often use to describe needles on pines. Why do we need these types of branches anyway? The rabbis say these should adorn the roof and we accept a portion of this theory, at least for those without risk of rain or snow during Succoth; but was this its only use? American Northeastern Indians used young trees and narrow branches to build the underlying structure for their wigwams because they could be bent into shape due to their flexibility (trunks and older branches can’t) and harden as they become seasoned (the olive trees in Israel would be very valuable having a strong and sturdy wood). The Plains Indians on the other hand took older branches, which were not flexible, to make the posts for their teepees. The scriptural word for branch here (6057) actually means “to cover” and this might elude to the fact that the NE Indians also used the bark of the older tree limbs and trunk to make shingles for their wigwams. This maybe conjecture, but if it allows more to keep Succoth as HaShem originally ordained, then we do not see any problems within these conjectures.
4. Willow of the brook- This one is a puzzling term when taken back to the Hebrew. The first word is clearly willow, but it’s a construct, which means that it is deeply connected to the word that follows in English; we would write it willow-“whatever”. The word that follows is the puzzle though. It is clearly 5157 in its first primary form. The problem that arises is this word doesn’t make sense as a construct of willow because it means “to seize, to take possession; to get or to give in possession”. Most texts interpret this as “brook or stream” because “brook-willow” that is “willows by the brook” make far more sense.
However the word for stream has a different vowel in it than the word above, and Yeshua said not even the vowels (“not one dot or iota”) will change so we have to take the other meaning and not just the easier one. So instead we have literally “willow-to seize/inherit”. We could write this as, “to seize willow”, but why should willow be the only item to seize while the others are gathered? We see only one reason and this is related to Ps.137:1-4: “By the rivers of Babylon there we sat and we wept when we remembered the “essence of ” Zion on willows in the midst of her we hung our harps.” What is the essence of Zion? We do not see modern Zion with its suicide bombings and the battles for land. We see Zion of Yeshua’s return when all will be set right and the enemies of Judah and E’phraim (including those grafted in) will be judged and destroyed by His hand.
So if we are correct that this was HaShem’s intent, knowing both past and future, might this wording be a warning to us that we might inherit these same willows to hang our harps upon if we do not learn to abide these Mitzvoth? How does building a succah and placing willows upon them help us stay out of exile? First the succah on the altar was made solely of willows after Babylon (we don’t know the history before Babylon), thus ours should be built with this to act as a remembrance of our dependency upon Him, lest we inherit the willows of another kind. We place ours above the threshold like the mezuzah and treat it with similarity. Yet none of these above points help clear up how these lessons are taught by living in a shack, but we found a clue in a story by a visiting priest who told a sermon a while back. Father John has been helping out our local pastor who was recovering from cancer. On Sunday he gave an excellent story to explain how we in America are often confused about what our needs and wants are.
He explained that when his mother lived in Ireland, she and all her family lived in a one-room shack. Every morning, whether rain or shine, warm or cold, she had to travel all the way to the river to draw the water and lug it back to house for all her family to use. And when she needed to use the facilities, she had to leave this shack and go to the outhouse in back (unheated). She said to her son that she was very happy then and never thought of herself as “poor”. However, she later moved to America where she had indoor heating, electricity and basic plumbing. And now she admits (with a bit of embarrassment) to her son that she never wants to go back to the way of life she had while growing up. So something in her heart had changed, because she was once satisfied with far less, but now refuses to live without so much more. No, this is not a sin to desire basic conveniences that we wish for all, however, it does carry a risk for sin; and besides she is far from being alone in her thinking.
During the 1970’s, Americans experienced this very phenomenon. Their incomes grew and with it so did the things in their lives, while some on the other hand got to this same spot using credit cards. It was a gradual progression and in most cases it was explained off as “needs”, yet was a bigger house with more stuff really needed? And yes, that new job or promotion often “needs” new clothes, but how many, how much and how often? What about vacations? We might be able to afford more vacation time but did we really have to take them all for pleasure when charities like Habitat for Humanity is always looking for those with extra vacation time to help someone else’s basic needs? This isn’t to say that some might not need these things, but how can we know for sure that affluence is not causing us to move our wants into our needs category? Is there any absolute way to guard ourselves, given all Yeshua words against greed and misplaced trust because of affluence (and the costs of being left behind THAT door)? The answer we feel was given long ago in Torah to the children of Israel. Once a year you give up all that “stuff” and move into that handmade “shack” without running water or electricity and where you have to go outside the shack to find a toilet or water or an iron; you know the place, where Father John’s mother grew up.
Thus YHVH warns E’phraim who has become far too comfortable:
“E’phraim has said, ‘Ah, but I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself; with all my wealth they will not find any sin in me’, I indeed, YHVH, El-heinu, from the land of Egypt, again, I will make you live in tents (168) as in the days of the appointed feast.” Hos.12.8-9From the land of Egypt He will again make E’phraim to keep the Feast of Succoth. This is highly similar to the very reason He gave to the united tribe through Moshe:
“You shall dwell in booths for seven days; all that are native in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made (“at” is here which means “essence”) the sons of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of Egypt: I, YHVH, El-heinu. Thus Moshe declared (“at) appointed feasts of YHVH to the sons of Israel.” Lev.23.42-44Why write “from the land of Egypt” when E’phraim was free and well off? This is our belief: Our ancestors were once free in Egypt and well off, yet in time that freedom turned into slavery because of the jealousy of others around them. Therefore Egypt symbolically represents a place where we are enslaved. So dwelling in these temporary shelters are valuable for those who started out successful, then endured defeat and enslavement, only to be free again. This is why Nehemiah ordered all Israel to keep this feast soon after they returned from the Babylonian captivity, as did the second group of exiles which returned under Yeshua (Y’hoshua in Haggai, and Zechariah) and Zerub’babel.
Why is it especially important to do this then? This might be the wrong direction actually. We are to do so then perhaps because we forgot to do this before then, when we like E’phraim above, were comfortable and thought that this comfort was a sign of our own holiness (that is it “proved” our righteousness). This very theory is highly common here in the US by the way. So going into that little handmade house (or tent) is important to getting our wealth into proper perspective (for example it is really not ours) lest that wealth be taken from us and we go into slavery as liken to Egypt. And those basic skills of building a succah might just come in handy if the nation in which we now live even says, “Peace and security; G-d will never punish us”, even though sin is growing deeper like both Judah and E’phraim did.
To summarize what we have seen up to this point: at Pesach we are to remember that HaShem brought us out of the land of slavery and later from the depths of our sins. At Shavout we are to remember that we were given the Torah written upon stone from Mount Sinai and again upon our hearts in the upper room. And during Succoth, we are to remember that we were once fully dependant upon Him and will be again if we ever forget!
Thus, only by LIVING in the succah can we truly see this dependency and then empathize with those who are less fortunate. HaShem calls we collect willows to help us make these connections when we dwell and celebrate in these little shacks and if we don’t, He will arrange a more permanent example for us to “sojourn in”. Clearly though, the modern succah is highly impractical for more than just us. So if the wigwams of the American Indians match the Mitzvah better for those of us here, then why are they not acceptable in the modern celebration? The answer we suspect can be found in Yeshua’s complaint over the Pharisee’s laws:
“They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them upon men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them a finger.” Matt.23.4
How do these heavy burdens get created? We suspect it happened during a string of good years when rain never came and little by little the roof lost some or all of it’s protection. This shelter caused a little occasional pain in Israel, but would work most of the time (for it isn’t yet the rainy season), so there was no reason to adapt it. However, when we moved out of Eretz Yisrael, into the world, this mild burden became far more heavy until it became near impossible to bear. Yet have the rabbis lifted this burden even for those in New York’s hillsides or those living in the Alaskan tundra? No! It stands because they are so caught in the reasoning they lost the Spirit behind the Law itself!
Is this intellectualizing in and of itself evil? Not unless it becomes Law and in the process makes keeping the original Law in Torah next to impossible to keep. We say this because the evidence from the word of G-d is obvious and not just from the text of Leviticus (which was far from obvious). For example where did the rabbis really get the myrtle branches? We strongly suspect it was at least partially taken from this passage of Nehemiah:
“Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” Neh.8.15
Here the use for the myrtle is obvious, we were ( “l’asah” ) “to make” our Succah with them, not wave them. This makes us wonder if even the palms were added to the wave offering, but Yeshua didn’t seem to condemn this and it doesn’t seem to hurt (unless you can’t get them). And Hosea even gives a city dweller’s version that most can adapt to: use a tent. So these were literal booths, not symbolic ones. We are literally to dwell within them and each must study their environment and adapt this Mitzvoth to meet your local particulars, thus those living in the plains might build a teepee and those in Alaska might erect an igloo. Yet is this Mitzvoth for all of HaShem’s children or for just Jews? This is what we will look into in the very next chapter.
