On Sukkos, we shake the four species three times ahead at הוֹדוּ, back at טוֹב, up at לְעוֹלָם and down at חַסְדוֹ. Is there any lesson that these words teach us?
We shake the lulav ahead at הוֹדוּ. It’s “easy” לְהֹדוֹת, to thank, Hashem, when events are in front of us - obvious to a person. [The words מוֹדֶה, תּוֹדָה, הוֹדָה and הוֹדוּ are all interconnected with one another].
אמר רבא כמה לא חלי ולא מרגיש גברא דמריה סייעיה...
Rava said: How little does a man who has the assistance of his Lord have to worry or be concerned about the possibility that his opinion may not be accepted...
We shake the lulav back at טוֹב. There are times in our own life when the events seem to appear in ‘back of us’ - i.e. don’t make sense. When that happens, we ask aloud to our Creator, “How is this טוֹב, for my own good?” There is nothing wrong with asking this question.
A Rabbi once said:
“When life gets rough, ask not ‘why’ this is happening to me but ‘what’ this happening is asking of me. In every painful situation choose to find opportunities for growth and humbly reserve judgment of the Master Mind of the universe.”
[אִיּוֹב] לֹא בְדַעַת יְדַבֵּר וּדְבָרָיו לֹא בְהַשְׂכֵּל וּכְתִיב כִּי לֹא דִבַּרְתֶּם אֵלַי נְכוֹנָה כְּעַבְדִּי אִיּוֹב אָמַר רָבָא מִכָּאן שֶׁאֵין אָדָם נִתְפָּס בִּשְׁעַת צַעֲרוֹ
(ט) יִצְחָק תָּבַע יִסּוּרִין...
Yitzchak Avinu asked that man should endure suffering
(א) אֵין לְךָ אָדָם בְּלֹא יִסּוּרִים.
There is no man who goes through life without afflictions!
יִסּוּרִין מְמָרְקִין כׇּל עֲוֹנוֹתָיו שֶׁל אָדָם.
Suffering cleanses a person’s transgressions, purifying him for a more sublime existence.
[Regarding suffering, see Suffering from a Jewish Perspective]
In the end, we must realize that we cannot understand G-d’s doings.
Nor are My ways your ways
—declares the LORD.
When Hashem reveals Himself, people will directly perceive how evil causes good, instead of merely understanding this intellectually
אָמַר רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן לְחַבְרַיָּיא אִי לָא דְּהֲוָה הָכִי דְּבָרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא יִצְרָא טָבָא וּבִישָׁא דְּאִנּוּן אוֹר וְחשֶׁךְ לָא הֲוָה זְכוּ וְחוֹבָה לְאָדָם דִּבְרִיאָה. אֶלָּא (בגין) דְּאִתְבְּרִי מִתַּרְוַויְיהוּ, וּבְגִין דָּא (דברים ל׳:ט״ו) רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנְיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְגו'. אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ כּוּלֵי הַאי אַמַּאי. וְלָא הֲוָה שַׁפִּיר דְּלָא אִתְבְּרֵי דְּלָא לְמֵיחַב וּלְגַרְמָא כָּל מַה דְּגָרִים לְעֵילָא וְלָא הֲוָה לֵיהּ לָא עוֹנֶשׁ וְלָא שָׂכָר.
Rabbi Shimon replied: If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not created the Evil and Good Inclinations, which are light and darkness, there would not have been any precepts or transgressions for the man of Briyah. So man was created with both, as it is written: "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil" (Devarim 30:15). They asked him: why all this? Better He had not created darkness. Then man would have no reward or punishment as opposed to being created and having to sin, thereby causing much (damage and destruction).
חַיָּיב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל הָרָעָה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמְּבָרֵךְ עַל הַטּוֹבָה... בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ.
The mishna articulates a general principle: One is obligated to recite a blessing for the bad that befalls him just as he recites a blessing for the good that befalls him... with every measure that He metes out to you; whether it is good or troublesome, thank Him.
חַיָּב הָאָדָם לְבָרֵךְ אֶת ה' יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ גַּם עַל הָרָעָה... בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מִדָה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ, בֵּין מִדָּה טוֹבָה בֵּין מִדַּת פֻּרְעָנוּת, הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ...
It is our duty to express our blessing to Hashem, blessed be His Name even on bad tidings... "With all your possessions" means with all your resources. Another meaning of the words uvechol me'odecha is with any measure that He metes out to you, whether it is a measure of goodness or a measure of punishment, express your gratitude to Him.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller said that when a glass or dish breaks, the first thing a person should say is, “Thank You, Hashem, for all the times that this does not happen” (Let There Be Rain by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman and Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, page 195)
The words לְעוֹלָם חַסְדוֹ mean His kindness is enduring forever.
(ג) כִּֽי־אָמַ֗רְתִּי ע֭וֹלָם חֶ֣סֶד יִבָּנֶ֑ה שָׁמַ֓יִם ׀ תָּכִ֖ן אֱמוּנָתְךָ֣ בָהֶֽם׃
(3) I declare, “Your steadfast love is confirmed forever;
there in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”
“Our Sages teach that the Hebrew word for עוֹלָם, world, comes from the same word as נֶעְלַם, hidden, for truth is often hidden and not immediately perceptible. Therefore, one who seeks wisdom solely through studying nature and the world around him will sometimes arrive at errant conclusions. The Talmud explains the verse, ‘You bring darkness and its night’, as a reference to the physical. Our world is one of darkness, where perceptions are dulled and truth is sometimes concealed” (The Neshamah by Aryeh Leibowitz, page 53. See also Rav Schwab on Prayer, page 125, for a different explanation and If You Were G-d by Aryeh Kaplan, pages 180-181)
כי נודע אשר שם הוי"ה יתברך הוא המכונה בעשות הדברים אשר למעלה מטבע העולם כי הוא המהוה את כל ובידו לשדדם ולשברם ולהכניעם, מה שאין כן שם אלהים שמכונה על שם הטבע שהוא גמטריא הטבע, ועל כן אמר פרעה לא ידעתי את ה' כלומר איני יודע שיש בחינה המהוה שלמעלה מהטבע...
The term Elo-him (אלהים) in Hebrew alludes to how Hashem works through the laws of nature. Indeed, the numerical value Elo-him (אלהים) is the same as “Nature” (הטבע)
וכן בגימטריא אלקים הטב"ע...
The numerical value of אלקים, God, is the same of הטבע, the nature.
Hashem gives man the ability to see His existence through nature or deny it (see Rav Shach on Chumash by Rabbi Asher Bergman, pages 16-17)
By waving the lulav upwards at לְעוֹלָם, we are saying to Hashem, “Your kindness endures לְעוֹלָם, forever.” When we wave the lulav downwards at חַסְדוֹ, we are telling the Creator, “Even in this עוֹלָם, world, Your kindness exists; although it may seem to be עָלוּם, hidden.” What we often perceive in our lives as G-d’s strict justice, is, in reality, His abundant mercy!