There’s an old question about classic Jewish holiday study, especially in Chassidic texts. When it comes to Passover, we learn how fundamental of a holiday it is, and without which there would be no other Jewish holidays. Then comes Shavuot, and the texts extol the strengths and extreme importance of the festival of the Giving of the Torah, Sukkot is called the festival of our rejoicing and in fact the only one referred to biblically as The Holiday… and so it is with all the holidays, each holiday being the most important of all. So which is it? They can’t all be the most important holiday!? Indeed they can. Each holiday has a unique focus and emphasis, a theme that it celebrates. And when it comes to that specific there, there’s nothing like that holiday, nothing comes close. Each holiday excels in each area of focus.
The Baal Shem Tov was fond of light, and also liked to use a window as a metaphor. he considered each Mitzvah to be a window, opening up our finite world to the infinite (as Tanya 25 explains). In the same way each holiday is a unique window, a portal allowing us access to that holiday’s specific spiritual opportunities and blessings. We ought to reach up and make most of these spiritual opportunities and the lasting benefits which we can keep with us throughout the year.
Tonight we’re serving minestrone soup with Ditalini. Think of the round open ditalini noodles as many little windows, like the round portholes of a ship. Look into your bowl now, it’s full of these mini-windows!
A stretch of Jewish holiday like this is filled with windows of opportunity, openings for spiritual connections. You can crunch away on Matzah all year, but on the Passover Seder Night that window is open, that portal is activated. Yes, we can probably (and maybe should?) dance up a storm and passionately sing Jewish songs on a random night in February, but doing it on the night of Simchat Torah is altogether different. It’s a mitzvah, and on this day the window is wide open for that experience and connection.