- להאזנה סוכות 032 רוח הקודש בשמחת בית השואבה תשעג
032 Simchas Beis HaShoeivah – The Unified Song
- להאזנה סוכות 032 רוח הקודש בשמחת בית השואבה תשעג
Succos - 032 Simchas Beis HaShoeivah – The Unified Song
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“Anyone Who Did Not See The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, Never Saw Joy In His Lifetime”
Succos is called “zman simchaseinu”, time of our joy. A major part of the simchah on Succos was the event of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah [a festive celebration made in the Beis HaMikdash starting from the second night of Succos], as the Rambam says.
Chazal say that “One who did not see the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, never saw simchah in all his days.”[1] What was this special simchah, and why was it different than all other joys? And how can it be that a person who never saw the Beis HaShoeivah never saw simchah in his entire life?! Is there no simchah available on our world?! What about the joy of a chosson and kallah, whose joy resembles the joy in Gan Eden? What is the meaning of this cryptic statement, that a person who did not see the simchas beis hashoeivah never saw simchah in his entire life?
Let us study, then, what was so special about this simchah.
The Four Instruments By The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah
Chazal say that at the simchas beis hashoeivah, the chassidim (pious individuals) and anshei maaseh (people of worthy deeds) would sing songs and say words of praise, and in addition, the Levites would sing with four different instruments:
- kinoros (harps),
- nevalim (cymbals),
- matzaltayim (lyres), and
- chatzotzros (trumpets).
The question is: (1) Why these four instruments specifically? (2) Another question: the Mishnah later says that there was a countless amount of musical instruments there. So why does the Mishnah make specific mention of these four instruments?
The Two Different Songs By The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah
The Gemara says that at the Simchas Beis haShoeivah, the chassidim and anshei maaseh would sing, “Praiseworthy is our childhood, for we have not shamed our elders.” The baalei teshuvah sang a different song: “Praiseworthy is our old age, for we have atoned for our childhood.” These were two distinct kinds of songs.
The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah was a fulfillment of the mitzvah to rejoice on the festival, as the Rambam says. If so, why was this joy experienced on two different levels? Did the simchah depend on what level of teshuvah a person reached?
We will need to ask another question: What is simchas Yom Tov? The joy on the festival, externally speaking, is fulfilled with drinking wine, now that we do not have the korbonos of the Beis HaMikdash. But what is the simchas Yom Tov about? What are we rejoicing about on the festival? Simply speaking, the joy of Succos is because Hashem took us out of Egypt and brought us into the Clouds of Glory. So why were there different kinds of joy by the simchas beis haShoeivah, depending on if you were of the chassidim, anshei maaseh, or baalei teshuvah?
When the nation left Egypt, were there baalei teshuvah then? Everyone was on the same level then, there were no differences. They all did not change their names, clothing, and language. So why did this joy become differentiated on Succos, depending on what level you were on?
Succos Is The Continued Joy of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur
We have explained so far that there were two kinds of joy by the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah. There was a joy of the chassidim and anshei maaseh, and there was another joy, experienced by the baalei teshuvah. What were these two different joys?
On Rosh HaShanah, the world begins anew. When there is a new beginning, it is the birth of the world, and there are no baalei teshuvah yet. Everything has just been born and it is all clean and pure. On Yom Kippur, though, there are baalei teshuvah. Yom Kippur is a time of teshuvah for all. Rosh HaShanah is the pure beginning of the world, while Yom Kippur is about atonement for everyone, for all who have sinned.
On Succos, which is the time of our joy, this is not just ‘another’ added joy. Rather, it is the continued joy that began with Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. On Succos, there is a joy that has been continued from Rosh HaShanah, and there is another continued joy on Succos – a continuation of Yom Kippur.
The joy on Succos that began on Rosh HaShanah is a joy that celebrates new beginnings. That joy was represented by the chassidim and anshei maaseh. Thus, they would sing, “Praiseworthy is our childhood, for we have not shamed our elders”, for this was the joy continued from Rosh HaShanah, which is a pure state, where there is no sin. The joy of the baalei teshuvah, however, was a continuation of Yom Kippur. On Motzei Yom Kippur, a Heavenly voice goes out and proclaims, “Go eat your bread in joy” – this is the joy of the baalei teshuvah. Thus their song was “Praiseworthy is our old age, which has atoned for our sins”.
Therefore, the simchas beis hashoeivah contained two different joys: the joy continued from Rosh HaShanah, and the joy continued from Yom Kippur. These were the different songs of the chassidim and anshei maaseh versus the song of the baalei teshuvah.
Succos: The Connecting Point Between All Jews
The Gemara concludes that “These and these (the chassidim and anshei maaseh, together with the baalei teshuvah) would say, “Praiseworthy is the one who did not sin. And one who has sinned, should repent and he will be forgiven.” The first part of this song made sense for the chassidim and anshei maaseh (who did not sin) to say, for they did not sin, and the second part of the song sounds like the baalei teshuvah (who sinned and repented). If so, why did they both say each of these sentences?
Herein lays the secret of Succos.
Rosh HaShanah is a new beginning, where there is no sin; Yom Kippur is an atonement for all who have sinned – and what does Succos do? It connects both of these elements together – both those who have never sinned, and those who have sinned. This is apparent from the fact that chassidim, anshei maaseh and baalei teshuvah both sang together the song of “Praiseworthy is the one who did not sin, and one who has sinned, should repent and be forgiven.” The day of Rosh HaShanah is a day that celebrates the pure state of the anshei maaseh and the chassidim, and the day of Yom Kippur is a day that is designated for the baalei teshuvah, whereas Succos synthesizes these two groups together.
Succos is the connecting point between all Jews. Chazal state that in the future, the entire Jewish people will sit in one succah.[2] Thus, the succah connects everyone together. That is why the chassidim, anshei maaseh and baalei teshuvah were all connected together on Succos, through the song they sang at the simchas beis hashoeivah.
The Deeper Meaning Behind The Four Musical Instruments
Let us return to our previous question on the words of the Mishnah, which describes the simchas beis hashoeivah. The Mishnah says that the Leviim would play certain instruments, along with the song at the simchas beis hashoeivah. They used four instruments: kinoros\harps, nevalim\lyres, matzltayim\cymbals, and chatzotzros\trumpets. Why these four instruments specifically?
Kinoros\Harps: The Baalei Teshuvah
The kinor (harp) was the instrument used by Dovid HaMelech. The Gemara says that Dovid HaMelech hung a kinor atop his bed so that the northern wind at midnight would blow on it and he would wake up from it. Dovid HaMelech is the root of baalei teshuvah. The kinor at the simchas beis hashoeivah was thus a symbol for baalei teshuvah, and therefore, the kinor accompanied the song of the baalei teshuvah at the simchas beis hashoeivah.
Nevalim\Lyres: The Chassidim
The second instruments were the nevalim, lyres.
The word nevalim, from the word neval, is explained by Chazal to be “an instrument that causes nevel, disgust, to the other musical instruments that are played along with it, because its beautiful sound causes everyone to focus on its sound and forget about the other musical instruments. It is like hearing a sweet voice in a crowd of unpleasant voices – it causes people to disgust all other voices there, and to focus only on the sweet-sounding voice.
The group of Jews who did not sin – those who were called chassidim and anshei maaseh - represented this concept of nevel, for since they did not sin, they were pure, and this causes a disgust for those who did sin, who now seem inferior in their spiritual level to these pure souls who never sin. The baalei teshuvah feel disgusted about themselves (and in the eyes of others) in the presence of chassidim and anshei maaseh, who never sinned to begin with.
As the two groups sang together, the chassidim and anshei maaseh were singing a song of praise in honor of those who did not sin, and the baalei teshuvah were singing the praises of those who repented, and the contrast of these two songs together clearly made the baalei teshuvah feel a disgust about themselves, for it was clear that the chassidim and anshei maaseh were on a much higher spiritual level. That was the inner meaning behind the nevalim.
Matzaltayim (Cymbals) and Chatzotzros (Trumpets): The Anshei Maaseh
The other instruments two there were the matzaltayim (cymbals) and chatzotzros (trumpets). What did these two instruments represent?
Concerning the matter of the chatzotzros, the Maggid of Mezritch said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that chatzotzros stands for “chatzi tzurah”, “half a form” [this will be explained soon]. And what were the matzaltayim? They combined together the two chatzotzros. The two chatzotzros\trumpets, in and of themselves, were like “half” an instrument, because they are meant to accompany the sound of the matzaltayim\cymbals. Thus, through the matzaltayim, the two chatzotzros are combined together to have a meaningful sound.
Until now we explained the connection between the kinoros\harps and the baalei teshuvah, and the connection between the nevalim\lyres and the chassidim. What were the anshei maaseh, and what musical instrument represents this group?
First, we need to know the meaning of anshei maaseh. Who are anshei maaseh? Simply speaking, we can say that these are people who have many good deeds. But other commentaries say a deeper meaning of anshei maaseh: these are leaders of the generation who cause the people in the generation to do good deeds.
So, in summary, there are three groups of people: the chassidim are those who never sinned to begin with, the baalei teshuvah are those who sinned but they repented with all their heart, and anshei maaseh are leaders of the generation.
Moshe Rabbeinu appointed Yehoshua, a “man of spirit”, which is explained as “one who can lead each person according to his spirit”. Each person, by himself, is “half a form”, like the chatzotzros. If we try to connect a person to another, he might not have a good relationship with that person, or, he may bond with the person. On Succos, through the matzaltayim, the two halves of the chatzotzros were connected together. Two opposite things become connected together, like a husband and wife, which are connected together through a third, spiritual force that can unite the two opposite forces together. This was represented by the matzaltayim.
Thus, a chassid is the kind of person who does not sin, a baal teshuvah is one who has sinned but he has repented, and one who is of the anshei maaseh (or a baal maasim) is someone who has the ability to “combine together opposites” and produce a harmonious sound from it.
If so, there were altogether three different songs by the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah: the song of the chassidim, the song of the baalei teshuvah, and the song of the anshei maaseh.
The song of the chassidim, “Praiseworthy is the one who did not sin”, was a song about those who do not sin, and the song of the baalei teshuvah, “And one who sinned, should repent and be atoned” was an opposite kind of song: it was about those who did sin. What was the connecting force between these two opposite kinds of songs? The anshei maaseh were the connecting point between the chassidim and the baalei teshuvah, for the anshei maaseh were the leaders of the generation who were able to connect everyone together.
(These represents two different major ways of connection to Hashem – one way is through yashrus\uprightness, as depicted in the verse “G-d made man upright”[3], and there is another way, the way of “There is no darkness except from light”, which is the spiritual light of baalei teshuvah).
The Joy of the Nisuch HaMayim (Water Libation) On Succos
What exactly was the simchah, the joy, in the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah? As the Mishnah famously says, it was a celebration about the yearly water libation, the nisuch hamayim, in the Beis HaMikdash. In the time of the Beis HaMikdash, during the rest of the year, they would pour wine on the Altar together with the korbonos, and on Succos, they would pour water with the korbonos. This special water libation, the nisuch hamayim, was the reason for the entire joy of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah. What was so special about this water libation?
It was an entirely new revelation, and it was through the power of water. There are many connections between water and Succos. Succos is the time where the world is judged on its waters. The four species all grow from water. On Succos, we begin to daven for water. And on Succos, they poured water on the Altar. The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah on the holy festival of Succos was a simchah about water, in addition to the wine that they poured with the korbonos on the Altar.
What happened when they poured together the water with the wine? The Mishnah[4] says that there was one hole on the Altar for water, and one hole for wine, and the two holes were separate from each other. The Mishnah discusses: What happens if they made a mistake, and they poured water in the hole for the wine, or vice versa? The Mishnah says that they still fulfilled the mitzvah of nisuch hamayim.
The Rambam discusses another problem: What if they poured the water and wine together into the same hole? The Rambam says that this was also enough to fulfill the mitzvah of the nisuch hamayim. From this we learn a novel insight [involving the concepts of water and wine, which we will explain].
On a deeper level, what was the difference between nisuch hayayin (the wine libation) and the nisuch hamayim (the water libation)? It is based on an opinion in the Gemara that says that the Eitz HaDaas (the Tree of Knowledge) was a grapevine.[5] Thus, it was through wine that all ruination came to the world. In contrast to this wine of ruination, the wine that was poured onto the Altar was a kind of wine which brought spiritual purification.
Even more so, Chazal state that “When one sees a sotah, the wayward wife, in her ruination, he should abstain from wine.”[6] This is because wine is connected with sin, for it brought evil to the world. But when one sins and he has to bring a korbon, how he is atoned? Through the wine on the Altar that was brought together with his korbon.
Whereas water has always been pure, wine became impure through the sin of Adam. On Yom Tov, the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov is fulfilled through wine. The Gemara says that “There is no happiness except in wine.”[7] But on Succos, it was revealed that there is no happiness except in water. We see this from the fact that the main part of simchas Yom Tov on Succos, according to the Rambam, was the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, which was a celebration entirely about water.
Whereas on Pesach and Shavuos a person only fulfills the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov through wine, because “there is no happiness except in wine”, on Succos, there was a new revelation: that the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov (on Succos) is only fulfilled with water, and what kind of water? The water of the nisuch hamayim.
What is the difference between these two forms of simchas Yom Tov, of wine versus water?
During all other festivals, where simchas Yom Tov is with wine, this is an incomplete level of simchah, because wine was ruined by the sin, ever since Adam ate from the Eitz HaDaas. We also see this from the very fact that simchas Yom Tov is only fulfilled nowadays through wine. In the times of the Beis HaMikdash, the mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov was with the meat of the korbonos, and after the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed through our sins, simchas Yom Tov is only fulfilled with wine. Thus, simchas Yom Tov through wine is entirely a result of sin.
Contrast this with the simchah through water, which is the simchas Yom Tov on Succos. Such simchah does not involve any sin, so it is a higher form of simchah. This is the depth that was revealed on Succos.
The chassidim and anshei maaseh are represented by Rosh HaShanah. This is the level where there is no sin, which is like water, which did not become ruined by sin. Thus there is a connection between water and Rosh HaShanah. But Yom Kippur, which is for the baalei teshuvah, is connected with wine. The baalei teshuvah represent the concept that wine can mix with the water, for the baal teshuvah becomes purified from sin\wine. But both groups sang “Praiseworthy is one who did not sin, and one who sinned shall repent and be forgiven” – because on Succos, there was a connection between the chassidim and anshei maaseh with the baalei teshuvah, a mixture of “water” and “wine” together.
This is the depth of the words of the Rambam that the mitzvah of nisuch hamayim was fulfilled if the water and wine were mixed together in the same hole. On Succos, the “water” (a hint to the chassidim and anshei maaseh) and “wine” (baalei teshuvah) can “mix”, for they are connected together on Succos.
The Joy of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah – The Joy of Unity
Let us see more this point of how Succos connects everyone together.
As is well-known, each of the Four Species represents all four kinds of Jews.[8] The esrog has a taste and a scent, representing the tzaddikim, who have Torah and good deeds. The lulav has a taste but no scent, representing those who have Torah but no good deeds. The hadassim have a scent but no taste, representing those who have good deeds but no Torah. The aravos have no scent and no taste, representing the wicked, who have neither Torah nor good deeds. They are all taken together in one bundle, and then they are all atoned for.
That is the simple understanding, and now we will explore this deeper. The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah revealed a kind of simchah that did not exist during the rest of the year or on any of the other festivals. It revealed a kind of simchah which connects everyone together. How can everyone be connected together?
The Gemara says it was either called beis hashoeivah, for they would “draw” water for it (from the word sheuvah, “draw”), or it was called beis hachashuvah, from the word chashuv, “important”, for it was an important simchah.[9] Why was it important? The Gemara says that when they would pour the wine and water on the Altar into the two separate holes, the water and wine went to the tehom (the depths) of the world. Elsewhere, the Gemara says that the shisin (passageways) which flowed underneath the Beis HaMikdash were created already during the six days of Creation.[10] Thus, it was an important mitzvah, for it came from the six days of Creation. There were two different shisin – one was for water, and one was for wine.
Thus, included in the very first six days of Creation were the concepts of nisuch hamayim and nisuch hayayin. On the sixth day of Creation, Chavah gave grapes of the Eitz HaDaas to Adam, and Adam squeezed it and drank its wine. Thus, in the first six days of Creation, there was a ruination of wine. Water was also damaged during the first six days of Creation. On the second day of Creation, Hashem separated the upper waters from the lower waters. This was a kind of ruination for the water.
The Gemara has an argument if we begin to daven for rain on the second or sixth day of Succos. The depth behind this is because the wine became ruined on the sixth day of Creation (since the Eitz HaDaas was a grapevine, according to one opinion of the Sages), and the water became ruined on the second day of Creation (since the waters argued with each other on the second day and were then split).
Thus, the baalei teshuvah are represented by wine, and even their water is on the level of wine. What is their rectification? By returning to their original level [of before the sin]. The lower waters became separated from the upper waters, and ever since then, they yearn to return to the upper waters. This is because their rectification is when they return to the upper waters, which is their source.
Thus, the “water” of baalei teshuvah is represented by the second day of Succos, and the “wine” of the baalei teshuvah is represented by the sixth day of Succos.
Simchas Beis HaShoeivah or Simchas Beis HaChashuvah: Two Different Sources of Rectification
Earlier it was mentioned that the Gemara brings a dispute if the celebration was called beis shoeivah or beis chashuvah. The word “shoeivah” (שואבה) is from the words “shov aleph”(שב א'), “return the aleph”, and the word “chashuvah” (חשובה)is from the words “shov ches” (שב ח')which means “return the ches”. How can these two opinions in the Gemara be reconciled? The Gemara is saying that there are two different ways for a person to return to the state before the sin. Either one can return to the first day of Creation, when Hashem was one and there was no sin yet – this is represented by the letter “aleph” in the word shoeivah, or, a person can “return” to the “eighth day” of Creation, the level of the future, which is represented by the letter “ches” in the word chashuvah. We will explain this.
“Shov Aleph”: Returning To The First Day of Creation
The water in Creation is currently in a state of ruination, for it has fallen to the level of “wine” (water was created before wine, so wine is on a lower level than water), and water will only be rectified when it is returned to the way it was on the first day of Creation, its beginning point, or when it is returned to the way it was on the sixth day of Creation, before the sin. The actual beginning point of water was not on the second day of Creation, but on the first day of Creation, for the first time that the Torah mentions water is by the waters of the tehom, the depths of the world, which were on created on the first day of Creation. As the Gemara says, the shisin, the passageways in the ground where the wine and water poured into the Altar flowed through, went all the way into the waters of the tehom, where the wine and water of the Alter were deposited. Thus, the wine and water which flowed from the Altar and into the shisin, were really being returned to the tehom – in other words, they “returned” to the first day of Creation.
Thus, the waters of the world are returned to their root when they are returned to the first day of Creation. This is the implication of the word shoeivah, from the words “shov aleph”, “return of the aleph”, which means to return to state of the first day of Creation, when everything in the Creation was unified together, the waters of the world had not been split, and there was no disparity yet in Creation.
In the Mishnah that describes the celebration of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, one of the Sages said “Our eyes did not see sleep” there.[11] The deeper meaning of this is that there is no “sleep” on Succos. Since Succos reveals the concept of “shov aleph” – returning to the first day of Creation - so when the waters of the word returned to their original source on Succos (through the waters of the nisuch hamayim that flowed into the tehom), the waters were all returned to their original state of oneness. Sleep cannot exist in a state of oneness. Only when a person drinks wine does he become sleepy. But when the wine was mixed with water on Succos, they both flowed into to the tehom, where the wine was returned to “the first day of Creation”. This rectified kind of wine cannot not bring sleepiness, because sleepiness did not exist on the first day of Creation. Hence, by the simchas beis hashoeivah, the Sages could not fall asleep, for even though there was wine there, this was a rectified kind of wine which does not bring on sleepiness. The words “shov aleph” contained in the word “shoeivah” reveals a return to the first day of Creation, a point where there is no sleep.
When would they draw forth the water for the nisuch hamayim? The Gemara says that they did it right before alos hashachar (the first rays of dawn).If so, they did it at nighttime. The Rambam also says clearly that they did it at nighttime. This was a novel concept, for all other avodah in the Beis HaMikdash was not done at night. Here we see that there was a new kind of avodah (it was not regarded as a total level of avodah in the Beis HaMikdash, of course, but it is a nonetheless a kind of avodah): this was an avodah only for the nighttime. It showed that there is a point where the darkness of the night can be just like the light of the day.
How so? In the word “shoeivah”, there was “shov aleph” - a return of everything to the first day of creation, where water and wine connect together, where there was no difference between baalei teshuvah and chassidim and anshei maaseh, and everyone could connect together.
All differences within Creation began with the second day of Creation, when the waters of the world were separated into lower waters and upper waters. The second day of Creation was also the day when Gehinnom was created, and the Sages state that Gehinnom was created from the strife of the waters which took place on the second day of Creation. Gehinnom is a place to rectify those who have sinned. From the viewpoint of the second day of Creation, the baalei teshuvah are deserving of Gehinnom, because Gehinnom shows that there is difference between tzaddikim and the wicked, that the tzaddikim belong in Gan Eden and the sinners belong in Gehinnom. But from the viewpoint of the first day of Creation, everyone is unified together and connected, and everyone is regarded on the same level, for on the first day of Creation, there is no Gehinnom yet, only Gan Eden.
This is the depth of how at the simchas beis hashoeivah, both groups (the chassidim and anshei maaseh, together with the baalei teshuvah) sang in unison: “Praiseworthy is the one who did not sin”, and this was the aspect of “shoeivah” of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah – the power of “shov aleph”, which returns everything to the first day of Creation, where all is one and unified.
“Shov Ches”: Accessing the Light of the Future
The second approach in the Gemara is that the celebration was called simchas “beis haChashuvah”. The word “chashuvah” connotes shov ches, a return to the letter \חches, equal to the number of 8, which corresponds to the level of the future. Chazal state that the song of Az Yashir Moshe refers to the future Redemption, and the word “az” (אז)is the letters aleph(א) and zayin(ז) which is equal to 1 and 7, for a total of 8. Before Creation, Hashem was One and His Name was One.
In the future Hashem will again be One. Hence, the future, when we will return to the state of oneness, is also a return the state of the first day of Creation. Nowadays, we do not have this oneness.
The simchas beis hashoeivah returned all of Creation to the state of before the sin. That is why the chassidim, anshei maaseh and baalei teshuvah were all able to sing together by the simchas beis hashoeivah – it was because it was a return to before the sin, when there was no difference yet between righteous and wicked, between those who never sinned with those who sin – for it was a world without sin. That is the approach which we have been explaining until now.
Now we are explaining a different aspect of the simchas beis hashoeivah: it is a way to access the future. The Zohar says that the joy of the simchas beis hashoeivah comes from the future, because they would draw forth the water on the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah with the joy that is called “sasson”, and sasson refers to the joy of the future. This is the view that it was called simchas beis ha“Chashuvah” – it returns the world to the level of the letter ches, equal to the number 8 – the number that corresponds to the future. This is another way of how the baalei teshuvah and chassidim and anshei maaseh all become connected together - itbecause in the future there will be no sin and hence no difference between those who sinned with those who never sinned.
In the future Hashem will slaughter the evil inclination, and the Gemara brings this teaching in middle of the discussion about the simchas beis hashoeivah which is in Tractate Succah.[12] Why does the Gemara say it precisely here, and not in any other tractate? It is because Hashem will slaughter the evil inclination from the spiritual light of the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, a joy of the future, where there is no separation between anyone. When Hashem slaughters the evil inclination, it will be clear that there is no difference between baalei teshuvah with chassidim and anshei maaseh.
The Gemara there says further that Hashem will show how the evil inclination looks to both the righteous and the wicked, and then He will slaughter the evil inclination, and everyone will be crying. The righteous will be crying because the evil inclination looks so big, and the wicked will be crying because they will see that the evil inclination is really small and they will be amazed how they didn’t overcome it. The wicked will be crying, and they will do teshuvah, and then Hashem will slaughter the evil inclination. Then there will be no more difference between the righteous and the wicked.
That is the depth of the simchas beis hashoeivah. What is the entire difference between the baalei teshuvah, with the chassidim and anshei maaseh? It is because baalei teshuvah succumbed to the yetzer hora, while the chassidim and anshei maaseh overpowered their yetzer hora. But when the yetzer hora becomes removed, there is no difference between baalei teshuvah with the chassidim and anshei maaseh. So when Hashem slaughters the evil inclination in the future, this does not simply mean that the yetzer hora will cease to exist, but that there will no more difference between those who sinned with those who don’t sin. The simchas beis hashoeivah reveals that all of the Jewish people are connected together!
In Summary and Conclusion
There is still more to say about this, but to summarize, we have learned here that the simchas beis hashoeivah was a joy about the unified state of the Jewish people, and this unity was achieved in two different ways:
1) By returning to the root (this is the “shoeivah” aspect in the simchas beis haShoeivah, which is from the words “shov aleph”, returning to the “aleph” – to return to the state of the first day of Creation, or before the sin of Adam).
2) By accessing the future (this is the “chashuvah” aspect in the simchas beis haShoeivah, from the words shov ches, returning to the “ches”, the “eighth” – to connect to the state of the future, when there will be no more sin).
May we merit in our own times, with siyata d’shmaya, to a complete joy, a unified state of the Jewish people, which is the very Redemption, may it come speedily in our days.
NOTE: Final english versions are only found in the Rav's printed seforim »