When God began creating heaven and earth, the earth was void and desolate, there was darkness on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved over the waters. God said “Let there be light.” And there was light. Good saw the light: it was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

In Midrash Raba 2:5, Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Chiya Raba were engaged in a discussion:

Rabbi Abahu said: From the very beginning of the world’s creation, God foresaw the deeds of the righteous and the deeds of the wicked. Therefore, “The earth was void and desolate” alludes to the deeds of the wicked: “God said ‘Let there be light,’” to the actions of the righteous. I still might not know in which of these He delights, the former or the latter. But from what is written, “Good saw the light: it was good” it follows that He desires the deeds of the righteous, and not the deeds of the wicked.

Rabbi Chiya Raba said: From the very beginning of the world’s creation, God foresaw the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) built, destroyed and rebuilt. “When God began creating” symbolizes the Temple built, as you read (Yishayahu 51:16) “I have placed My words in your mouth and covered you in My hand’s shade, planting the skies, laying down the earth, and saying to Zion: ‘You are my people.’”

Rabbi Chiya Raba continues: “The earth was void and desolate” alludes to the Beit HMikdash destroyed as it says in Yirmiyahu 4:23: “I gazed at the land, it was void and desolate.” “God said ‘Let there be light’” rebuilt and firmly established in the days of Mashiach, as it says in Yishayahu 60:1-2: “Rise, give light, for your light has come: the glory of God shines over you, for darkness may cover the earth, the clouds shroud nations, but over you, God will be shining His glory manifest over you.”

Exactly a year ago on the Jewish calendar, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of the year, when we rejoice with the Torah, the most evil Hamas terrorists from Gaza attacked innocent Israelis who were trying to peacefully celebrate. However, instead of evil overtaking good, the Jewish community both in Israel and abroad showed the world that no matter what we have faced, our light will continue to shine. Israelis who were kidnapped from the Nova festival returned to Israel stating “we will dance again.” They did not give up or let evil take over despite everything that they went through.

This Simchat Torah, we too must dance and not let the hatred of our enemies ruin our holiday again this year.

Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon recommends that this year we dedicate each of the Hakafot to give honor to a population that has been affected by the war: the soldiers, the hostages, those who have been injured, the miluim (reserves) families, the Jewish people who are facing anti-Semitism, those who lost their lives and the families that they left behind and the evacuated families.

May we follow the path of the righteous to do as many good deeds as we can, bringing light into the world, laying the foundations for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash and ultimately bringing the Mashiach speedily in out days.

Parshat VeZot HaBracha (Dvarim 33:1)
begins with the words:

This is the blessing that Moshe, the
man of God, blessed B’nai Yisrael before his death.

The Netziv, in his commentary HaEmek
Dvar comments that B’nai Yisrael were already blessed by Yaakov Avinu and
Bilam, but this was the greatest blessing of all.

In this blessing (Dvarim 33:5) Moshe
gives the tribes the secret for the kingdom of Israel’s success:

There was a king in Yeshurun, when
the heads of the people gathered, the tribes of Yisrael together.

What is “Yeshurun”?

The Netziv explains that the power
of B’nai Yisrael getting together is called “Yeshurun” as they merit a king
when they join together.

Sifri adds: When Israel are of one
council below, God’s great name is exalted above.

According to Or HaChaim:

In order for a king to be legally
crowned in Israel, he must be approved by a popular assembly, including the
heads of the people. This rule is spelled out in Tosephta Sanhedrin 83, that
only the Supreme Court of 71 judges is authorized to appoint a king. Moshe
referred to this rule when he mentioned the “heads of the people”. When Moshe
added “the tribes of Yisrael together,” he referred to a national assembly of
the people approving of such a choice.

Or HaChaim continues:

The kingdom of Israel will only
endure if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst
themselves) not if the leaders of the people are split. If the leaders are
split, the tribes themselves will not be able to maintain their unity. A look
at Jewish history shows that as long as the people were united under David and
Shlomo, the king and the nation were extremely successful. However, as soon as
a split developed, the fortunes of the Jewish people took a turn for the worse.

Rav David Avraham Spector points out
that in the year 1948, when there was an internal fight in Israel and the
nation was divided, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook wrote:

We should choose what unites us
which is more important than what divides us…In that way we can try to
understand each other and speak together and this will bring peace between us
and will bring us success and glory.

This message is not new but it needs
to be heard especially now. Leadership in Israel will only succeed when we have
unity.

On Simchat Torah, we complete the
yearly cycle of reading the entire Five Books of the Torah and then we
immediately begin the new course by starting again with Breisheet.

At the end of VeZot HaBracha, while hearing
about Moshe’s accomplishments, his death outside of the Land of Israel and the
entire nation mourning for him for thirty days, we learn about the continuation
of the leadership which was passed down to Yehoshua.

As we read in Dvarim 34:9:

And Yehoshua Bin Nun was filled with
a spirit of wisdom because Moshe had rested his hands on him; B’nai Yisrael
listened to him and acted as God had commanded Moshe.

B’nai Yisrael were already familiar
with Yehoshua, Moshe’s loyal servant. He was instrumental in the war on Amalek
and brought back a good report of the Land of Israel in the incident of the
scouts.

Although the Five Books of the Torah
have been completed, we are not left hanging. The Haftarah for Simchat Torah (Yehoshua,
Chapter 1) takes us right into the beginning of the Book of Yehoshua which speaks
about B’nai Yisrael entering, conquering, inheriting and settling the Land of
Israel and picks up where we left off at the end of VeZot HaBracha:

It happened after the death of
Moshe, servant of God, that God said to Yehoshua Bin Nun, Moshe’s attendant
saying: “Moshe, My servant has died. Now, arise, cross this Jordan, you and
this entire people, to the Land that I will give to them, to B’nai Yisrael. Every
place upon which the sole of your foot will tread I have given to you, as I
spoke to Moshe…Be strong and courageous for it is you who will cause this
people to inherit the Land that I have sworn to their fathers to give to them…This
Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth; rather you should
contemplate it day and night in order that you observe to do according to all
that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful, and then you
will act wisely…”

According to Rav Yisachar Yakovson,
the Torah and Haftarah readings teach an important lesson to the generation
that is entering the Land of Israel and to all future generations: The leaders
of the nation, even the greatest of them are all mortal and move on while the
Torah remains and helps the nation carry on even after the leader is gone.
Moshe passed away, but the Torah of Moshe is a living Torah which endures
forever.

The midrash in Yalkut Shimoni, Emor, points out that in reference to the holiday of Sukkot, we find three forms of happiness listed in the Torah:

“v’samachta b’chagecha”, “you shall rejoice on your festival” (Devarim 17:14)

“v’hayita ach sameach”, “you shall be completely joyous” (Devarim 17:15)

“v’samachtem lifnei HaShem Elokeichem shivat yamim”, “you shall rejoice before HaShem your God for a seven-day period” (Vayikra 23:40)

In reference to Pesach we don’t even find one reference to “simcha”, happiness. In the case of Shavuot, happiness is mentioned only one time:

“v’asita chag Shavuot l’HaShem elokecha… v’samachta…”, “you shall observe the festival of Shavuot for HaShem your God…and you shall rejoice…”

Rabbi Moshe Hurvitz comments that on Pesach, the festival of freedom, the word “simcha” is not mentioned since freedom on its own has no value. Freedom only has value when it is coupled with the Torah, a system of morals, ethics and spirituality. The Torah was given on Shavuot, therefore the reference to Shavuot includes the word “simcha”. The word “simcha” was only used once the happiness was complete. As the expression goes, “im ein kemach ein Torah”, “if there is no flour then there is no Torah”.

On the holiday of Sukkot we gather in our harvest, we have the “kemach”, the material side as well. There will only be true happiness when we combine the “kemach” with the Torah.

Many people choose to live in Israel because of the Land’s holiness and spirituality. However, studying Torah is not enough. In order to survive, people must have the opportunity to work in order to be able to put food on their tables. If jobs could be found for all those who are seeking work, then the issue of poverty in Israel would greatly be reduced and Israel would be an even happier place, not just on the holidays, but all year long!