Minute Rice

An astounding Universal Jewish Event is about to take place, G-d willing. Hundreds of human beings were taken captive because they were Jewish or associated with Israel. If you or I were there, we would have been taken. Je suis un Captif. And so, the impending release of these captives is a time for national jubilation and gratitude. 

This event was foreshadowed in the book of Nehemiah through an event that took place some 2,400 years ago: “And all the congregation of those who had returned from captivity made Sukkot, and dwelt in the Sukkot; for since the days of Yeshua, son of Nun, to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was a very great rejoicing.” (8:17) The Jewish People were exiled to Babylonia, where they remained for 70 years. Under Persian rule, the Jewish People were granted permission to return and rebuild the Second Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The captives returned during the Festival of Sukkot, just as our own brothers and sisters will return, G-d willing, during this most joyous festival.

There is deep significance to the return of captives during Sukkot, as well as the “Great Rejoicing.” Our Rabbis teach us that “It is befitting that the entire Jewish People should dwell in one Sukkah.” This Mitzvah, more than any other, brings out absolute Jewish Unity. As long as hostages are being held, the entire Jewish People cannot dwell in one Sukkah. We are incomplete; the Mitzvah is incomplete. With this miraculous (though through natural channels) redemption, the Jewish People are reunited, and the Mitzvah of Sukkah can now encompass the entire nation.  The Sukkah is not only a physical structure; it is a Divine Aura, a manifestation of the Shechinah, that takes us all in.

The most profound joy, with everlasting results, is the joy that emerges from sorrow, like the light that emerges from darkness. For reasons that we don’t yet fully understand, this is the history of the Jewish people. The great joy in the time of Nehemiah produced permanent spiritual and physical upgrades for the Jewish people (see Talmud Erechin 32:b). These improvements were specifically because it was an emergence of redemptive light from the darkness of exile.  This is also true of the holiday of Sukkot. Three times does the Torah say to be joyous on this holiday. This extreme happiness is because it follows the Teshuvah of Yom Kippur (and the days leading up to it).

May the Jewish people rejoice again, with the actual release of the hostages, and may our national joyous unity yield the fruits of Universal Redemption through Mashiach.