Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 23rd of Tishrei - Isru Chag
As Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai teaches: "Whoever makes a binding for the festival [Isrui Chag] through eating and drinking, Scripture accounts it to him as if he built an altar and offered a sacrifice, as it is said: 'Bind the festival offering with cords up to the horns of the altar.'"
The Binding of the Festival and the Light of the Torah
Introduction: Binding the Light of the Tishrei Holidays
Good morning to everyone. Today is the first day of the week, Sunday, the 23rd of Tishrei, 5787. What a tremendous privilege we have merited—to experience the great illumination of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret, leading directly into Isrui Chag. As Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai teaches: "Whoever makes a binding for the festival [Isrui Chag] through eating and drinking, Scripture accounts it to him as if he built an altar and offered a sacrifice, as it is said: 'Bind the festival offering with cords up to the horns of the altar.'"
We have merited to journey through the High Holy Days and the days of elevated joy—Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Repentance, Yom Kippur, and the holiday of Sukkot. What a holiday Sukkot was! What magnificent light! Followed by Shemini Atzeret, we merited to conclude the entire cycle of the Torah for the year 5786. Now, as we enter 5787, we begin anew with Shabbat Bereshit.
We have an entire week to prepare for this great Sabbath. Today, we have already studied Chok LeYisrael for Sunday. Shabbat Bereshit, as the initial Sabbath of the year, includes within itself all the weekly portions and every Sabbath of the coming year. It possesses immense spiritual force. It is not without reason that people gather by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; Rashbi provides spiritual sustenance, and it is fitting to celebrate this on a Sabbath that encompasses all others.
The Dedication to Torah Study and Daily Engagement
Happy is the person who merits to study the Torah every single week—reading the Scripture twice and the Targum once, followed by Rashi and the primary commentators. This is especially enriched if one has access to the HaOtzar series to share its insights. Meir, if you currently own part of the set, slowly but surely you will acquire the rest.
A person must rejoice in the Torah with profound love. One who approaches learning with true devotion—studying the Daily Page (Daf Yomi) with depth and perseverance, reviewing it daily until it is thoroughly mastered—holds the page firmly in his pocket. Furthermore, if he dedicates time to Halachah, reviewing three practical laws in the Shulchan Aruch daily, studying the Ben Ish Chai (which contains incomparable hidden treasures), and learning the Zohar weekly to complete it by year's end, such a person experiences true joy. On Simchat Torah, he can dance with complete wholeheartedness, because he embraces and kisses the entire Torah.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef used to say regarding Chacham Ben Zion Abba Shaul: "Every law he encounters, he plows to its absolute depth, shaking everything surrounding it." Therefore, both grooms—Meir included—need to feel immense joy. When a person rejoices in the Torah, the Torah rejoices in him in return, embracing him and saying: "How sweet you are! Happy are you for learning thoroughly, for never stopping mid-study, and for elevating the Divine Presence (Shechinah) through your labor."
The Blessing of Moshe and the Transmission of the Torch
In Parashat V'Zot HaBerachah, Moshe our Teacher blessed the tribes. The Holy One, Blessed be He, passed every generation and its leaders before Moshe—showing him who would stand at the head of Israel throughout history—and Moshe blessed them all.
Consider the unique blessing given to Yissachar: "Rejoice Zevulun in your going out, and Yissachar in your tents." Yissachar represents the absolute essence of Torah study; he required no elaborate material blessing because "Yissachar in your tents" is the ultimate blessing. He reigns over the entire Torah.
Because Moshe saw every individual of Israel and hinted at their unique blessing, when a person goes up to the Torah on Simchat Torah, he receives the exact spiritual light that Moshe designated for him. When the congregation and the children ascend for the reading of "And of Asher he said: Blessed be Asher with children," each individual draws down his specific illumination.
Every generation must continuously delve into the Torah, reviewing the weekly portion with Rashi and the commentators. It is told that the Chafetz Chaim would complete the entire weekly portion alongside the Zohar every single Sabbath, despite the extensive length of those Zoharic texts. From Bereshit to Noah, year after year, a parent must study with his children and pass on the torch. A person cannot abandon the Torah even for a moment or a single week; he must transmit its light to his descendants. As it is written: "A righteous man walks in his integrity, happy are his children after him."
The Chafetz Chaim offered a parable for one who fails to pass this torch to the next generation:
Imagine a railway track extending for kilometers across cities and countries. A man approaches and removes just two meters of iron rail. When questioned, he replies, "There are kilometers of track remaining whole; what harm is there in removing a tiny section?" They would yell at him, "Are you insane? That small missing section will cause a catastrophic train derailment where thousands could perish!"
Similarly, someone who neglects to teach the Five Books of Moshe to his children severs a link in the chain, threatening massive spiritual destruction. We must hold fast to the torch of Torah, striving with all our strength as we start again from Bereshit.
Even if we are older and notice six- or seven-year-old children who have mastered vast amounts of Torah, we must make every effort to master the Five Books of Moshe with Rashi and the commentators. Today, I made the effort to study the first six verses designated for Sunday along with Rashi, repeating them to ensure they are well understood.
Clarifying Texts and Navigating the Order of Scripture
A student once presented a newly printed Mahzor that featured unique section headings and explanations for difficult words. He mentioned that the editor was including features he himself had planned to incorporate. This approach is invaluable; just as in Sha'ar HaKavanot, where every concept is assigned a heading and detailed explanation, clear structure helps a person comprehend the text. Without structural aids, how can a person navigate complex prayers?
This difficulty extends to the general structure of the Tanakh. How well do people know the order and content of the portions in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy?
Years ago, when my children were young, I would take them to the holy site of Meron for a week during school break. While I spent half the day studying, I assigned them structured tasks: "Write down every weekly portion in Genesis, its name, and its primary topics. Do the same for Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Then, map out the entire Tanakh—how many chapters are in every single book." After they reviewed it ten times and demonstrated total mastery, I had them outline the specific topics of every single chapter. Because they engaged with it deeply as children, they became true experts in Scripture.
The Twelve Scrolls and the Resurrection of Moshe
Our Rabbis teach that on the day Moshe our Teacher passed away, he wrote twelve Torah scrolls—one for each tribe (with the tribe of Joseph divided into two)—so that every tribe would possess an accurate copy to read and study.
Commentators raise a well-known question: If Moshe passed away on the Sabbath, how could he have written twelve scrolls on that day?
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai answers in the Zohar that although Moshe's soul departed on the Sabbath, the Holy One, Blessed be He, restored his soul to him on Sunday morning. On that Sunday, Moshe wrote the entire Torah from beginning to end before passing away a second time. This fulfills the verse: "The Torah of Hashem is perfect, restoring the soul." The Torah became complete (temimah) precisely through the restoration of Moshe's soul (meshivat nefesh).
With his resurrected strength, Moshe wrote the complete text and handed this torch to Israel. Regarding the final eight verses of the Torah describing his death, there is a rabbinic dispute as to who wrote them; according to this kabbalistic insight, Moshe himself wrote them after his soul was temporarily restored.
Transforming Materiality into Spirituality
Having completed the Torah and celebrated the festivals, a person stands pure and cleansed. It is at this juncture, immediately following Simchat Torah, that we begin reciting the prayer addition: "He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall."
Why do we introduce this prayer specifically now? The word for rain (geshem) shares its root with materiality (gashmiut), while wind (ruach) shares its root with spirituality (ruchniut). The timing delivers a profound lesson: Throughout the High Holy Days, a person works to subjugate his material desires (lowering the geshem). By diminishing excessive materiality, one merits the wind of spirituality (meshiv ha-ruach).
Binding the Light of Tishrei
As we enter Isrui Chag, we must "bind" the spiritual accomplishments of the holiday season. Every single day of the month of Tishrei is a precious pearl. We must gather these pearls into a continuous chain, fulfilling the prayer: "And bring upon us, Hashem our L-rd, the blessing of Your festivals." We must carry the illumination of the holidays into the entire year ahead.
This dynamic is reflected in the offerings of Sukkot. The seventy bulls offered in the Holy Temple correspond to the seventy primordial nations of the world:
- 35 nations aligned with the spiritual side of Ishmael.
- 35 nations aligned with the spiritual side of Esau.
Yet, after the seventy bulls corresponding to the nations are offered, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says to Israel on Shemini Atzeret: "I want to be with you alone, without anyone else. We will sit at a intimate feast together, rejoice together, and I will share good things with you." Instead of seventy bulls, Israel offers a single bull (Par Echad).
This transition is embedded in the words of Avraham: "And I am dust [afar] and ashes [efer]" (Genesis 18:27).
- Dust (Afar - עָפָר): Spelled with the letters Ayin (numerical value 70) and Par (bull). Before his circumcision, Avraham represented the spiritual oversight of all 70 nations (35 + 35).
- Ashes (Efer - אֵפֶר): Spelled with the letters Aleph (numerical value 1) and Par (bull). After his circumcision, Avraham aligned with Israel's unique destiny—offering the single bull (Aleph Par) of Shemini Atzeret, united exclusively with Hashem.
Sustaining the Light and the Gold of the Long Nights
Hasidic masters offer a homiletical reading of the Friday night liturgy: "May it be the will that [His presence] shall rest (tishrei) upon His people." By changing the vocalization, they read: "May the light of the month of Tishrei rest upon His people throughout the entire year."
Rabbi Chaim Palagi notes that early Hasidim maintained a custom of extra sanctification during the first twelve days following Simchat Torah. These twelve days serve as a micro-preparation corresponding to the twelve months of the coming year. Today being the very first day, a person should sanctify himself, increase his Torah study, and carefully pack away the spiritual merchandise gathered throughout Tishrei. On Rosh Hashanah we crowned Hashem; on Yom Kippur we acquired repentance; on Sukkot we acquired joy. Now we must pack this cargo securely so it remains accessible all year long.
As winter approaches, the nights grow longer. Rabbi Tzvi of Zidichov referred to these extended autumn and winter nights as "the nights of gold." During the day, a person is occupied with mundane labors, but the long night offers uninterrupted hours. If a person sleeps four or five hours, he still has ample time remaining to study. Maimonides (Rambam) states that a person who does not dedicate time to study at night will never truly taste the sweet depth of Torah.
The Continuous Duty of Torah Study
Rabbi Zechariah reminded us that according to the Rambam, a person's obligation to study Torah never ceases—even on the night of his own wedding. Upon returning from the wedding hall, the groom must set aside time for learning.
As we begin the Book of Genesis—known as Sefer HaYashar ("The Book of the Upright") because it details the righteous conduct and refinement (Derech Eretz) of the Patriarchs—we must strive to emulate their ways. Every individual should ensure he is studying the weekly portion thoroughly. When asking a student named Avraham if he reads Rashi every morning, he responded that he "reads" it. It is important to precise: one does not merely "read" Torah—one studies it! Furthermore, one must make sure to study Rashi across the entire weekly portion, day by day, covering every Aliyah. Diligence in this practice brings immense heavenly reward.