God’s Nostalgia
Rejoicing to prove
a point
By Rabbi Irving Greenberg
Reprinted with the
author’s permission from The
Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Touchstone
).
When the seven days
of Sukkot end, the Bible decrees yet another holiday, the Eighth Day of
Assembly. The Rabbis interpreted this as an encore. After the High Holy Days,
after the intense seven days of Sukkot and pilgrimage, the Jewish people are
about to leave, to scatter and return to their homes.
God grows nostalgic,
as it were, and pensive. The people of Israel will not come together again in
such numbers until Passover six months hence. God will soon miss the sounds of
music and pleasure and the unity of the people. The Torah decreed, therefore,
an eighth day of assembly, a final feast/holy day. On this day Jews leave the sukkah
to resume enjoying the comfort of solid, well built, well-insulated homes. The lulav
and etrog are put aside; this day, Shemini Atzeret, is a reprise of the
celebration of Sukkot but without any of the rituals. The message is that all
the rituals and symbolic language are important but ultimately they remain just
symbols.
Over the course of
history this day has evolved into the day of the Rejoicing of the Torah (Simchat
Torah). In Israel [and in many liberal congregations], Shemini Atzeret and Simchat
Torah are celebrated together on one day. In the Diaspora where an extra holy day is added (making a
ninth day), Shemini Atzeret is followed by Simchat Torah on the ninth day. The
rejoicing makes a statement. Whatever the law denies to Jews, whatever
suffering the people have undergone for upholding the covenant cannot obscure
the basic truth: The Torah affirms and enriches life. At the end of this week
of fulfillment, on this day of delight all the scrolls are taken out of the
ark, and the Torah becomes the focus of rejoicing.
Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg is the president of Jewish
Life Network and founding president of CLAL--the National Jewish Center for
Learning and Leadership. He is also the author of numerous books and articles
dealing with Jewish theology and religion.
