Simchas Beis Hashoeva 5767, Kfar Chabad

06:47 Speaker 1 Good evening, honored guests. A joyous Yom Tov! Moadim lesimchah, and welcome to everyone who has come to take part in the central Simchas Beis Hashoeva here in Kfar Chabad, organized by the Kfar Chabad Committee under the leadership of our friend Rabbi Binyamin Lifshitz, may he live and be well. I’m sure I speak for all of you in thanking the committee members, the chairman, and everyone who worked so hard to prepare this great evening. We are in the days of Sukkos. The Torah speaks of three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. The words of the Midrash in Yalkut Shimoni are well known: regarding Pesach, the Torah does not use an expression of joy. Regarding Shavuos, the word “joy” appears only once. But regarding Sukkos, the Torah speaks of joy three times. That is why, of the three festivals, Sukkos in particular is called “the season of our rejoicing.” Pesach is the season of our freedom. Shavuos is the season of the giving of our Torah. But Sukkos is what we call the season of our rejoicing. And within Sukkos itself, there is Simchas Beis Hashoeva every evening, about which the Gemara says: “Whoever did not see Simchas Beis Hashoeva never saw joy in his life.” In one of his holy sichos, the Rebbe asks: Why does the Gemara say, “Whoever did not see Simchas Beis Hashoeva never saw joy in his life”? Why doesn’t it say, “Whoever did not participate in Simchas Beis Hashoeva never participated in joy in his life”? Why does it speak of seeing? We know that there is a great difference between seeing and hearing. When a person hears something, it can still be refuted. It has not become so firmly established for him. By contrast, when a person sees something, he and what he has seen become one. This is also reflected in the halachah that a witness cannot serve as a judge. A person who has seen

09:40 Speaker 1 a particular event is a witness to it; he cannot then judge it, because he is already biased. He saw it himself. That is what the Gemara means when it says, “Whoever did not see Simchas Beis Hashoeva never saw joy in his life.” Simchas Beis Hashoeva has a special power: its joy can permeate a Jew’s entire being, unite with him, become part of him, and connect with him until he and the joy become one, as with something he has seen. And when a person reaches that kind of joy, joy that is like seeing, then throughout his life he sees joy and joy and more joy. May Hashem grant that through the joy of a mitzvah, the joy of Simchas Beis Hashoeva, we all soon merit to see joy in every aspect of our lives throughout the year. And may we merit, this very year, to see and celebrate Simchas Beis Hashoeva in the third Beis Hamikdash, in its courtyard, with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu in the true and complete Geulah. Amen and amen. We open with words of the Rebbe. Earlier we heard a point from one of the Rebbe’s sichos, and I would like to honor and invite the local rav of Kfar Chabad, the distinguished chossid Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi, to share words of Torah and blessing with us. Rabbi Ashkenazi, please.

11:52 Speaker 2 Good evening! Welcome to Kfar Chabad. Moadim lesimchah—may these festivals be times of gladness. Our gathering this evening for Simchas Beis Hashoeva was already mentioned. About the joy of Simchas Beis Hashoeva, the Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Lulav that there was great rejoicing, and he connects it to the verse at the end of Parshas Emor: “You shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d.” From this, our Sages derived this celebration. Although there is a mitzvah to rejoice on all the festivals, the joy of Sukkos surpasses them all—and not only the joy of the festival, but the joy of Simchas Beis Hashoeva. Why? Because it says, “You shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d.” This joy, described as being “before Hashem your G-d,” also calls to mind Yom Kippur, the one day of the year about which it says, “On this day you shall be purified before Hashem your G-d.” Hashem’s Name is mentioned here, and His Name is mentioned there. Both speak of our standing before Hashem—before the great, holy, and awesome Name of Havayah. There, it takes the form of atonement: the Kohen Gadol confesses the sins of his people, the Jewish people, before Hashem and pronounces the explicit Divine Name. And the same expression is used of Simchas Beis Hashoeva: “You shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d.” This teaches us the greatness of this joy, its profound significance, the greatness of this tremendous rejoicing. As the Rebbe explains in his sichos, what we did not manage to accomplish in the days of teshuvah, the days of kabbolas ol of the Kingdom of Heaven, the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, can be accomplished through the joy of Simchas Beis Hashoeva, of which it says, “You shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d.” So now, as we take part in the joy of Simchas Beis Hashoeva, we must recall the rejoicing that took place in the Beis Hamikdash. Why was this celebration called Simchas Beis Hashoeva?

14:45 Speaker 2 Because there they drew down ruach hakodesh. It was joy of holiness, joy of purity. And so, as we celebrate it now, we must reflect and feel that we are standing before Hashem our G-d. Just as it says on Yom Kippur, “Before Hashem you shall be purified,” so too this rejoicing takes place before Hashem. The joy must therefore be spiritual joy, joy from the innermost soul, joy of holiness, joy of purity. May it be the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu that we accomplish everything we need to accomplish through this joy. May we merit true and complete joy: a year of joy, a year of Geulah, a year of salvation for the entire Jewish people, who so desperately need Geulah and salvation. Through this joy, of which it is said, “Joy breaks through barriers” and “Joy sweetens harsh judgments,” may each and every one of us experience true and complete joy, both collectively and individually, materially and spiritually.

16:08 Speaker 3 Yasher koach, and thank you very much to the local rav, the distinguished chossid Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi, for his words of Torah and blessing. We wish him a year filled with happy occasions and nachas. I want to address the audience: the singing will have its turn, and it will continue for many hours. This is the joy of a mitzvah, and there is also value in sharing a little Torah. I ask everyone to please respect the occasion and be patient. The singing and rejoicing will certainly have their turn. I would like to invite the chossid Rabbi Moshe Halperin to come and make a siyum on Tractate Yoma. We ask the audience to respect the occasion. Rabbi Halperin, please.