We are at the height of the great days of joy of Sukkot. Interestingly, a wonderful commandment applies to all of the three festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) - "You shall be joyous in your Holiday and you shall be happy." This commandment, although applying to all three of the festivals, is specifically mentioned in the Torah portion that describes the holiday of Sukkot. This detail is puzzling, as in the days of Sukkot a person sits outside of his home in a temporary hut without the luxury and comfort to which he is accustomed. It would seem more appropriate to command one to be joyous on the holiday of Passover when we sit in our homes as free men with the home sparkling clean and table set with fancy china. Herein lays the depth of the matter. It is a great mistake when people think that happiness depends on the amount earthly pleasures that one acquires. Since we live here, in this World, we sometimes assume that the more wealth we accrue, and the more comfort we have, the happier we will be. But the opposite is really true. Happiness stems from the soul which is not satisfied by physical transient pleasures. On the contrary, the more a person pursues his desires, the more he will be driven to fulfill them and the farther away and farther away he will be from happiness.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:44:19 +0000
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