Awesome Joy The Hebrew month of Tishrei, the month of the high holidays, is packed with a wide spectrum of intense emotions. It begins with the ten days of awe, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and then shifts to the holiday of Sukkot, which is called “the season of our rejoicing", culminating with the intense joy of Simchat Torah. The transition between the two extreme emotions occurs in the final moments of Yom Kippur. The Neilah, the final prayer of Yom Kippur, is the climax of awe, and then, with the blast of the Shofar, the intense energy bursts into joy and excitement. Why are these holidays so close together? How are we to move so quickly between these extreme emotions, awe and joy? The truth is that awe and joy are two sides of the same coin, two expressions of the same reality. On Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, we focus on our core self, our soul, which is a spark of the Divine. When we focus on our own core, on the part of us which is connected to G-d unconditionally, we elicit the revelation of G-d’s unconditional bond and love for us. G-d’s unconditional love brings about the atonement from sins and the cleansing of spiritually toxic experiences. On Yom Kippur, we experience our essential bond with G-d, and on Sukkot we celebrate that connection. Which is why the theme of unity is essential to the holiday of Sukkot. The Sukkah is a place where many people can unite. On Sukkot we shake the Lulav, the four species of vegetation which represent the unity between all Jews. The celebration of the unconditional bond between G-d and the Jewish soul, will include all Souls, for all souls are united as one. On the final day of his life Moses relays the commandment that, once in seven years, all the Jewish People should assemble to hear the Torah read in unity. This event, referred to as Hakhel, assembly, occurs on the festival of Sukkot. In order for the people of Israel to truly feel united as one we must experience the part of us which is indeed integrated with all other Jews. We must experience our soul. The unity of Hakhel can occur only after the introspection of Yom Kippur is expressed in the joy of Sukkot. (Adapted from Lekutei Sichos, Sukos vol 19, and Kli Yakar on Hakhel).
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