בס”ד

Succot

The Feast of Tabernacles is a holiday for not just Israel, but for all the nations as well. We learn this from many places in the scripture, one of which is Numbers 29:12-39.  In this passage one must pay special attention to the number of bulls which are offered each of the seven days of the festival. We read that on the first day thirteen bulls are sacrificed. Each additional day there is one less bull offered until the seventh day when seven bulls are sacrificed. Therefore, in total there are seventy bulls offered during the seven festival days. The number seventy is important because we learn that seventy nations came from Noah (see Genesis 10).

The teaching is this, during Succot there is one bull offered for each of the seventy nations that came from Noah. In other words, each people group is remembered during Succot for a specific purpose. What is this purpose? The number seventy provides the clue. Seventy is comprised of seven times ten. The number ten relates to completion and of course the number seven relates to holiness. We therefore derive that one of the primary messages of Succot is that it is G-d’s desire that all people, Jew and Gentile alike, become Holy.

We also learn from Scripture that one is to take four types of vegetation in his hand (see Lev. 23:40). The tradition is to wave these four species in six different directions. These are North, South, East, West, Upwards and Downwards. Once again numbers are important means that HaShem uses to teach His people spiritual principles. The number four found in the Bible. We are instructed to take the four species in Leviticus 23:40. The number four relates to the four primary directions (North, South, East, and West). Therefore the number four has a global significance. The number six, as in waving the four species in six different directions, is rabbinical in nature, but reveals an important truth. Six relates to grace; therefore G-d is once again proclaiming His desire that His grace goes out from Jerusalem to the world.

If one puts these two thoughts together, he will arrive at an important truth. It is only through G-d’s grace, which was established in Jerusalem by means of sacrifice, that one can become Holy in G-d’s sight. This sacrifice is the Messiah, Who became flesh and dwelt with us through Yeshua. It is important to note that the word dwelt is related “tabernacle”.

Chag Semach!