The Ramban stepped aside and beseeched for Divine inspiration. It was revealed to him the verse alluding to this rebel pupil. His name is encrypted in the verse where G-d asserts, ‘I will cause their memory to to cease from man’.

On Yom Kippur we add at the end of the lengthy Vidui / Confession, a prayer that Rava inserted at the conclusion of his own daily personal prayers.

My G-d, while I was not yet formed I was not worthy, and now that I have been formed it is as if I have not been formed.

What exactly are we trying to assert here?

Rav Chaim Walkin, the beloved Mashgiach of Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel in Jerusalem offers a novel interpretation.

Every man is placed on the chessboard of history at the precise time, place and circumstance where he/she is destined to fulfill his/her unique role that no other can. Man is not ‘worthy’ until his designated time arrives. While I was not yet formed I was not worthy.

Unfortunately though, we enter this world and plod mindlessly never discovering our unique role and purpose. And now that I have been formed it is as if I have not been formed.

If we would only believe in the power of our own personal destiny, and the impact it can have on ourselves, family, community, nation, world and the universe, we would focus our every breath on the mission we have each been entrusted with.

In a recent article in Ami Magazine writer Judith Leventhal retells a fascinating true tale. Two soon to be mechutanim each set out to invite their respective deceased ancestors to the upcoming wedding of their children. The Zohar tells us that our antecedents join under the canopy of the bride and groom on their momentous day. They discovered that not only were they each going to the exact same cemetery, but the sections, Bobov and Munkatch, where their relatives were buried, were directly adjacent to one another. After each one invited their parent’s and grandparent’s souls to the wedding, one of them observed that his future mechutan was now joining him and searching for a plot among the graves. His friend told him that he was looking for the plot of his beloved aunt, a survivor, who although never merited children of her own, was like a Bubby to him and his siblings. Upon hearing this he exclaimed to his friend “What a remarkable coincidence, for I too am hunting to find my beloved aunt, who also survived the Holocaust, never had children but was also like a grandmother to our family!” Together they scoured the rows of graves within that section and were astonished to discover that they were both buried next to each other! Less than twenty four hours later the two new friends and their spouses stood alongside their children under the canopy together with their beloved ancestors.

We recite Yizkor on Yom Kippur not just to remember and add credits to our loving family members who have departed.  We realize that just as they each played a unique role and had a profound influence upon all who followed them, so too must we each realize that we too are ‘worthy’ and must take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to inspire them as only we each can do like no other can.

On Sukkos we begin a fresh start. We are enthused by the reality of the remarkable role we each play and the special bond we each have with our Father in Heaven who carefully placed us with precision and purpose.

The great Rebbi Nachman of Breslov taught that we enter a Sukkah like a newly forming child enters its mother’s womb. I always pondered the oddity of the minimum size of a Sukkah, some thirty plus inches high by twenty one or so squared inches. An average size adult would have to nearly maintain a fetal position to fit within that space!

We are also told that at the end of our lives, when our souls will ascend on High, every righteous one will dwell under his own personal canopy and there will be seven layers of canopies all in the merit of fulfilling the command of Sukkah.

Rabbeinu Bechaya reveals that we must fulfill the mitzvah of Sukkah for seven days straight, night and day, in contrast to the Four Species we take only by day, to symbolize ceaseless eternity and our ultimate destiny of dwelling in that domain after our fleeting existence here on earth.

We start life alone within the embrace of a loving mother and we stand alone after our sojourn on earth under our own special canopy.

Each one of us makes a difference. Each one of us brings new life to the world. Each one of us is unique and especially beloved in G-d’s eyes.

The word סוכה equals 91, equivalent to the value of both names of G-d, א-ד-נ-י  and י-ה-ו-ה . If we add the four letters of this word which also reflects on the four letters in each of G-d’s names, adding 1 more for its כולל, its ‘entirety’, we arrive at 96.

אַנִי כְדַאי, I am worthy, also adds up to 96!

May we never underestimate our strengths or our mission. May we truly be worthy and fulfill that which only we can accomplish alone!

באהבה,

חג שמח,

צבי טייכמאן