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Yeshivat Nahar Shalom

6 Shilo Street (corner of Agrippas Street)

Jerusalem, Israel

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P.O. Box 1884

Jerusalem 9102701, Israel

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It is a Positive Commandment: And you shall rejoice in your holiday

By Yeshivat Nahar Shalom Staff•September 22, 2026
one is obligated to increase in everything that will lead him to joy—men with what is suitable for them, and women with what is suitable for themIbn Ezra on "And you shall be altogether joyful": If you are joyful on the festival of Sukkot, you will merit that He will bless you in the future and you will be joyful forever!pele yoetz - one should rejoice every day with a new joy, the joy of a commandmentMay we merit to sit in the sukkah of the Leviathan's skingreat virtue of cleaving to the wise and the righteous (Tzaddikim) of the generation, for they in their lives are the Encompassing Light

If you fulfill "And you shall rejoice in your holiday" during the days of the festival, you will merit "altogether joyful" ["ach same'ach"] If you are joyful on the festival of Sukkot, you will merit that He will bless you in the future and you will be joyful forever

It is a Positive Commandment: And you shall rejoice in your holiday

Positive commandment "And you shall rejoice in your holiday" – The virtue of joy on the festival of Sukkot, the obligation to make the members of the household joyful, the joy of a commandment (mitzvah), and the spiritual remedy (segulah) to merit joy and blessing throughout the entire year, from our teacher and rabbi, head of the yeshiva, the Kabbalist, the Tzaddik, Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, may he live long and good days, Amen.

15:37 11th of Tishrei 5787 /   Sept. 22, 2026

and you shall rejoice in your holiday

A person is obligated to be joyful and good-hearted on the festival—he, his wife, his children, and all who join him—as it is written (Deuteronomy 16:14): "And you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female servant..." And on the festival of Sukkot, the Torah added to command regarding the commandment of joy more than the other appointed festivals, as 'joy' is stated in connection with it 3 times [note 62].

A. Our Sages, of blessed memory, greatly extolled the magnitude of the virtue of joy on the festival of Sukkot, to the point that they said that if a person rejoices and does not grieve at all during all the days of the festival of Sukkot, he is promised that he will be joyful and good-hearted on all the days of the year [note 63].

B. Even though a person eats, drinks, and rejoices on the festival, he should not indulge excessively in meat and wine, nor in laughter and frivolity [note 64].

C. At the time when the Holy Temple was in existence, they fulfilled the obligation of the commandment of joy on the festivals by eating meat of the peace offering (Shelamim). And now that we do not have a peace offering, one is obligated to increase in everything that will lead him to joy—men with what is suitable for them, and women with what is suitable for them [note 65].

D. It is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 16:14): "And you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter," and according to this, it was ruled in the Shulchan Aruch that the husband is obligated to make his wife, his children, and all who join him joyful [note 66].

E. The manner of making women joyful is by purchasing for her clothing and jewelry in honor of the festival (Yom Tov), and it is proper to be meticulous about this [note 67].

F. The manner of making young children joyful is by giving them roasted grains, nuts, fruits, and sweets, and in our time with chocolate and the like [note 68].

Regarding the matter of "And you shall rejoice in your holiday"

The holy month of Tishrei, it is the name YHVH (Yod, Hei, Vav, and Hei, the Tetragrammaton)

How so? Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is the 10th [represented by the letter Yod = 10] of the month, 5 [letter Hei = 5] days after Yom Kippur is Sukkot, 6 [letter Vav = 6] days after the first day of the festival of Sukkot is Hoshana Rabbah, Azeret [Shemini Atzeret] is the secret of the final Hei [letter Hei = 5], a small feast as is known, which shall return to her house, in Rama (alt. translation, elevated on high), in high stature, behold YHVH: (The Holy Shelah - Tractate Sukkah, Torah Ohr, Section 82)

If you fulfill "And you shall rejoice in your holiday" during the days of the festival, you will merit "altogether joyful" ["ach same'ach"]

If you are joyful on the festival of Sukkot, you will merit that He will bless you in the future and you will be joyful forever

 

"And you shall be altogether joyful" (Deuteronomy 16:15), and Rashi explained: "According to its plain meaning, this is not a command but a promise." And so explained Ibn Ezra on "And you shall be altogether joyful": If you are joyful on the festival of Sukkot, you will merit that He will bless you in the future and you will be joyful forever! And so wrote Abarbanel, of blessed memory (under the heading "And it is further possible"): And he included here to promise him that if he rejoices and is glad on the festival of Sukkot, he will be joyful and good-hearted all the year. But if you are saddened at the beginning of the year, in sorrow shall you eat, for such is the nature of reality: he who rejoices in his lot—gladness and joy shall he attain; but he who sighs without reason—shall sigh in silence all the days.

One who is joyful and good-hearted and does not grieve at all on this holy festival is promised that a good year will unfold for him and he will be joyful forever.

And in the book "Pele Yoetz" (entry Sukkah, under heading "Ve'od Nilveh") he wrote: And He commanded us to rejoice on the festival of Sukkot with the joy over the performance of a commandment (mitzvah), and it is a good sign for the entire year, for the disciples of the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote that whoever is joyful and good-hearted and does not grieve at all on this holy festival is promised that a good year will unfold for him and he will be joyful forever! Therefore, because not by strength shall a man prevail to forget his sorrow and anger and every distressing thing, so one should rejoice every day with a new joy, the joy of a commandment as written in the Holy Zohar (Acharei Mot, Part 3, page 56a regarding the joy of a commandment) etc., see further there in his wonderful words.

Behold, we have a wonderful thing: a person who rejoices on the festival of Sukkot is blessed with an immense blessing unparalleled—to be joyful forever! Behold, this means he will have all the things that bring joy: livelihood, health, and all the good of this world.

May we merit to sit in the sukkah of the Leviathan's skin

May it be His will that we merit to sit in the sukkah of the Leviathan's skin, etc., to hint by this at the great virtue of cleaving to the wise and the righteous (Tzaddikim) of the generation, for they in their lives are the Encompassing Light (Ohr Hamakif) and a shield to all who take refuge in them. He shall spread his wings over them to protect them completely. And this is the explanation of (Psalms 104:26): "This Leviathan You formed to play with; all of them look to You to give them their food in its season." Leviathan—this is the Tzaddik, foundation of the world (Yesod Olam), who is attached to Hashem, blessed be He, as it is written (Genesis 29:34): "This time my husband will become attached (Yilaveh) to me." You formed to play with—for he is all the delight of the Creator, blessed be He, as it is written (Psalms 104:31): "Hashem shall rejoice in His works." Therefore, he is the conduit of influence who receives the flow from Above and lowers it to the Children of Israel, as it is written (Numbers 6:27): "And they shall place My name upon the Children of Israel, and I shall bless them"—referring to the Priests (Kohanim). And this is why it concludes (Psalms 104:27): "All of them look to You to give them their food in its season" through the Tzaddik, Foundation of the World. And this is the hint of "May it be His will that we merit to sit in the sukkah of the Leviathan's skin": to be under the shade of faith (Tzila D'Mahemno'ta) of the Tzaddik as mentioned above. And this is what is stated, "And spread over us the sukkah of Your peace"—he is the Tzaddik who is called the Covenant of Peace (Brit Shalom). (Tiferet Shlomo of Radomsk for Shemini Atzeret, under heading "May it be His will")