Parshas Succos
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
Have you ever been at a Torah class where the teacher was all too excited to illustrate the “universality†of Judaism?
Now don’t get me wrong … there are many universal aspects to our religion. One simple example that comes to mind is the fact that unlike Christianity in which the calendar begins with J.C., the Jewish calendar starts with the birth and creation of Adam and Eve, who were not Jewish. [This Rosh Hashanah we just began the new year 5781 on the Jewish calendar – which means 5781 years from the birth of universal Man.]
What bothers me is when these teachers start hauling out the “Seventy Bulls on Succos†as proof of the universality of Judaism.
But first a little background is in order..
As part of the Mussaf Service that was performed in the Holy Temple on the Festival of Succos, a different number of bulls was offered on the altar each day – starting with thirteen on the first day, twelve on the second, with the total decreasing by one on each successive day. The total number of bulls offered throughout the festival (seven days) came to seventy, corresponding to the “seventy nations†who descended from Noah and who were the ancestors of all the nations of the world.
As the Talmud in Succah 55b teaches:
Rabbi Eliezer said: "Why were 70 bulls offered on Succos? For the (merit and protection of the) 70 nations of the world." (see Succah 55b).
Everything good so far, right? Well, hang in there, ‘cuz here comes the “politically incorrect†part of Succos.
Rashi in his commentary to Numbers 29:12-34 writes the following:
“The bulls of the Succos Festival are seventy, corresponding to the seventy nations, and they progressively decrease in number, i.e., each day fewer bulls are offered than the day before – It is a sign of annihilation for [the nations]. And in the days of the Holy Temple, [the bulls] would protect the nations from punishments.â€
Now hold on there just a moment! Did I read that correctly?
Did Rashi actually write that the seventy bulls that are offered on Succos in declining order is a sign of the ultimate decline and destruction of the nations?
There seems to be a major contradiction here … On the one hand, the offering of seventy bulls on Succos seems to be a protection for the seventy nations. On the other hand, it is a sign of their eventual annihilation! Which is it?
Rabbi Dovid Cohen shlitâ€a, Rosh Yeshivah (Dean) of Yeshivas Chevron in Jerusalem, explains in his seminal work Z’man Simchaseinu (essay #14) that there is no contradiction at all. Based on the words of the Ramchal in Ma’amar HaChochmah, he writes that the greatest tikkun (rectification) that the seventy nations can have is to unite under a united Jewish people.
This is what is going to happen during the ultimate redemption in the Messianic Era. Until then, the Seventy Bulls were offered each year in the Holy Temple on the Festival of Succos - not as a sign that the nations themselves should decline and be annihilated, G-d forbid, but rather that their lack of unity should decline – thus protecting them from punishments and enabling them to unite under the Jewish people – which is their ultimate tikkun.
Now I know that the whole idea of the seventy nations uniting under the Jewish people and worshipping the One True G-d together as one is very politically incorrect.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not what our tradition teaches us – and it also doesn’t mean that it’s not true.
As the great Navi Zephania prophesied about the ultimate redemption over 2500 years ago:
“For then I will change the nations to speak a pure language, so that they all will proclaim the Name of G-d, to worship Him with a united resolve†(Zephania 3:9)
[Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone will become Jewish. After all, someone’s got to pay retail!]
And as we recite with great joy and hope the following beautiful piyut (Jewish liturgical poem) each year on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in which we depict what the “seventy nations†will do when the Messiah comes:
Then all shall come to serve You;
they shall bless Your glorious Name
and declare Your righteousness in far-flung lands.
Peoples that knew You not will seek You out;
all ends of the earth will laud You
and always say, “May G-d be exalted.â€
They will reject their idols,
be mortified with their statues,
and turn unanimously to serve You.
Those who seek Your presence
will revere You as long as the sun exists;
they will recognize the power of Your sovereignty,
and teach understanding to those gone astray.
They shall speak of Your strength,
they shall extol You, Who are sovereign over every leader.
In Your Presence they will pray with trepidation,
and crown You with a corona of splendor.
The mountains will burst forth with glad song,
far-flung lands will exult in Your Kingship,
they shall accept they yoke of Your Kingship upon themselves,
and exalt You among the assembled people.
Distant ones will hear and come,
and they will present You with a crown of Kingship.
May we all live to see that day when all the world – the Jews and the Seventy Nations - unites as one under the One True G-d. Amen!
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