Rosh Hayeshiva, Har Bracha
The mitzvah of joy on Chag includes concern to make one’s family happy, and the poor and needy * The primary concern of joy should be between husband and wife, and both of them together are responsible to make the rest of the family happy * The Ushpizin in the Sukkah are first and foremost the poor and lonely, as well as new immigrants, and it is a mitzvah to invite them to a meal on Chag. Anyone who invites such guests merits hosting the exalted Ushpizin, the righteous souls * The laws of kashrut for guests: A person can rely on a host’s kashrut even without supervision, provided he is sure the host is familiar with the halachot, and does not disrespect them
The Mitzvah to Rejoice and Make Others Happy
The primary mitzvah of simcha (joy) on the holiday of Sukkot is to be happy and make others happy, for true joy is achieved only when one strives to share the joy with others, as the Torah says: “You shall rejoice on your festival along with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite, proselyte, orphan and widow within your gates” (Deuteronomy 16:14).
Upon further observation, we find that this mitzvah has two components: First, to rejoice together with one’s family and household members. It should be pointed out that the word ‘ata‘ (you) in the above mentioned verse includes both husband and wife jointly – one’s spouse always comes before all other relatives. Also, we find indeed that a man’s primary simcha is the festive meal which his wife customarily prepares, while a woman’s primary simcha is for her husband to buy her new clothes or jewelry. The responsibility of imparting their joy with members of the family is equally shared, for the simcha of Chag is incomplete without the participation of the entire family. The time-honored custom of all Jews is sharing the joy of the holiday with the family.
The second component of the mitzvah is bringing joy to neighbors and friends, the poor and the lonely. The orphan and widow mentioned in the verse were typically poor having lost their main source of sustenance, and the mitzvah to gladden them is carried out by giving them tzedakah (charity). The ger (convert), having left his homeland and family is liable to suffer from loneliness, and the mitzvah to make him happy is achieved by inviting him to participate in the festival meal.
In recent generations, a special mitzvah has been added to natives of Israel: to host immigrants, who often feel lonelier specifically during the holidays, and it is a great mitzvah to include them in the joy.
It should further be noted that the Torah commanded including the Kohanim and Levi’im (Priests and Levites) in the joy. Their task was to teach and instruct B’nei Yisrael, both young and old. From this we can learn that today, Torah scholars – the rabbis and educators who teach Torah and instruct throughout the year similar to the Kohanim and Levi’im, should also be made happy on the Chag. (Binyan Shleima, 1:33).
Who are the Ushpizin According to the Holy Zohar
The lonely or poor guests are the special ones of the festival of Sukkot, who are called in Aramaic ushpizin, and the more guests one brings joy to in his sukkah, the more praiseworthy he is.
Consequently, our Sages said in the Zohar that one should also invite to the sukkah “ushpizin ila’in” (supreme and holy guests), namely, the souls of the seven tzadikim (righteous men), Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David, whose spiritual light shines on Chag Sukkot. In other words, having merited the mitzvah of sukkah and bringing joy to guests, particularly the poor and lonely, one is able to elevate spiritually and also invite supreme and holy guests to the sukkah, i.e., enlightenment from the souls of the tzadikim. Each day, the spiritual light of one the tzadikim shines bright, and he enters the sukkah first, followed by the other six tzadikim.
The Zohar also relates the custom of Rabbi Hamnuna Sabba, who, upon entering the sukkah, was extremely joyful and would stand inside the entrance of his sukkah and bless, saying: ‘Sit down, supreme and holy guests, sit down. Sit down, guests of Faith, sit down.’ He joyfully raised his hands and said: ‘Happy is our lot, happy is the lot of Israel who sit in the sukkah. For whoever has a share in the holy nation and the Holy Land, dwells in the shadow of Faith to receive the light of the seven tzadikim hosted in the sukkah, to rejoice in this world, and in the World to Come!’ (Zohar Emor, Vol.3, 103, 2-104:1, translation).
The Zohar Concerning Those Who Are Not Hospitable
In continuation, it is written in the Zohar (translation, and interpretation): “And although he merits receiving the souls of the righteous, he must be careful to gladden the poor, for the portion of the guests he invited to his meal, belongs to the poor. He sits in the shadow of Faith and invites these lofty guests, the guests of Faith, yet does not give them, namely the poor, their share of the meal, the tzadikim get up from his table because one should not be a guest of a kamtzan (miser)… for the table he set for a festive meal is a table made in honor of himself, and not in honor God, and of him it is written, “And spread on your faces, even the dung of your feasts” (Malachi 2:3). Woe to that man when the guests of Faith stand back from his table. Abraham , who throughout his life used to stand at the crossroads to invite guests and set the table for them, sees that this person who set his table did not give the poor their share, he stands up and says: “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men” (Numbers 16:26), and the rest of the supreme guests walk away after him… one must not say, ‘First I will eat and drink, and whatever is leftover I will give to the poor’, rather, first and foremost he should give to the poor. If he acts properly and gladdens the poor and satiates them, The Holy One blessed be He is happy with him, and each of the faithful guests bless him…”
Basic Reliability in Kashrut
Q: Rabbi, I know it’s a mitzvah on Chag to have guests in one’s sukkah and also to visit family members and friends, but when eating at other people’s sukkah, can I trust that they are strictly observant of the laws of kashrut?
A: In general, Jews who believe in Hashem and his Torah can be trusted in mitzvot. Consequently, the Torah commanded that every Jew, whether man or woman, fulfill the mitzvoth of kashrut by himself – slaughter his beasts and kasher the flesh from chalavim (forbidden fats), gid ha’nasheh (displaced tendon) and blood, and also set aside trumot and ma’asrot (tithes) from his fruits – without the supervision of a Kohen or Rabbi, and anyone who is a guest at another Jew’s house can trust him, and eat from his food.
Not only that, but according to the mitzvoth of the Torah even the Kohanim trusted every Jew and ate from their shechita (ritual slaughter), for indeed it commanded that every Jew who slaughtered a beast for himself, give the Kohanim as a gift the zero’a (foreleg), leḥayayim (jaw) and kevah (maw, or stomach). This is the meaning of our Sages statement: “One witness is believed in matters concerning ritual prohibition”, in other words, that a man can testify that his foods are kosher (Rashi, Yevamot 88a, s.v. “ve’amar”; Chulin 10b, s.v. “eid”). We also find that every Jewish man trusts his wife concerning nida on her say so (Tosafot, Gitin 2b s.v. “eid”), and as well, our Sages said: “The laws of hekdesh, terumot, and tithes are indeed essential parts of the law, and they were entrusted to the ignorant” (Shabbat 32a).
Two Conditions of Reliability
However, this basic trust depends on two conditions: first – that it is a person who knows how to fulfill the details of the mitzvoth. Therefore, for example, although a Jew is trusted when he says that he slaughtered his beast according to halakha, when a young man wishes to be a shochet (ritual slaughterer), he is accompanied to see that he knows how to slaughter properly (Chulin 3b; S. A., Y.D. 1:1). Also, when our Sages realized that amei ha’aretz (unlearned individuals) were not well versed in the laws of taharot (purity) and tumot (impurity), they enacted not to rely on an am ha’aretz in issues of tumah and tahara, unless he accepts upon himself before three witnesses to strictly adhere to its laws (Rambam, Metamme’ey Mishkav uMoshav 1: 1-5).
The second condition is that he does not disrespect the mitzvah. But if he is known to disrespect the mitzvah, he is not trusted. Therefore, when our Sages found in the Second Temple period that due to the high price of ma’asrot, many amei ha’aretz did not set them aside properly – they decreed that only those who pledged before three witnesses to be faithful to the laws could be trusted in matters of terumot and ma’asrot (Sota 48a; Yerushalmi, Sota 9:11; Rambam, Ma’aser 9:1).
In conclusion: When the hosts are known to be familiar with the rules of halakha and respect them, they can be trusted without asking questions.
The Need to Supervise Merchants
The basic trust of all Jews has to do with ordinary situations, such as a person hosted by his friend, who can rely on he is serving him kosher food. But when it comes to merchants, they need to be supervised, because of the economic temptation that could cause them to fail, as the Torah specifically warned merchants about measurements and weights that they be exact so as not to cheat with them, as written: “You must not keep in your house two different measures, one large and one small. You must have a full honest weight and a full honest measure. If you do, you will long endure on the land that God your Lord is giving you” (Deuteronomy 25: 14-15). Our Sages learned from the Torah’s emphasis “you must not keep” teaches that it is a mitzvah to appoint market inspectors (agradmin) to supervise the merchants measurements and weights, and to punish the scammers (Baba Batra 89a; Rambam, Geneva, 8: 20).
Even a Kohen, who mainly deals with matters of holiness, when confronted with a great temptation – he is not trusted. Therefore, our Sages instructed that if a bechor (first born kosher animal) attended to by a Kohen had a blemish that could be inflicted by a human, the bechor would not be permitted to be slaughtered and eaten without the Kohen bringing a witness to testify that the blemish had naturally developed. If there is no witness, the bechor is not permitted to be slaughtered, because there is concern that the Kohen may have inflicted the blemish to permit its slaughter, and to rid himself of having to look after it (S. A., Y. D. 314:1).
Also in the case of food sellers, where the merchant benefits from selling non-kosher food, he must be supervised. In recent generations, food production has become complex and segmented, to the point where it has become a resolute custom not to buy food whose kashrut is doubtful from a factory or a store that does not have a kosher certificate, even if the seller is known as someone who observes mitzvot (see, Meyshiv Davar 2:7, Igrot Moshe, Y.D. 4:1; Neharot Eitan 2:38; Minchat Asher 1: 37).
Indeed, there is no precise definition of the level of supervision required, but three basic rules guide the level of supervision. The first – the greater the temptation, namely, that by cheating the merchant profits more, the tighter supervision required. The second – the greater amount of people the merchant provides food for, the more rigorous his supervision must be, in order to prevent large-scale transgressions. Third – the greater the concern is about the severity of the prohibition, the tighter the supervision should be. Torah prohibitions are the most severe, followed by rabbinical prohibitions, and after them, prohibitions founded in minhag (custom). Consequently, the most stringent supervision is on meat where the temptation to deceive is huge since the price of kosher meat is double the price of non-kosher meat, and involves problems of Torah prohibitions. All the more so when it comes to a large-scale merchant.
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