We approach the holiday of Simchat Torah with a sense of trepidation. There is no one who does not think about Simchat Torah last year, where he was and what he experienced. The news of Job, the unknown, the worry and anxiety, the mobilization to save the residents of the encirclement, the difficult battles.
Thoughts and memories can make it difficult for us to celebrate and rejoice in the joy of the Torah, and this is the great challenge before us - to ignore all the painful feelings and focus on the joy. We owe it to ourselves, to our children, to the life force within us, and to our future as a Jewish people.
We have the victory.
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The holiday of Sukkot is described in our sources as a holiday of victory. The Midrash says that on Rosh Hashanah the people of Israel stand trial before the nations of the world, and we still do not know who won. However, when Jews go out on the holiday of Sukkot with their hearts in their hands - it is clear to everyone that we have won.
Raising the lulavim is like a victorious army returning from the battlefield and raising its swords aloft, in a triumphant gesture.
We too are certain of our victory. Although we suffered a severe and painful blow, we experienced terrible humiliation, we lost many dead, hundreds of our sons and daughters went into captivity - but from this rift we rose like lions and turned the tables. Those who sought to bring destruction upon us are now experiencing firsthand the taste of destruction and devastation.
In the past year, we have seen that the Creator of the world stands at our right hand and bestows upon us success and victory. The verses of the Book of Psalms have come true in us: "The vengeance of the blood of Your servants that has been shed shall be known among the nations in our sight... and You will return to our neighbors sevenfold, into their bosom their reproach, which You, O Lord, have reproached.' The reproach they heaped upon us they received seventy-sevenfold!
The stranglehold that Iran has worked to build around us has been broken. First the southern arm was severed, and in recent weeks the northern arm has been steadily severed. A new and inexorably secure reality is beginning to emerge, in the face of the wrath of the nations of the world, who gnash their teeth at the sight of the Jews defeating their enemies.
Therefore, we will rejoice on Simchat Torah. We will rejoice that we have an eternal Torah, thanks to which the Jewish people are also an eternal people. Throughout history, people have stood against us to destroy us, but God, the Holy One, saves us from their hands. This deep connection, between the people of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the God of Israel, is the source of our joy and hope. Thanks to it, we are certain that we will meet all challenges and continue to flourish and prosper until true and complete redemption.
The treasures of abundance
Simchat Torah is also the source of abundance of blessing and joy. The great Hasidic scholars said that all the things that can be achieved on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through weeping and a broken heart, can be received on Simchat Torah through joy. They also said that the moments of Simchat Torah are priceless, and in each of them one can draw treasures of abundance for the entire year.
In light of the ongoing war and the hopes for the return of the abductees, this is the time to open the upper taps of joy, and draw from them an abundance of joy. When we rejoice on Simchat Torah, we promise ourselves a year of joy, abundance, and blessing.
Let us take advantage of this precious holiday to recharge ourselves with stores of joy for the entire year, and we are confident that with the power of joy we will overcome all challenges, achieve complete victory, and have a happy, sweet, and joyful New Year!
