Is Sukkos the Happiest Time of the Year?

Sukkah illustration from Tablet

Sukkos is called Z’man Simchasenu - our time for rejoicing. The question arises, why is this particular Yom tov referred to that way? Is there no Simcha to be had on the other 2 of the Shalosh Regalim?

Of course there is. But Sukkos is the only Yom Tov described in the Torah that way. In fact we insert that term into the Teifilos (Shemonah Esreh) that we recite several  times every day of Sukkos. 

Why is that? I saw an answer that appealed to me and to which I have added my own thoughts. Which I will share.

The fact that Sukkos follows Yom Kippur almost immediately might give some insight  as to why the Torah treats Sukkos as a day of joy more than any other Yom Tov.

On Yom Kippur we reach out to God for forgiveness of all of our sins. We fast and pray mightily for that forgiveness. Those of us that are sincere in regretting our sins and pledge to never do them again, are assured that we will be forgiven. 

This is true even though we know that we will very likely fall back into the same pattern of sinful behavior once Yom Kippur and Sukkos have passed. God knows we are human. Teshuva is a process. Not a ‘One and Done’. As long as our regret is sincere, So too is God’s forgiveness. We have made a step in the right direction – even if we know we will relapse.

This is where the joy of Sukkos comes in. Imagine the joy someone on death row must feel when  a DNA test proves his innocence, he is released from prison and set free. On Sukkos that is the feeling we should have. Although we are not proven innocent by a DNA test – that we were completely forgiven by the King of all Kings and ‘set free’  just a few days ago should give us the same sense of joy a now released wrongly convicted prisoner on death row would feel.

As we enter Z’Man Simchasenu of the year 5783  (2022) I wish all of my readers, commentators, and contributors  a truly joyous Sukkos holiday. 

Chag Kosher V’Sameach.