Rabbi Howard Morrison

Today, Shabbat/Shemini Atzeret concludes the Fall holy day and festival season. Both, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret are regarded as Zman Simchatenu - the season of our joy. The two holidays are independent and separate. Sukkot, understandably, is a season of joy. It comes a few days after Yom Kippur and is filled with the joyous rituals of the Sukkah and the four species. On Shemini Atzeret, whether it falls out on Shabbat or not, there is no taking of the four species. In addition, there is no obligation to dwell in the Sukkah on this day. So, why is Shemini Atzeret also called a season of our joy?

Our ancestors understood today as a one day holding over. "Atzeret" means to hold back. Thus, after the High Holy Days and Sukkot, God tells the Jewish people to hold back one more day, a twenty-four-hour period about you and Me, like two close friends sitting together. There is no prayer for forgiveness, no prayer for repentance, no specific holiday rituals - Just God and Israel sharing a close bond together for one more day. Now, what can be more joyous than that? Our ancient Sages deduce this interpretation from the fact that in Temple times, the Torah ordained seventy sacrifices to be brought over the seven days of Sukkot, which corresponded to the nations of the world. However, the Torah ordained only one sacrifice to be brought on Shemini Atzeret, to accentuate the bond between God and Israel.

Already for many generations, today's joy is tempered with the recitation of Yizkor. While remembering loved ones should bring back fond memories, Yizkor also provokes sadness in that these loved ones are no longer physically with us. Or, in some cases, our relationships with some loved ones may not have been such a blessing or even marred with acts of physical and/or emotional abuse. 

In our congregation and in many others, Yizkor is also defined by remembering the martyrs of the Shoah, six million brothers and sisters who died a Kiddush Hashem, an act of martyrdom. They died because they were Jews. While Canada was not the most welcoming country during the war; while Canada was noted by much anti-Semitism back in the day; the fact of the matter is that many Holocaust survivors found their place of refuge in Canada, and many of them in the GTA. It in this community, where many survivors came with almost nothing. They began their lives anew, found love, raised families, achieved levels of prosperity. Many survivors who have already left this world also left behind children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. Amazing stories of courage and resilience have defined the Canadian Jewish narrative. The success and growth of many synagogues locally, like Beth Emeth, can be attributed in large part to survivors and their families who helped to make our Jewish community what it is today. 

With all of this in mind, the joy associated with Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret is marred even further this year. While the news came out on a Tuesday the day after Yom Kippur, on the preceding Friday between the High Holy Days, our federal government at the insistence of its Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, publicly honored and celebrated as a hero a 98-year-old man, Yaroslav Hunka, who was designated as a Ukranian-Canadian war veteran. It was discovered after his being celebrated that this same man served and fought in a voluntary unit under Nazi command. 

As a Jew, I was completely shaken when I heard this news the day after Yom Kippur when preparations for joy were supposed to have begun. I am the child of American born parents. I cannot begin to imagine the shock and anguish found amongst many of you, survivors of the Shoah, along with your children and grandchildren. Our Joy is so deeply diminished on this final day of the Yom Tov season.

In our Beth Emeth recitation of Yizkor, we mention the Nazis with the term, "Yimach Shemam - May their names be blotted." How paradoxical it is this year saying these words when our own country naively honored a Nazi member two weeks ago. While a resignation and apologies have ensued, the emotional and spiritual damage has been done. Never again can such an act happen.

We the Jewish people will recover. We will be fine. That is the feisty nature of the Jewish people. And in spite of it all, two weeks ago and the perils of a 4000-year history, we continue, will continue and must continue celebrating the joy of our heritage. We can not let our legitimate pain prevent us from celebrating the joy of being Jewish.

And so, I say today - ZMAN SIMCHATENU - THE SEASON OF OUR JOY AND CELEBRATION.

Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Howard Morrison