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Kinder Torah© Succos Kinder Torah© Succos “Why shouldn’t they be? Did something Hillel is referring to is the heart of a per- Fix All Four sad happen, chas v’shalom (Heaven for- son. The person is guided by his heart. If bid) that I have not yet heard about?” his heart motivates him to do something, “W hat a beautiful set of arba minim “No, Baruch Hashem. However, I see then he will put all of his efforts into it. (four species) you have, Chaim!” happy people singing and dancing at Therefore if “I” (my heart) is here, then “Baruch Hashem. They may be more Simchas Beis HaShoeva; celebrating everything (all of my energies) are here, beautiful than you think, Avi. Please let night after night. Just last week, during focused on what I am doing. Hillel said me point out a few things about them. Aseres Yemei Teshuva everyone was so this while he was rejoicing at the Simchas Do you see the leaves of this hadass? serious. What happened?” Beis HaShoeva, the nightly celebrations at They are shaped like the eyes. The “Chaim let me explain. Ever since Rosh the Beis HaMikdash during the holiday of aravah leaves resemble the lips. The Chodesh Elul, we had been intensely Succos. He put his whole heart into mak- lulav stands up straight like the spine of working on correcting our sins by doing ing himself and those around him happy. an upright person. And the beautiful, teshuva. The culmination was Yom Kip- That was the mitzvah of the day. pure esrog is shaped like a heart.” pur, a day of tearful fasting and prayer “Fascinating. I was only complimenting to Hashem. We begged Him to wipe Kinderlach . their physical attractiveness, but you our slates clean and forgive us of all our We learn two important lessons from Hillel. pointed out a much deeper beauty.” sins. How we cried, how we struck our One is the importance of being happy and “Rabbeinu Bechaye, citing a Medrash, hearts, how we regretted every wrong making others happy on Succos. Secondly, has a profound insight on the spiritual thing that we had ever done. we learn to put our whole heart into what value of these arba minim.” we are doing. When we do that, we know “Please share it with me, Chaim.” that we have done our best. We have given nd “A then . the shofar blast. everything. We can do no better than that. “T he eyes and the heart of a person We were forgiven. Hashem is so We have many mitzvos on Succos – living are the main agents for all mitzvos and kind. He cleansed our souls and in the Sukkah, lulav, and rejoicing. On sins. As the verse states, ‘Do not we began anew. What a great Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah, we sing explore after your heart and after feeling! Who is truly happy? and dance with the Torah for hours on your eyes’ (Bamidbar 15:39). The One who is free of sin. The end. Let us put our whole heart into these eye sees, and the heart desires. As most intense happiness in the mitzvos, and all of our mitzvos. May we all for the lips, and the words that times of the Beis HaMikdash merit to have a Chag Sameach, and to they form, they can be used to do occurred during the holiday of dance in the courtyard of the Beis HaMik- many, many mitzvos or (Heaven Succos, in the Simchas Beis dash this year. forbid) sins. What about the spine? HaShoeva celebrations. The It is the foundation of the body. It Sages used to dance and gives strength by transmitting the sing: “Fortunate is the one Questions: commands of the brain. Most of the who does not sin. And one • body’s actions depend on these four who sins, let him return and be When do we put up the succah? (Shul- organs, which are represented by the forgiven” (Succah 53a). can Auruch Orach Chaim 625:1 - Rema and Mishna Brura) arba minim. A person’s sins also • usually involve the eyes, heart, lips, Kinderlach . What is the maximum height of a suc- or spine.” We have yet another reason to be cah? (633:1) Minimum height? (633:8) happy on Succos. We are free. Minimum area? (634:1) Maximum Truly free. Free of what? Free of area (634:1) “If so, then how can he shake the • arba minim? They represent so many sins. We are cleansed and purified. What activities must we do in the suc- sins.” Like a beautiful white garment, cah? (639:1) “That is precisely the point, Avi. Rabbe- with not a spot of dirt on it. The inu Bechaye explains that the way to soul rejoices when it is receive atonement for the sins cleansed of all of the committed with these four limbs is to “spiritual dirt” of Save Kinder Torah!!! perform mitzvos with the arba minim sin. Therefore, we which represent the four limbs.” rejoice in dancing After 9 years of service to Jewish com- “How comforting. What you are saying is and song on the munities worldwide… approximately that Succos is like Yom Kippur.” holiday of Succos. “In a manner of speaking.” 400 editions… “Thank you for giving me a whole new insight into this beautiful mitzvah.” Your Whole Heart 850 stories and Divrei Torah… copies distributed… Kinderlach . “I f I am here, everything is here. If I 1,650,000 Rabbeinu Bechaye shows us how the lulav am not here, then who is here?” Who Kinder Torah is facing connects Succos to Yom Kippur. When you would say something like this? It sounds FINANCIAL COLLAPSE!!! shake the arba minim, think about your like someone who is very caught up in Please give generously to keep this vital eyes, heart, lips, and spine. You are doing a himself. This statement was actually made project alive!!! mitzvah with plants that represent those by the Hillel, in the Gemora (Sukkah parts of the body. This can help correct any 53a). Hillel? Can it be? He was one of the Donations may be mailed to: sins done with them. Kinderlach, this is yet most humble of our sages. He could not POB 5338 another reason to be happy on Succos. be angered by anyone, not even an inso- Jerusalem, 91052 lent person who disturbed his Erev Shab- Or deposited directly in Bank HaDoar bos bath three times. This statement Account number 7-65631-5 Free of Sin seems very out of character for Hillel. It must have a deeper meaning. “A vi, what is going on?” “What do you mean, Chaim?” R av Shmuel Rozofsky zt”l (as quoted in “Why is everyone so happy?” Lekach Tov) explained that the “I” that Kinder Torah © Copyright 2006 ! All rights reserved to the author Simcha Groffman ! P.O.B. 5338, Jlm, 91052, Israel ! Tel: (02) 585-2216 Kinder Torah is distributed each week in Ashkelon, Bat Yam, Bayit Vegan, Beit Yisrael, Beitar, Bnai Brak, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Effrat, Eilat, Ezras Torah, Geula, Givat Shaul, Givat Ze’ev, Gonen, Gush Shemonim, Haifa, Har Nof, Ilford, Istanbul, Izmir, Johannesburgh, Kfar HaRif, Kiryat Sefer, Kosel Maaravi, Los Angeles, Maale Amos, Maalot Dafna, Machane Yehuda, Manchester, Mattersdorf, Mattisyahu, Modiin, Neve Yaakov, North Miami Beach, Peduel, Philadelphia, Psagot, Ramat Shlomo, Ramot, Rechovot, Rommema, San Simone, Sanhedria HaMurchevet, Telz Stone, Toronto, Unsdorf, Yishuv Eli, Zichron Yaakov and other cities. Subscribe for yourself or sponsor your shul. Just 120₪ per year. All contributions are deductible from Maaser Kesafim. #4#4111999## .
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