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The Eighth Day is Ours
The sukkah represents our temporary dwelling here in This World

The Eighth Day is Ours


On the fifteenth of this [seventh] month shall be the festival of Sukkot to G-d for seven days. On the first day is a holy convocation. ...The eighth day is a sacred holiday to you....(Lev. 23:34-36) …G-d will rejoice when all of mankind proves that it was worthy of having been created

Just as the sukkah symbolizes a temporary abode, so life on earth represents only a transient part of man's existence. It is divided into seven decades. The first decade is sin-free, hence, "the first day is a holy convocation". During the seven days we offer sacrifices also on behalf of the rest of mankind (the seventy nations), since G-d will rejoice when all of mankind proves that it was worthy of having been created.

The eighth day, representing the eighth decade of our lives, i.e. life after the evil urge has lost its power over us, the holy convocation will be "for you", i.e. for us rather than "for G d", since it will be Israel who will be entitled to celebrate its own achievements then.

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from Torat Moshe by Rabbi Moshe Alshich   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Rabbi Moshe Alshich (1508-1600) was a rabbi and halachic authority in Safed and later in Damascus, ordained by Rabbi Yosef Caro. However, he was most famous for his eloquent sermons on the weekly Torah readings, and his works of commentary on nearly all of the 24 books of Scriptures.
Eliyahu Munk, the translator, was born in Frankfurt, emigrated to England as a young man and then to Toronto. After retiring from education and moving to Israel in 1978, he began an extraordinary second career as a translator, publishing English versions of the Torah commentaries of Rebbeinu Bachya, Akeidat Yitzchak, the Shelah, the Alshich and the Ohr Hachayim.

 



 


Mystical Classics
A Holiday for G-d
The Fruit of Desire
The Eighth Day is Ours
Foundation of the Festivals