Kudos and 'sincere appreciation' to my dear son, Zack for posing the questions in this essay that prodded my response therein.
At the conclusion of Sukkos it is customary to wish one another a gezunter vinter, a healthy winter.
Has the winter already begun? Are we simply concerned with the cold and severe weather that lays ahead that might adversely affect our health?
From the beginning of Elul we have begun an attempt to ward off the effects of sleep. Among those of Sephardic descent the program of before daybreak Selichos takes place from the onset of Elul. For those of Askenazic heritage it is initiated a week before Rosh Hashana.
The universal custom to blow the Shofar after Shacharis each day is, as the Rambam asserts, an attempt to ‘arouse those who are ‘sleeping’ from their slumber’.
On Rosh Hashana we are encouraged not to sleep during the day ‘lest our mazal sleep’ as well.
During the days when the Temple stood on Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol would ward off sleep the entire night remaining vigilantly awake through the entire Yom Kippur.
On the holiday of Sukkos the Talmud describes how for all the interim days of the holiday, which at times numbered six consecutive days, they joyously celebrated the special service of Nisuch HaMayim, Libation of Water, from morning to morning without going to sleep formally and merely catching a few winks in the Temple, momentarily on each other’s shoulders.
Why is there this recurrent theme to fend off sleep during these Days of Awe and Joy?
What deeper message lays in this calling for spiritual ‘insomnia’?
Ironically after all these ‘sleepless’ days it all comes crashing down as we suddenly face the ‘long nights of winter’ that beckon us to bury ourselves cozily under the covers warding off the cold winds of winter.
Truth be told on the very first historical ‘Day of Judgment’, the day Adam and Chava were created, when they were taken to task and held accountable for partaking from the Tree of knowledge, Adam took his first nap.
The Midrash inquires as to the whereabouts of Adam when Chava was duped into eating of the forbidden fruit by the cunning snake. After all if he would’ve been up and around he might have stifled the snake’s efforts. The Midrash reveals that ‘he was sleeping’.
Was Adam not entitled to a little respite from the ceaseless, action packed day of man’s creation?
When Adam is confronted by G-d as to why he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, he responds by simply saying “the woman whom You gave to be with me - she gave me of the tree and I ate”.
The Talmud points out that Adam was faulted for this statement as it displayed an almost cynical ingratitude to G-d for this magnificent gift of a wife that G-d had so graciously given him.
What was Adam thinking? Is it possible that he was so callous in his response to blame G-d for his own folly? Was Adam absconding from his personal responsibility in the matter?
The Ramban here interprets Adam’s retort not as a critical one but rather as an innocent and sincere assertion by Adam of his placing his absolute faith in this ‘helpmate’ that G-d Himself had provided for him. Adam honestly thought that she couldn’t possibly be misleading him and he therefore acceded to her request to eat as well.
If this assertion is correct, then why was he taken to task for being guilty of ingratitude, au contraire, after all he had so valued this gift as to trust her implicitly?
Ask yourself the following question: If you were given an item that was described as the ‘ultimate good’ by the Creator of the universe Himself, would you be able to go to sleep without spending every waking moment examining, discovering and investigating this magnificent gift in order to comprehend it fully?
Yet we are told that Adam had been sleeping. How was that possible? Evidently being thankful for a gift doesn’t display true appreciation for it. Only if one ponders and delves into its nature, understanding the subtleties of its qualities, can one truly show gratitude. A formal ‘thank you’ doesn’t cut it, one must truly appreciate the depths of its essence to truly become grateful for what one has received.
Had Adam spent the time curiously valuing and studying the nature of this gift called ‘woman’, understanding her unique character traits that on the one hand are so vital in enhancing the husband/wife relationship, yet may at the same time make her vulnerable to being deceived, he would have remained vigilant to protect her from those who might seek to take advantage of her ‘greatness’.
That lapse in his valuing her properly is what led to their downfall and is appropriately categorized as ‘ingratitude’.
‘Sleep’ represents a lapse of consciousness. We may be walking around daily seemingly awake and animated but we are really sleep-walking, plodding mindlessly through life. We give our perfunctory ‘thank yous’ along the journey without ever truly fathoming the depths of what we have been granted.
Our poor performance in carrying out the will of G-d generally stems from a deficient appreciation of the profundity of that relationship and the deep abiding love He has for all of us.
We begin the journey of ‘return’ and rectification of man’s initial flaw of ingratitude, through the marvelous experience of Elul/Tishrei. To succeed we must be alert and awake, ever-conscious of His benevolence and concern in every facet of our lives.
We acknowledge G-d as a benevolent King on Rosh Hashana; as a loving and forgiving Father on Yom Kippur; as a joyous and most supportive Spouse on the days of Sukkos that culminate with the warm embrace as Chosson and Kallah on Simchas Torah.
We have hopefully bonded with G-d in the course of these special days. We are now equipped to remain loyal to each other throughout the proverbial long nights of winter. When the music fades and the canopy is dismantled what remains is the deep and abiding appreciation of one another that carries us through even the most difficult and dark nights.
May we never just suffice with a simple thank you. We must remain awake to the constant attention G-d gives us and His absolute concern for our welfare even when it is not visible to the eye. If we succeed we are assured a truly Gezunter Vinter!
באהבה,
צבי טייכמאן
