Community Magazine October 2019

16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Words of Rabbi Eli J. Mansour “Even if one is driven by lofty and noble ambitions, this does not mean that his actions are correct and proper. We must not just mean well, but also act well…” לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה. The Connection between Sukkot and The Garden of Eden The Midrash chooses a very unusual way to describe the festive holiday of Sukkot. Noting the Torah’s command to hold the arba’ah minim (four species) on “the first day” of the holiday, the Midrash comments that the first day of Sukkot marks “the first day of the accounting of sin.” The common understanding of this mysterious remark is that our sins are atoned on Yom Kippur, and during the next several days, we are too preoccupied with the preparations for Sukkot to commit sins. And thus, the onset of Sukkot marks what we might call “the new year of sins” – when we begin committing sins anew. Can this really be what the Midrash means? Were our sages so pessimistic as to assume that wewould start sinning, and lose everything we achieved during the High Holiday period, once Sukkot begins? And even if they were, is this really what Sukkot is all about, that they would describe it this way? Some commentators therefore proposed a deeper interpretation of the Midrash’s comment, explaining that Sukkot brings us back to the very first sin – the sin of Adam and Havah in the garden of Eden. On this holiday, we seek to correct the mistake they made, the sin they committed which resulted in the condemnation of all mankind for all time to a life of hardship and, ultimately, death. But how is this done? What connection is there between the celebration of Sukkot and the forbidden tree in Eden? How do the mitzvot of this particular holiday reverse the catastrophic effects of Adam and Havah’s sin? The Forbidden Tree We begin our answer by noting a subtle nuance in the story of the forbidden tree. When the snake approached Havah, and attempted to lure her to partake of this tree, it asked, “Is it true that Gd said, ‘You may not eat from any of the trees in the garden?’” (Beresheet 3:1). Havah then immediately corrected the snake by explaining that they were allowed to eat “from the fruit of the trees of the garden,” and were forbidden from eating only from the one tree which was designated as off-limits.