Z’man simḥateinu, “the season of our rejoicing”! What does such joy accomplish?
In an agricultural society, the Sukkot festival is the pinnacle of rejoicing! At Passover and at Shavu‘ot, joy is mixed with worry: lurking dangers to the field crops, the grapes, and the fruits that have not yet been harvested. In the autumn, after the harvest has been gathered in and stored in granary and winery — the joy is complete … Or is it? Even if we have stored enough food for the winter, who can guarantee that the coming winter will bring the needed rains? Ecclesiastes asks, “Of merriment [I say] ‘What good is that?’”— meaning: Of what use is rejoicing in the face of life’s vicissitudes: disasters and victories, achievements and losses?
“It is a great mitzvah always to be joyful,” taught Rabbi Naḥman of Bratslav, but he added that one must set aside a time each day for “a broken heart.” Ecclesiastes famously said that there is “a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The Jewish tradition has offered a warning not to become totally addicted to one emotion or sentiment: to break a glass at the peak moment of joy during a wedding, to eat a meal when returning from burying a loved one. On the approaching Sukkot holiday we will rejoice with simḥa shel mitzvah, the joy of performing a mitzvah, and hope to hear good tidings in the near future.
