torah

Rejoicing before G-d, along with all our people

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The concluding section of our parasha, Re’eh, focuses on the moadim that we encounter throughout the year. Herein, we are met with two pasukim, the first in reference to Shavuot and the second in reference to Succot, that contain very similar terminology:

And you shall rejoice before Hashem; you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite who is within your cities, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which Hashem will choose to establish His Name therein. …

And you shall rejoice in your Festival, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities. (Devarim 16:11 and14)

A careful reading of these verses reveals two groups differentiated by the terms, “your” and “the,” respectively: your son, your daughter, your manservant, and your maidservant (personal); and the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow (public). In both instances, we are obligated to provide for the festival needs of these individuals, to ensure that they, no less than we, will celebrate yom tov with true joy.

Just as we are joined by our b’nai bayit, that is, our extended family, in rejoicing on the yom tovim, so, too, is Hashem joined by His b’nai bayit, the Levite, stranger, orphan, and widow.

The midrash continues stressing the reward we will receive when we fulfill this mitzvah: “The Holy One blessed be He said: “I have told you to help that which is Mine and that which is yours to rejoice on the yamim tovim that I have given you. If you have done this, then I, too, will enable that which is Mine and that which is yours to rejoice. For in the future, I will help both to rejoice in My Chosen House (beit habechirah) …”

It is crucial to understand that ministering to the needs of the down-trodden in society on the yom tovim is more than a midrashic ideal, it is a halachic imperative.

As Maimonides states: “When a person eats and drinks [in celebration of a yom tov day], he is obligated to feed converts, orphans, widows, and others who are destitute and poor. In contrast, a person who locks the gates of his courtyard and eats and drinks with his children and his wife, without feeding the poor and the embittered, is [not indulging in] rejoicing associated with a mitzvah, but rather the rejoicing of his belly. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yom Tov 6:18) 

With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may we strive to fulfill this mitzvah and witness the realization of Hashem’s promise soon, and in our time.

As Yeshayahu the prophet declares, “I will bring them to My holy mount, and I will cause them to rejoice in My house of prayer … for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” V’chane yihi ratzon.