During the Holiday of Succos we observe and experience many Mitzvos while in a state of happiness; the Succah, the four species, the recitation of Hallel. During the time when the Temple in Jerusalem was functioning, there was a great celebration on each night of Succos accompanied by music, dancing and singing. This took place when they drew water to be used for the water libation on the Altar the following day.
There was also a ceremony each day of Succos where the Kohanim circled the Altar with a willow branch. On the seventh day of Succos, known as Hoshana Rabah, the Kohanim circled the Altar with willows seven times.
We recall this ritual by circling the Bimah once each day with our Lulav and Esrog, while someone holds a Sefer Torah at the Bimah. Special prayers and pleas appropriate for each day are recited while doing so. The Seventh day of Succos is Hoshana Rabah – the great plea – we encircle the Bimah seven times while all the Torah scrolls in the ark are held at the Bimah. This is a beautiful sight to behold.
Our Sages teach us that on the Holiday of Succos we are judged on the amount of rainfall we will receive for the year.
These rituals are pleas to G-d for adequate rainfall, and for the rains to be for blessing and not destruction.
The eighth day of the holiday is called Shemini Atzeres. On Shemini Atzeres we are not commanded to sit in the Succah or shake the four species; it is a holiday in of itself without any external Mitzvah. We only have the Mitzvah to be happy while refraining from prohibited activities associated with Yom Tov. The essence of Shemini Atzeres is described by our sages in the Talmud as a day which G-d set aside for us so that Succos does not come to an abrupt end. G-d so to speak tells us, “After you have experienced and been in an atmosphere of holiness from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur and then Succos, a total of 21 days, I ask you to spend one extra day with Me in the canopy of a holiday, without the need to perform an external Mitzvah.” This request of G-d, is similar to how parents ask their visiting children to stay around for an extra day to somewhat cushion the effect of their departure.
Of course, we always have an intimate relationship with G-d, but during the holiday season, with the cleansing of our sins and the involvement with the holiday of Succos, we are on a heightened level of closeness to G-d. G-d therefore, gives us a bonus, Shemini Atzeres to hold on to this level of closeness to G-d.
On Shemini Atzeres we begin mentioning G-d’s power to provide rain in the beginning of our Amidah prayers.
It is most appropriate that we mention G-d’s power of rain in the blessing which speaks of G-d’s power of resurrecting the dead, for essentially, rain is the ingredient which promotes and sustains life and growth and is totally controlled by the Almighty.
Resurrection of the dead is in this way similar to rain; they are both powers that are held exclusively by the Almighty.
The process of resurrection is actually manifest in the development of plants and tree growth. When a seed is planted in the ground, it first decomposes and then rejuvenates into the specific species. Essentially, when we bury our dead we are enabling them to eventually resurrect and reemerge from the ground at the time G-d deems fitting.
Interestingly, the Torah does not speak openly of the Resurrection, it only hints to it in a few places.
The Talmud relates that non-Jewish philosophers asked the Sages for a proof that G-d knows the future and that He resurrects the dead. The Sage quoted a verse as proof. The philosophers retorted that the verse could be understood in a way that does not prove the resurrection. The Sage responded, “At least accept that G-d knows the future.”
A question is asked, why didn’t the Sage, proceed to prove the resurrection from a different verse?
An answer offered is that the Sage realized that if they were not inspired with the proof that G-d knows the future and were stuck on the point of resurrection, there was nothing that they could say to convince them, for they were not interested in accepting the Torah as a Divine mandate. Thus, any proof would be somehow refuted and not accepted.
Every Jew by design and makeup is a believer of G-d and the Divinity of Torah – for our Sages tell us that an angel teaches the entire Torah to an embryo while it is in utero. As the baby exits its mother’s womb, the angel taps the baby above its lip and it forgets the Torah.
Although the teaching is forgotten, it leaves a sublime indelible imprint of the entire scope of Torah on every Jew. Eventually, when they study Torah and observe the Mitzvos, the Torah that they had been originally taught is reawakened!
The final day of Succos for us living in the Diaspora is called Simchas Torah. It is the day when we complete the yearly reading of the Torah, which ends with the portion of V’zos Habrocha. We immediately begin reading the beginning of the Torah from Beraishis to show that Torah is a continuous non ending study. Sinchas Torah is a day dedicated for rejoicing by dancing and singing with the Torah at night and by day.
The last few verses of the Torah describe our leader Moshe’s death. The question is who wrote these verses? Can it be that Moshe wrote about his death? One opinion in the Talmud is that Yehoshua, Moshe’s successor as leader of the Jewish people wrote it. The other opinion is that Moshe himself wrote it. However, he did not use the conventional black ink while writing these verses. Rather, he used his tears, and only after he passed on was it filled in with ink.