By Rabbi Shlomo Zargari
Shalom and מועדים לשמחה;
The last day of Yom Tov after Sukkot is called שמיני חג עצרת, as the Pasuk writes: “עצרת תהיה” ( Vayikra 23,36)
Rashi writes: “… when it came time to separate, he said: my children, I beg of you, stay with me one more day, it is hard for me to separate from you…”
In Gemara Sukkah 52b:”… the last day he the king) said to his close friend, make me a small meal so I can have pleasure from you.
The obvious question is asked, how would staying another day alleviate the anxiety and sadness of separation? Actually it’ll just make the connection and closeness and love greater and the separation harder!
Further…Why make a small feast? We should actually make a big feast if it makes the separation easier!
Harav Chaim Friedlander זצוק״ל teaches us as follows. We need to understand the difference between Sukkot and שמיני חג עצרת.
There’s a natural joy that overtakes a person when he accomplishes something in the physical realm. For example, being able to benefit from his hard labor in the field or other worldly benefits. Our task is to elevate all these endeavors to vessels of serving HaShem and to connect all material to their spiritual roots and thereby to recognize the kindness of The Creator Almighty.
ספר חינוך teaches us that the lesson of Sukkot is just that. “ … days of great joy for Yisrael, because they are the days we gather our crops and fruits to the home … therefore HaShem commanded His nation to celebrate for Him at this time so their joy and happiness is focused on HaShem.”
It helps us see the joy in the correct light, which is, that all the material is a vessel to come closer to our Creator.
ספר החינוך continues: “ being that the happiness causes a connection to materialism and one might forget the fear of HaShem, He commanded we hold in our hands objects to remind us that our happiness should be geared toward the real source.”
It should protect us from the traps of יצר הרע .
There’s yet another category of happiness which stems from serving HaShem. This is essentially the happiness of שמיני עצרת. Here is when after all the days of selihot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, we got very close to HaShem and this brings us to happiness and this category of joy doesn’t need protection from the tricks of the יצר הרע.
That is the reason it’s connected to Simhat Torah, because the deep connection between us and the Almighty and His love to us is through the Torah. This would be the greatest expression of what the holy days of שמיני עצרת and שמחת תורה are about.
That’s why in the above mentioned Gemara, a small feast was enough. The reason for a feast is to bring happiness and unity between the participants and the host, the bigger the feast the more unity. Such a thing is not necessary between very close friends, they don’t need superficial things to increase the love and unity, the connection is itself the cause of their love. The thing that causes the love is the Torah and that’s why a great feast is not the focus. We also understand that it’s not a farewell feast either, it only shows how great our love to HaShem is and how we are inseparable!