Agriculturally-based
holidays are a staple of almost every culture since ancient times. The reason
for this is simple: people have some need to celebrate and ritualize the work
they do in their fields.
God knows this. And so, we have Sukkot, a
“ChagHa’asif” (Exodus 23:16), which celebrates the gathering in of grains from
the field. Similarly, we have Pesach, which celebrates the first budding of
fruits and springtime, called “Chag Ha’aviv” (as per Exodus 23:15). Likewise, we
have Shavuot, “Chag Ha’katzir” (Exodus 23:16), which celebrates the harvesting
of grains in the field.
The Torah also
attaches other, more historical, symbolism to the holidays. But the way the
Torah chose to describe them shows that it also spoke to the agricultural Jew,
who would appreciate these holidays about nature.
Fast forward to
us. Do we care about the fact that Sukkot is about gathering in grain? Do we
appreciate the celebration of harvesting, when we just go to the supermarket
and buy our produce?What special meaning does this hold for us? Yet, the Torah,
which is an everlasting testament, included these details as part and parcel of
the holidays. How can we find these times of nature more significant?
To answer this question, let’s ask another few
questions.
Rosh Hashanah is not as described in the
Torah as a day of judgment, but is rather called a “Zichron Teruah”, a
“remembrance with trumpets” (Leviticus 23:24), and a “Yom Teruah”, a “day of
trumpets” (Numbers 29:1).On the
other hand, Yom Kippur’s significance as a holiday is stated explictly. “In the
seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you should afflict yourselves,
and you shall do no work… For this day should atone for you, to purify you; from
all your sins, before God shall you be clean” (Leviticus 16:30). Yet, no
mention of any agricultural connection, while Sukkot, only days after, is
“Chag Ha’asif”.If other holidays in the Torah are connected to the time of year,
is Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur also related to the time of year? And is there significance
to the juxtaposition of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to Sukkot?
I found a
beautiful and moving passage of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch about Rosh
Hashanah, translated by Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits, the late Chief Rabbi of the
British Commonwealth, in his companion to the Yomim Noraim machzor. I think it
can help us answer these questions.
The summer
is drawing to a close. The earth receives the final glow of the sun and its
fruits approach their full maturity. Everything that grows and lives seeks to
extract the maximum of ripeness from the last rays of the year. The apple
paints itself with its final shade of red, the wine receives its richest
sparkle. The ground gives its last sap, the corn-stalks grow to their limit.
The bee seeks the last drop of honey in the flower cup before it vanishes. The
squirrel drags the last grain of corn to his winter store. The returning
swallow carries the last straw to the nest. There is no time to be lost; the
end is in sight. The Master will soon call. Everything seeks while there is
still time to attain and to achieve the best that is in it. It does not wish to
appear before its Master with fragmentary and half-finished work, with its
year’s performance still defective…
All things
strive to go straight, every being, every power, every dynamic atom. They all
have their eye on the goal which has been fixed for them, and endeavour to
reach it by the most direct way, resolute, sharp, strong and firm, with no
deviation or circuit. Is it only the way of man who is deliberately and consciously
to neglect the goal which has been fixed for his endeavours here below and
swerve from the path which alone leads to his goal? Is it only man who is to
allow himself to be enticed from the one straight and direct path by seductive
flowers at the roadside, by paths which he sees to be good for others, by
mountains which he finds in his own way, by pleasures which beckon to him on
other roads?
Obedience is
the rule everywhere. All know their Master. The insect, the worm, the lion, the
eagle, the power which slumbers in the terrestrial globe, which flashes in the
lightning, which shapes the crystal, which opens the flower-bud, which reigns
in the heart-beat the life that fills the air, that roams over the earth, that
swarms in the sea, that resides in the bosom of the ground, they all serve the
one God; one Will dominates them; one God commands them; one Law reigns over
all. And shall man alone choose for himself defiance and disobedience? Shall he
alone be unwilling to see the Master and to inquire after His law?
This, I think, is the importance of this
time. Even those of us living in cities and suburbs can see, as summer comes to
a close, the ant scurrying to its anthill, the bee to its hive, and the
squirrel to its tree. We can take lessons from the birds and the insects,
nature itself, their alacrity and obedience to a higher calling, and apply these
symbols to ourselves, and our holiday experiences.
After we awaken to this important time with
the trumpet blasts on Rosh Hashanah, we enter a time which includes a
frightening day of prayer called Yom Kippur, where we take that inspiration and
solidify our goals for the coming year. And then, we further solidify them by
spending time outdoors in our sukkot, watching the wonder of nature once again.
