the mystery of the last 8 pesukim, Moshe's seat 8 rows back in the shiur of R' Akiva, and Shmini Atzeret

Menachos 29 relates that Moshe asked Hashem why he was putting crowns on the letters of the Torah.  Hashem answered that in the future there will be a Rabbi Akiva who will darshen halachos from the crowns atop the letters.  Moshe asked to see him, and so Hashem dropped him into R' Akiva's shiur in the 8th row from the front.  Moshe couldn't understand the shiur and was upset until he heard someone ask R' Akiva the source for a din and R' Akiva answered that it is halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai.

Why was Moshe placed davka in the 8th row?

R' Noson Gestetner suggests that this is an allusion to the gemara that speaks about the last 8 pesukim of the Torah.  How could Moshe have written about his own death?  According to one opinion he wrote it "b'dema."  Some interpret that word to mean that he wrote it in tears, but the GR"A interprets it to mean a mixture, like the word dmai.  Ramban writes in his intro to chumash that the Torah in its original, pristine form in shamayim is a code of letters that spell the shem Hashem.  Hashem took those letters and put them in an order to spell the words that we read in olam ha'zeh.  When it came to the last 8 pesukim, Hashem could not leave the Torah incomplete, so he gave those pesukim to Moshe, but he only revealed it to him in the encoded form as Torah appears in shamayimm, but not the actual words that describe Moshe's olam ha'zeh death.  It is those jumbled letters that Moshe wrote. 

The same is true of the torah of R' Akiva.  Moshe was given everything at Sinai, including the halachos R' Akiva taught, but the source was a jumble, it was something he could not make sense of through the prism through which he saw Torah.  He was in the 8th row of the shiur, meaning that for Moshe, the torah of R' Akiva was like those last 8 pesukim.  R' Akiva saw Torah through his own prism and was able to unravel the code.

Everything in the world is contained in Torah.  What happened Shmini Atzeret 2 years ago is somehow also a part of Torah; it's the number 8 like the 8 pesukim that are a jumble that we cannot make sense of, it's like those 8 pesukim written b'dema in the other sense of the word, meaning tears.  We may not be able to unravel the jumble, but that we know contains within it shem Hashem, His presence.   

As I write these words the entire Jewish word is awaiting v'shavu banim l'gevulam, we are awaiting Hashem saying, "kashe alaei p'reidaschem," the seperation of the hostages is too much to bear already and they will return home.  We pray as well that Hashem this year will declare "kashe alai p'reidaschem," the seperation of all of us from Hashem, from our nation, from our homeland, in this galus has gone on too long already. 

R' Aharon Lichtenstein: mitzvos that we happen to do on a chag vs mitzvos that establish the character of the chag

 Y"T fast approaches, but wanted to get this in quickly.  The gemara (Suk 48a) says the Shmini Atzeret is רגל בפני עצמו לענין פז״ר קש״ב  Rashi on the spot comments רגל בפני עצמו  שאין יושבין בסוכה.  

Ramban raises a number of questions on Rashi, among them:

עוד שאינו נקרא רגל בפני עצמו בשביל שאינו בכל מצות הרגל שלו שהרי לולב נוהג בראשון ואינו בשאר הימים בגבולין ורגל פסח נמי חלוק במצה ומרור כדאיתמר לעיל.

How is the absence of mitzvas sukkah proof that Shmini Atzeret is its own regel?  You don't take lulav on the second day of Sukkot onward (mi'doraysa), but it is still the same holiday of Sukkos.  What's the difference between the two?

Rav Zolti in his Mishnas Yaavetz (here) has a defense of Rashi, but I would like to propose answering at least this question with a yesod R' Aharon Lichtenstein has here (parenthetically, the Asif site is really one worth putting on your radar.)  R' Aharon suggests (not enough time to go through his proofs here, so ayen sham!) that there are two types of mitzvos that we do on Yom Tov: 1) there are mitzvos that have a set time in which they have to be performed, and that time just happens to be on a specific chag; 2) there are mitzvos that define the character and nature of the chag.  

For example, R' Aharon writes that blowing shofar is not something that you do on 1 Tishrei that you could just as well do on 3 Tishrei or 5 Tishrei or any other day.  Blowing shofar is what makes 1 Tishrei into "Yom Teru'a."  It defines the day.  Without shofar, you don't have a holiday that is missing a mitzvah -- take away shofar and in effect you no longer have a holiday.  

I would suggest that the same is true of sukkah.  It's not called "Chag ha'Lulav."  It's called "Chag ha'Sukkos."  The reason is not simply because the former is done only for one day and the latter for seven.  The difference is because the former mitzvah defines the nature of the day, the character of the chag.  The latter does not -- it's just a mitzvah that happens to fall out on that particular date.  

This is why according to Rashi שאין יושבין בסוכה is proof that we are dealing with a day that has a completely different character, but the fact that mi'doraysa we don't take lulav during chol ha'moed is not indicative of anything. 

rain man

וְכֹ֣ל׀ שִׂ֣יחַ הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה טֶ֚רֶם יִֽהְיֶ֣ה בָאָ֔רֶץ וְכׇל־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה טֶ֣רֶם יִצְמָ֑ח כִּי֩ לֹ֨א הִמְטִ֜יר ה׳ אלקים עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאָדָ֣ם אַ֔יִן לַֽעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה (Braishis 2:5).

Rashi comments:

לפי שאדם אין לעבוד ואין מכיר בטובתן של גשמים. וכשבא אדם וידע שצורך הם לעולם, התפלל עליהם וירדו, וצמחו האילנות והדשאים

Hashem only brings rain after the creation of man, when there is someone who can appreciate the rain and pray for it (see Maharal in Gur Aryeh).

The gemara (Yevamos 63a) tells us that אתם אתם קרויין אדם ואין העובדי כוכבים קרויין אדם. The word "adam" refers not to all mankind, but specifically to the Jewish people. Sefas Emes writes in light of this Chazal that when Rashi tells us that G-d delayed the creation of rain until there was an "adam" to ask for it, he means specifically the prayers of Klal Yisrael (I assume he means that Klal Yisrael existed at least in potential within Adam haRishon).

Rain is needed for all humanity, not just for the Jewish people. And there are plenty of people and nations who pray to G-d for rain when they need it. Our prayers, however, are different. Our need for rain is because "im ain kemach, ain Torah," without food to eat and our material needs being fulfilled, we would never be able to devote ourselves to any higher spiritual pursuit. Our Shimini Atzeres, where we ask for rain, goes hand in hand with a Simchas Torah.

bal tosif for sukkah on shmini atzeres

The gemara (Eiruvin 96a) proves that bal tosif does not apply when doing a mitzvah outside its normal time unless one has kavanah l'shem mitzvah.  Were that not true, says the gemara, one who sits in sukkah on Shmini Atzeres should get malkos for bal tosif.  Rashi comments:

 ועוד הישן בשמיני בסוכה ילקה. דמוסיף שמיני על השביעי ואנן מיתב יתבינן בשמיני בספק שביעי לכתחלה אלא שלא בזמנו בלא כוונה לאו תוספת הוא ולהכי שרינן דאי שמיני הוא לא מכוינן למצות סוכה

The gemara in speaking about malkos for sitting in sukkah on Shmini Atzeres in Eretz Yisrael, but Rashi adds in a justification for our doing so in chutz la'aretz not being a violation of bal tosif: Rashi writes that we have in mind that we do not kavanah for mitzvas sukkah if the sfeika d'yoma day is not Sukkos.  

In one of the earliest posts on this blog we discussed (see here, here, and here) Tos question of why there is no bal tosif in blowing additional tekiyos beyond what the Torah requires, i.e. blowing both before and during musaf on R"H.  Tos (R"H 16 answers) that there is no issur of bal tosif in doing a mitzvah a multiple times.  For example, the gemara says that a kohen can duchen multiple times a day  because each tzibur that he duchens in is a new kiyum mitzvah.  

Rashba gives what seems to be a far simpler answer to Tos question: there is never bal tosif in fulfilling a din derabbanan because the Torah gives Chazal license to legislate and add to/change mitzvos.  We blow tekiyos d'meyushav and dme'umad because we are following the takanas Chazal to do the mitzvh that way.  (The Rashba's answer seems so obviously correct that the Achronim struggle to explain why Tos avoided it.)

According to the Rashba, Rashi's question of why there is no bal tosif when we sit in sukkah on Shmini Atzeres does not get off the ground (see GR"A to O.C. 666).  Since the Chachamim made a takanah for us to keep Y"T sheni and sit in sukkah because of sfeika d'yoma, by definition there cannot be bal tosif in listening to the Chachamim and doing so.

See Netziv (on the Sheiltos 45:6) who has a novel approach to sfeika d'yoma by Shmimi Atzeres (note that the gemara always talks about why there is no malkos for bal tosif if you sleep in the sukkah on Shmini Atzeres, but never talks about bal tosif for any other Y"T sheni practice -- why is Shmini Atzeres singled out?) and works out a way to harmonize Rashi and the Rashba, but b'pashtus Rashi belongs to the camp of Tos in R"H that for some reason that does not accept the Rashba's chiddush.

rav chessed v'emes -- hoshana rabbah

A few weeks ago when the Y"T season started we started saying slichos with the 13 midos ha'rachamim, "Hashem Hashem K-l rachum v'chanun... v'rav chessed v'emes."  I think most of us would say that we hope the court upstairs does not judge us based on the "whole truth and nothing but the truth," because then we would be in big trouble.  We want Hashem's thumb on the scale tilting it in our favor -- that's what chessed, rachum, chanun, is all about.  So how is it that "emes" is one of the 13 midos ha'rachamim?  How can truth possibly work in our favor?

The Maharal often distinguishes between properties of a thing that are b'etzem and those that are b'mikreh.  All the books on child rearing say never criticize the child -- only criticize the behavior.  Johnny is b'etzem a good boy, just right now b'mikreh because he hasn't had his nap and instead had 6 pounds of sugar candy he is acting like a monster. 

The Kohzhiglover says that's the pshat in our 13 midos.  Yes, we did aveiros.  But that's not the truth of who we are.  We're in galus, we're surrounded by all kinds of bad influences, we have all kinds of distractions -- b'mikreh, we end of sinning.  But b'etzem, if you look at who we really are, and it's only Hashem that can really see who we really are underneath all the bad behavior on the surface, then the "emes" is that we are innocent.

Hoshana Rabbah is 26 days after the creation of mankind.  25 Elul was the day man was created; we are now 26, gematriya shem Havaya, days later.  The shem Havaya means this day represents the real essence, the etzem, of who a person really us.  We know the 4 minim represent the 4 types of Jews, some with ta'am and reiach, taste and smell, Torah and mitzvos, and then you have the aravah that has nothing -- no taste, no smell, no Torah, no mitzvos.  Yet it's the aravah that we take in our hand and put in parade this day.  Even if you've got nothing, it doesn't matter -- that's b'mikreh. Today we focus on the etzem, and the etzem of a Jew is always good.

Ramban writes that positive things need to be translated into concrete action.  When a navi got a message, he often would do something concrete -- when the message is translated into something concrete, it becomes more real.  Sukkos has a multitude of concrete mitzvos for us to do -- lulav, esrog, sukkah.  Shmini Atzeres comes along and we have nothing.  At least on Shavuos we have cheesecake, but Shmini Atzeres doesn't even have that. 

Maharal writes that the number 8 represents going beyond teva.  7 days is the natural cycle of the world as it was created; 8 is outside the boundaries, outside the lines.  During Sukkos we want to bring the ruchniyus into our world so we need concrete mitzvos, kelim, to contain the ohr.  Shmini Atzeres is 8 -- we are outside the boundaries.  It's not about bringing ohr into the concrete world, but rather about bringing ourselves to a place outside the normal confines of teva, outside the concrete and finite that is the day to day of our lives.  Shmini Atzeres if the extra mile, the extra 10% of the 110% we need to give. 

the closing act

This limud should be a zechus for a refuah sheleimah for Shulamis bas Sarah Sacha.

Apologies for not having time to write more...

1) The Mishna at the end of the 5th perek of Chulin writes that even though normally only meshicha is koneh, there is a takanah that 4 times a year ma'os konos to buy meat.  Meaning, if you paid the butcher for a brisket for Yom Tov, even if he has to shecht an entire cow to give it to you and he doesn't know if there will be any other customers, he has to do so and can't just return your payment.  The payment completes the sale and the butcher can't back out.  There is such a demand for brisket for the Yom Tov that Chazal made is easier for everyone to get their meat : )  

Interestingly, Sukkos is not one of these 4 days, but erev Shmini Atzeres is.  Chasam Sofer in his Derashos quotes from the Yaavet"z that this proves that the chasima of our din is still incomplete until the end of the chag.  Who can truly fully celebrate when there is an unresolved judgment hanging over their head?  Who can enjoy their brisket in that state?  It's only at the end of the chag, as we approach Shmini Atzeres, when all will be resolved l'tovah IY"H, that we can celebrate.

2) The Midrash teaches that ha'posei'ach, the one who opens the Torah reading, recites a bracha, and the choseim, the one who reads last, closes the reading with a bracha.  (In the days of Chazal there was not a bracha recited before/after each aliya like we do, but rather one bracha was said before the start of the kriah and one at its conclusion).  The source of the bracha before reading, says the Midrash, is the pasuk "baruch atah Hashem lamdeini chukecha."  The source for the bracha at the conclusion of the reading is because "v'zos habracha..."  follows the shirah of Ha'azinu.

The obvious question: the pasuk of "v'zos habracha…" is not a blessing on the words of Torah that Moshe read.  It is a blessing given to Klal Yisrael.  What does that have to do with birchas haTorah?

Sadly, for a lot of people Torah is a closed book.  Take a peek at your average yeshivah high school classroom, for example, and you will see the glazed over eyes of the students, the captives forced to sit listening to lectures on topics that have no interest in, analyzing a dry book written in a language they cannot understand.

"Ha'posei'ach ba'Torah…"  How do you open that book?  It starts with "baruch atah Hashem lamdeini chukecha."  No one comes to school and says "Thank G-d we can study algebra today!" or "Thank G-d for Hamlet today!"  But when we sit down and crack open a sefer, that's how we have to start our learning.  We need to build love and appreciation for Torah first, before getting to the Tosfos or the R' Chaim, or we will never get out of the starting gate.

But even after you come to appreciate Torah, that's not enough.

"Sameini k'chosam al libecha…"   A chosam is a seal; it identifies who you are.  V'zos habracha is about who we are as Klal Yisrael -- our strengths and weaknesses, our future destiny.  Ha'choseim ba'Torah means Torah defines who we are.  It's not just a book we study; it's our identity.

We opened the Yamim Tovim with Rosh haShana and tekiyas shofar; now we come to the chasima: not just the closing of the books, the closing of the din, but the "sameini k'chosam" -- when we take all we have gleaned from these special days and make it part of our identity, part of who will be will during this coming year.  (based on Shem m'Shmuel Nitzavim 5672)

Smach Zevulun b'tzeisecha -- taking the happiness of Y"T out with you

1. The navi concludes its description of the chanukas habayis done by Shlomo by telling us, "Va'ayas Shlomo ba'eis ha'hi es ha'chag... shivas yamim v'shivas yamim arb'ah asar yom." (Melachim I 8:65)  Chazal explain that Shlomo celebrated the dedication of the Mikdash for 7 days, and then immediately thereafter celebrated Sukkos for the next 7 days.  In other words, these were two different celebrations that happened to fall out one right after the other.  Why then, asks R' Tzadok haKohen (Pri Tzadik Sukkos 32), does the navi describe it as a celebration of the chag, singular, and tell us the celebration was 14 days, as if it was one long event?  

R' Tzadok explains that the chanukas haMikdash and the holiday of sukkos are in fact one and the same celebration.  The sukkah is a commemoration of the ananei ha'kavod that surrounded Bnei Yisrael in the desert, and when the Mikdash was dedicated, the navi tells us, "V'he'anan malei es beis Hashem," (8:10) that Hashem's anan descended into the place.  The ananei ha'kavod of the midbar came in Aharon's merit, and it was Aharon's descendants who served in the Mikdash.   Mikdash and sukkah both symbolize the same hashra'as haShechina in Klal Yisrael.  Each one of our sukkos is a mini-Mikdash.  

The Vilna Gaon writes that the reason we celebrate Sukkos in Tishei and not in Nisan is because the ananei ha'kavod departed after the sin of cheit ha'eigel and did not return until 15 Tishrei when Moshe began collecting for the construction of the Mishkan.  In light of R' Tzadok's explanation, it is not coincidental that the clouds returned just then.  The kedusha manifest in Mishkan/Mikdash is the  very same as was manifest by the ananei ha'kavod.

2. On one of the days of Sukkos I suggested that the shalosh regalim correspond to banei, chayaei, and mezonai.  Pesach is the holiday of banai -- the Torah speaks to us of 4 sons.  Shavos is chayai -- chayei olam nata b'socheinu, the Torah.  Sukkos and Shmini Atzeres is mezonai, as it is on this chag that we daven for geshem, which encompasses our material needs.  I found the Sefas Emes alludes to this idea, see 5743 d"h baMishna. 
3. The gemara says Shmini Atzeres is distinct from Sukkos with respect to 6 halachos represented by the siman PZ"R KSh"V.  R=regel.  With respect to what din is it a new regel?  I saw quoted in the name of the Rogatchover that there is a new din of chayav adam l'hakbil pnei rabo ba'regel on Shmini Atzeres in addition to the chiyuv of the same din on Sukkos. 


4. V'Zos haBracha is the only parsha not read on a Shabbos.  R' Tzadok explains that Shabbos is "keviya v'kayma," it's kedusha is set without our having to do anything, unlike the kedusha of Yom Tov which comes through beis din's declaration.  The parsha of each Shabbos, the torah unique to that week, comes down to us like the kedusha of Shabbos, from without.  We hope that we can accept it and absorb it each week when it comes down to us.

The kedusha of Zos haBracha, after a full year of parshiyos, after experiencing a whole cycle of moadim, is a kedushah that comes from within.  At the end of the day, what Torah is all about is not obeying rules imposed upon us from without, but discovering within ourselves that those rules are built into our souls and define who we are. 

Sefas Emes explains that the difference between Shavuos and Simchas Torah is that on Shavuos we celebrate Torah sheb'ksav -- it is the Torah given to is, imposed upon us.  Simchas Torah, Shmini Atzeres, is torah she'ba'al peh, the Torah that comes from within, that we are mechadesh, that is part of who we are.

5. "Smach Zevulun b'tzeisecha..."  Sefas Emes asks: why should Zevulun be happy that he has to go off on business?   I don't know about you, but I don't get much simcha out of riding the subway and dealing with hectic problems at work all day. And it's not just about work.  This is the last few days of Yom Tov, and then we go out -- "tzeisecha" -- out from an intense period of kedusha back to the daily grind, back to the world of chol.  Where's the happiness in that? 



Sefas Emes answers that what the Torah is doing here is giving us advice.  How can we make that transition back to the world that for better or worse we have to be part of a successful one?  By making sure we start off with simcha.  If you are a Zevulun and are stuck going out there, then "smach Zevulun b'tzeisecha," before you go, take a moment to rejoice in what you have before you leave.  Have a simchas Torah, celebrate the dveikus of the chagim, appreciate the experience.  How many people go through three+ weeks of Yom Tov and don't even take a moment to THINK about what is going on?  How many people pause to reflect?  This is the last chance -- take advantage!  Absorb the simcha now, and then it will stick with you, so that even "b'tzeisecha," the Torah will be with you, the dveikus will still be with you.

gevuros geshamim

The Ksav Sofer in Parshas ha'Azinu quotes a difficut Yalkut Shimoni: In the future the Jewish people will stand before G-d in judgment and protest, "We don't know who wronged whom -- did Bnei Yisrael betray and wrong G-d, or did G-d betray and wrong us?"  The answer is given by the pasuk, "V'Yagidu hashamayim tzidko" -- the Heavens proclaim that G-d is just.  What is the hava amina that G-d should be the one who is at fault?  And how does the declaration of the skies, the heavens, resolve the issue?

By way of introduction to the Ksav Sofer's interpretation I want to share a GR"A with you.  At the opening of Zos haBracha the Torah describes Moshe Rabeinu as "Ish haElokim," an interesting contrast with the earlier description of Moshe as "Eved Hashem" -- note the change from "eved" to "ish", and the change in the name of G-d used.  The GR"A explains (in Aderes Eliyahu) that the name Elokim is a description of G-d as He makes his presence manifest through nature.  We see this name Elokim again and again throughout the upcoming parsha of Braishis in describing the creation of the physical world, starting with the first pasuk in the Torah, "Braishis bara Elokim..." Moshe Rabeinu is "Ish Elokim" = master over nature, one who lives on a higher plane than those forces of nature, someone who transcends the boundaries of the physical world and can bend them to his purpose, to bless Bnei Yisrael.

The GR"A adds that even though the whole physical world is goverened by this name "Elokim," there is one exception to the rule.  Chazal tell us that we mention rain, "mashiv ha'ruach u'morid hageshem," in the same bracha as we mention the future resurrection of the dead because these phenomenon are equivalent.  What this means, says the GR"A, is that rain comes from the same source as the gift of life itself -- directly from G-d.  There is no law of nature (i.e. there is no governing aspect of the shem Elokim) that allows to to perfectly predict when and where and how much rain will fall.  It is completely and directly in G-d's hands.

The gemara (Ta'anis 2) tells us that there are three things which Hashem himself holds the "keys" to and does not give over to mankind -- one of these is rain.


I think this GR"A makes intuitive sense to most of us.  Half the US is currently in a drought with crops ruined and farmers suffering and with all our technological prowess there is nothing we can do about it.  There is nothing we can do when a Katrina hits or some other meteorological disaster strikes other than get out of the way as quickly as possible. 

About a year ago we discussed the same idea based on an amazing diyuk of the Meshech Chochma.  When it comes to the mitzvah of aliya la'regel on Pesach and Shavuos, the Torah in Re'eh writes to go to the place, "Asher yivchar Hashem l'shakein shemo sham." However, when it describes the same mitvzah of aliya la'regel on Succos, it says to go to the place, "Asher yivchar Hashem," but it leaves out the words, "L'shakein shemo sham." Why the difference?  The Meshech Chochma answers that on Pesach and Shavuos we are judged respectively on wheat crops and fruit. The Torah adds the words, "l'shakein shemo sham" to remind us that unlike what the other nations think, there is no power other than Hashem, whose presence is manifest most clearly in the Beis haMikdash, that can influence what will happen to these crops. It is "sham," in the hands of G-d who is manifest in the Mikdash, that our fate is decided.  On Sukkos, when we are judged on how much water and rainfall will occur, we don't need a similar reminder. Even the nations realize that Hashem and only Hashem controls rainfall and water.  (Parenthetically, if you are looking for the source for the vort of R' Dovid Cohen that R' Kooperman references in his footnotes to that Meshech Chochma, let me spare you the time I devoted to finding it.  Here's a link.)

When Bnei Yisrael travelled through the desert led by Moshe Rabeinu they were not constrained by the ordinary laws of nature; they were not governed by the name Elokim.  They had a direct connection to G-d and enjoyed the miracle of the man, the be'er of Miriam, and the miracle of ananei hakavod.  But that manner of existence was temporary.  Bnei Yisrael were ultimately forced to tackle a world where G-d remains hidden behind a veil of all kinds of physical, social, economic, and political forces that seem to be the cause of all that occurs. 

Returning to the Yalkut, the Ksav Sofer explains that when Bnei Yisrael will ultimately be judged, they will turn to Hashem and try to argue that they are not to be blamed for their failures.  Had Hashem only revealed his presence to them as He did in the midbar, they would have eagerly followed.

Hashem, however, will respond that the skies prove them wrong.  True, His presence is veiled in so many ways, but he did leave one area open, one area where that direct connection with no intermediary and no laws of nature is obvious -- the rain.  Maharal explains that of all the material gifts that we enjoy in this world, only the rain falls from the sky, forcing a person to look upward, to Heaven, to see its source.  Ironically, it is the cloudy skies that reveal most clearly that it is not forces of nature, but rather Hashem himself, hashgacha pratis, which is in control of all. 

Koznitzer Maggid on Shmini Atzeres

Hashem tells us in P' Ha'azinu, "Ya'arof ka'matar likchi," that his words of Torah should flow down to us like dew. The gemara (Ta'anis 7) based on this pasuk writes that a rainy day ("yom ha'geshamim") is as great as mattan Torah, or perhaps even greater, as the lesser event, in this case mattan Torah, is always compared to the greater event, the rain. What's the common denominator between these ideas? When Hashem opens the skies and bestows his gifts on the world, those gifts can in the form of material blessing, geshem = gashmiyus; those same gifts can come as spiritual blessing, mattan Torah.

The Koznitzer Maggid teaches that this "yom ha'geshamim," the day of rain the gemara refers to, is a hint to the day of Shmini Atzeres when we start saying mashiv ha'ruach u'morid ha'geshem. Our focus on this day is not only on the spiritual rain that we want to fall, but also on the "spiritual rain" we want to fall as well.

In reality Shmini Atzeres should be 50 days after Sukkos just as Atzeres (Shavuos) occurs 50 days after Pesach. But, says the Midrash Tanchuma, Hashem does not want us to leave our homes in the winter to make aliya la'regel, so he tacked on Shmini Atzeres right after the seven days of Sukkos. The association between Shmini Atzeres / Simchas Torah (in chutz la'aretz we seperate off Simchas Torah as an added day; in Eretz Yisrael there is only one day of Yom Yov) and Shavuos underscores the connection between this Yom Tov and the idea of mattan Torah. Hashem gave us Pesach even though we were bereft of mitzvos and zechuyos; it therefore took 7 weeks for us to earn the right to stand at Har Sinai. After a holiday of Sukkos replete with the mitzvos of sukkah, of lulav and esrog, we earn the right to Atezres in only 7 days. Sefas Emes writes that Shavuos is the holiday of Torah sheb'Ksav; Shmini Atezers is the Torah we have earned of our own accord, the holiday of Torah sheBa'al Peh.