We all know that on Simchat Torah the simchah is so great that it's greater than the simchah of any other Yom Tov. And the simple reason why the simchah is so great on Simchat Torah is because, as it says in Shulchan Aruch, it says in the Tur Orach Chaim סימן תרס\"ט and also brought down in the Rema in סימן תרס\"ט, and it's also based on a Tikkunei Zohar תיקון כ\"א, that this is לפי שמסיימין בו התורה וראוי לשמוח בסיומה. Since on that day we finish the Torah, therefore it's proper, it fits that we should be very happy when we make a siyum on the Torah. But then there's a famous question that asks: Why was it set up so that the siyum of the Torah should be done on Simchat Torah, which is in connection to Shemini Atzeret, why not in Chag HaShavuot? Shavuot is the day that Hashem gave us the Torah. The whole celebration of the Yom Tov Shavuot is the celebration of Matan Torah. So wouldn't it make more sense that it should be set up such a way that the סיום התורה should be done on Chag HaShavuot, in connection to the giving of the לוחות, to the giving of the Torah? And the answer that's given is because the simchah of Simchat Torah is in connection to the giving of the לוחות שניות on Yom Kippur. We know that on Yom Kippur Hashem gave the second לוחות. As the Mishnah says in Masechta Taanit דף כ\"ו עמוד ב', וביום חתונתו זה מתן תורה, the day of Hashem's chatunah is Matan Torah. And as Rashi says, it refers to Yom Kippur, the day when Hashem gave the second לוחות. So therefore, being that the second לוחות were given after the Yidden did teshuvah of the חטא העגל, so therefore the simchah in connection to the second luchot is greater. And therefore, on Simchat Torah, which is together with Shemini Atzeret, which comes as a continuation and after Yom Kippur, which is the time of the second luchot, that's why that's when we have the end of the Torah, and that's when the simchah is so great.

But be'emet we have to understand: we know takeh that Shemini Atzeret is considered a רגל בפני עצמו, a separate Yom Tov, as the Gemara says in סוכה דף מ\"ח עמוד א' and in many places. But nevertheless, the Torah does call it יום השמיני, the eighth day. Obviously, it's in continuation to the first seven days of Sukkot. And therefore, whatever we explain concerning the simchah of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we must find something similar to that in the simchah of the seven days of Sukkot. Being the seven days of Sukkot and the eighth day, and then automatically the ninth day, which is the Yom Tov Sheni of the eighth, automatically have the same inyan. Now that we explain that the simchah of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret is a simchah in connection to the giving of the second luchot on Yom Kippur, so obviously the simchah that we have during the seven days of Sukkot also have something to do with this inyan of giving the second luchot on Yom Kippur. So we have to understand in which way do we see the connection between the simchah that we have on Chag HaSukkot to the simchah of giving of the second luchot that took place on Yom Kippur, which is the simchah of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?

So one of the explanations that can be said is as follows: Concerning the fact that on Sukkot the simchah is very great, and that's why only on Sukkos we say זמן שמחתנו, even though all Yamim Tovim you have to be b'Simcha, they're all מועדים לשמחה, nevertheless we only say on סוכות זמן שמחתנו. So the simcha on Sukkos is a greater simcha than any other Yom Tov, as the Rambam says in הלכות לולב פרק ח' הלכה י\"ב, there was a שמחה יתירה, and in הלכה י\"ד there he says מצוה להרבות בשמחה זו. So there was a special simcha on Sukkos. What is the reason why there is a special simcha on Sukkos more than on Pesach and on Shavuos? So the reason is because concerning Sukkos we find in the Torah three times the din of simcha. Concerning Shavuos we only find in the Torah the inyan of simcha once. Concerning Pesach the Torah does not mention the word simcha at all; we just learn it out from the other Yamim Tovim. So therefore, Sukkos, where the Torah tells us the inyan of simcha three times, the simcha is greater. The other two Yamim Tovim it's not so great. What is the explanation for this? Why is it that the Torah tells us the inyan of simcha on Sukkos more than the simcha of Pesach and Shavuos? So the Midrash, in Yalkut Shimoni פרשת אמור רמז תרנ\"ד, which is really taken from the Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, the last part, the last piece there, the inyan of Sukkos, so explains that this is connected to the differences between the Yamim Tovim that's connected to the תבואה of the field, that's connected to the grain that grows in the field. Pesach is called in חומש חודש האביב, and it says in the pasuk in פרשת בא קפיטל י\"ג פסוק ד', in פרשת משפטים קפיטל כ\"ג פסוק ט\"ו, in פרשת כי תשא קפיטל ל\"ד פסוק י\"ח, so in many places. Pesach is called חודש האביב, which means that's the time when the grain is starting to become ripe, but it's not really ripe completely. Therefore, the simchah is not so great then, because then we're still not sure what's going to happen to the תבואה, whether it's going to come out the way we want it to be. Shavuos already is called חג הקציר, as the pasuk says in משפטים קפיטל כ״ג פסוק ט״ז, and in פרשת כי תשא, etc., etc. It's the Yom Tov when we already cut the grain. So it's the time when the grain is finished and we cut it already, therefore the simchah starts then. Therefore the Torah mentions simchah by Shavuos. On the other hand, it's not a complete simchah, since the grain is not yet at home, it's still in the field, and it wasn't gathered together, at least most of it was not gathered together, in a way that you should be able to use it already. Therefore the simchah is not complete. Sukkos is called חג האסיף, as the pasuk says in משפטים there חג האסיף, and it says באספך את מעשיך מן השדה, when you will gather already your actions, the things that you did from the field. Then already we gather all the תבואה together from the field, and you bring it into the storage, into the house. So since then the grain is already ready, you could use it already, then the simchah is complete. And therefore the Torah says three times the word simchah concerning Sukkos and Sukkos there's the greatest simchah. Lichorah, this reason would only apply at the time when Yidden were in Eretz Yisrael and everyone had his own field, and the occupation of most of the Yidden was concerning the grain of the field. So mimela by them, the simchah of Yom Tov would depend on the grain of the field. But since we know the Torah is נצחי, Torah is eternal, so everything it says in the Torah and all the reasons given in the Torah are eternal, so they apply at all times, in all places. So the reason that's given that the simchah of Sukkos is in connection to the tevuah of the field must be eternal, must apply nowadays too. But as we could understand, it doesn't necessarily mean it has to apply in a physical way, it could apply in a spiritual way. And the truth is it could, because this inyan of tevuah also applies to ruchniyus. In ruchniyus, what is the inyan of tevuah? Tevuah, which is grain, bread is made from tevuah, and bichlal it refers to everything that grows on the trees, this refers to Torah u'mitzvos. Concerning Torah, the Gemara says in Sanhedrin דף מ״ב עמוד א׳ that Torah is called tevuah, as explained in Tosafos there. The Gemara also says in Chagigah דף י״ד עמוד א׳, based on the pasuk in Mishlei, that Torah is called lechem. And the Gemara says in Sotah דף מ״ו עמוד א׳, מאי פירות? מצוות. What are fruit? מצוות. So we see that things that grow, the grain and the fruit, etc., etc., this is the tevuah of the Yidden, and this could apply to every Yid in all times. And these three seasons, חודש האביב, and חג הקציר, and חג האסיף, they are three steps in the growth of the spiritual tevuah in the life of the Am Yisrael. Later on, when the Yidden entered Eretz Yisrael, then it was נשתלשל, so to speak, it also expressed itself in the physical tevuah of the Yidden. But really this refers to the spiritual tevuah of Yidden.

Now how we, do we explain the three Yomim Tovim of חודש האביב, חג הקציר, and חג האסיף, which is Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos, in connection to the growth of the spiritual תבואה of the Yidden, which is the Torah u'Mitzvos? And the explanation is very simple. Chag HaMatzos, which is the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim, that expresses the beginning and the foundation of a Yid's Avodas Hashem. By Yetzias Mitzrayim, the Yidden, seeing all these miracles, what it brought about in them was the Inyan of Emunah. As the Pasuk says, וירא ישראל, they saw what happened to the מצרים, ויאמינו בה׳, so they believed in Hashem. Emunah, the belief in Hashem, is the foundation of Avodas Hashem. On the other hand, this is only the foundation, but this is not Avodas Hashem itself, which means Avodas Hashem is מצוות בפועל, you actually have to do the Mitzvos, you have to actually learn Torah. But at the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim, this didn't, this didn't happen yet. As it was physically that Yetzias Mitzrayim took place before the Inyan of Torah u'Mitzvos was given to the Yidden, so Yetzias Mitzrayim is only the foundation. It's the Inyan of Emunah, which is the foundation of Torah u'Mitzvos of Yiddishkeit. But based on the Emunah, then you have to do Torah u'Mitzvos. And Bichlal we know that Emunah itself is not enough, as the Gemara says in Berachos דף ס״ג עמוד א׳ that גנבא אפום מחתרתא רחמנא קריא, a Ganav, when he's going to steal, he calls to Hashem, he also has Emunah in Hashem that Hashem could help him, he davens to Hashem. And at the same time he goes to steal, he doesn't do what Hashem wants him to do, he doesn't keep the mitzvah of not stealing. Because it could be that the emunah does not penetrate into the actions of the person, doesn't make the person act accordingly. So emunah is just the yesod, and that's the inyan of Pesach. So it's similar to the inyan of the תבואה that it starts growing, חודש האביב, but you don't have it yet. Comes Shavuos, which is זמן מתן תורתנו, the time when Hashem gave the Torah and the Yidden accepted it upon themselves by saying נעשה ונשמע. This is similar to the second step, when you cut the תבואה, which means you already have it, but you can't use it yet, it's not brought to the house yet, it's not brought to the storage, but you have it already. So the Yidden at that time had it, because they were mekabel already תורה ומצוות, but it wasn't the מעשה המצוות, they didn't do it yet. At that time, all they did, they received the they accepted it upon themselves. So it's a second step after the inyan of emunah, because by emunah you don't have it at all, here you have it, but you didn't do it yet. When it comes to Chag HaSukkos, that's already a time when a certain amount of time passed after Shavuos, and a Yid already at that time did תורה ומצוות. Certain different circumstances came about, because there are a few months between Shavuos and Sukkos, and a Yid followed תורה ומצוות, so he already he did the מעשה תורה ומצוות. This is similar to the third thing, the idea of gathering the תבואה into your house and having it already. And as the pasuk says, \"ואספך את מעשיך מן השדה\", when you gather your maasim, then already you have your actions, that that's the time already when the תבואה, which is תורה ומצוות, is already acted out, and it is already in the possession of a Yid in a way that he could do it.

And the truth is we go a step further. In between Shavuos and Sukkos, the חטא העגל took place. After Hashem give the Torah, the Yidn sinned with the חטא העגל. And what happened afterwards? The Yidn did teshuvah. The fact that the Yidn did teshuvah, this shows even more the fact that the Yidn have Torah u'mitzvot already במעשה and they're already doing Torah u'mitzvot. Because by the fact that the Yidn did teshuvah, that shows how deep within the Yid the inyan of Torah u'mitzvot penetrated. It's so deep that even if he went away from Torah u'mitzvot, he still gets back to it. If it wouldn't be so deep, so as long as he has it he has it, when it's away, finished, he has no connection to it. But the fact that he comes back shows that it went so deep that even if he goes away, he comes back. And that's really what the Rambam means when he writes concerning about teshuvah, that not only is the sechar of a baal teshuvah very great, but as he writes in הלכות תשובה פרק ז׳, הלכה ד׳, that מעלתן גדולה ממעלת אלו שלא חטאו מעולם, their maalah, their madregah is greater than the madregah of those people who didn't sin at all. Because מפני שאין כובשין יצרם יותר, because they overcome their yetzer hara even more. Which means that a person who לא טעם טעם חטא, who didn't taste the taste of an aveirah, we're not so sure what madregah and how deep the tzidkut, the Torah u'mitzvot penetrated into him. We don't know if it penetrated into him to overcome all circumstances. It's possible that his completion in tzidkut is only because he was never tested with nisayonot. But if he would be tested, we are not sure that he would withstand the test. A baal teshuvah who tasted the taam of a חטא, ופירש ממנו, as the Rambam says, and he stayed away from it, since he already went through that also, we are sure that even if that would happen again, then he would be able to withstand the yetzer hara, because he had it already and he went away from it. Which means in other words, that only in עבודת התשובה comes this expression of how עבודת השם is carved out in the metziut of a Yid in such a way that you can't take it out, and therefore even after he does an aveirah, and he tears himself away from Hashem, he has no menuchah, he has no peace till he returns to Hashem and serving Hashem. And therefore, when is the complete גמר and שלמות of חג האסיף, which means the Yom Tov that's connected to the gathering of the תבואה, which we said before means the time when the inyan of תורה ומצוות, which is תבואה, is already gathered into person and he has it, only after Yom Kippur, which comes in connection to the giving of the second Luchos, which came as a result of the teshuvah. Which means that the simchah that you have on חג הסוכות, which we said before is because of חג האסיף, is also connected to Yom Kippur, because as we explained, חג האסיף represents the Yom Tov when the Yid gathered תורה ומצוות already. When are we sure he gathered תורה ומצוות completely, that it penetrates into the whole metzius? Only if this includes the avodah of teshuvah. As long as his avodah does not include teshuvah, then we're not sure that he really gathered תורה ומצוות, that it went in so deep into him. But if he already has teshuvah, then we know it went so deep that he can never get away from it, and even if he gets away, he'll come back. So the real simchah of חג האסיף of Sukkos is because it comes right after Yom Kippur, which is the day of the giving of the second Luchos, which came as a result of the Yidden doing teshuvah, so the simchah of חג הסוכות is because it comes after the inyan of teshuvah. So here we see the similarity between the simchah of חג הסוכות and the simchah of Simchas Torah. We said before the simchah of Simchas Torah is because of the Torah. Why Davka Simchas Torah? Why isn't it in Shavuos? So we said because Simchas Torah comes after Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a time when Hashem gave the second Luchot, and therefore the simchah of the giving of the second Luchot, which came after teshuvah, is a greater simchah, and therefore the simchah concerning Torah is on Simchat Torah, not on Shavuot. So we said that the simchah of Simchat Torah is because it comes after Yom Kippur, after the teshuvah. The simchah of Chag HaSukkot is for the same reason. It's the simchah in connection to חג האסיף because we gather the tevuah, which means in ruchniyut we gather Torah u'mitzvot, but the real simchah is because it comes after Yom Kippur, it comes after the avodah of teshuvah. And as we said in the beginning, that since means the simchah of Simchat Torah comes after the simchah of the seven days of Sukkot, and it's in connection to Shemini Atzeret, as the second day of Shemini Atzeret, which is the eighth day, that shows that this is a המשך, a continuation of the first seven days. And we asked, where is the similarity between the simchah of Simchat Torah to the simchah on this Yom Tov of Sukkot? But now we explained it. The simchah of Sukkot is also because it comes after Yom Kippur, that's when is the real חג האסיף, and the simchah of Simchat Torah is also because it comes after Yom Kippur, which is the great simchah of Torah which comes after teshuvah. And this is one of the reasons why in the קריאה of Simchat Torah we read the פסוק תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב, which means the Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu commanded us is a yerushah, an inheritance to the community of Yaakov. We know that the inyan of yerushah is something that's beyond sechel. The inyan of inheritance is something that's beyond understanding, beyond avodah, beyond anything. A person who is just born, a child who is a בן יומו, who is just born, inherits, if he is a יורש, the same as an adult, because inyan of yerushah is connected to the mahut of the person, to the essence of this person because he is the יורש, rather than to the actions of the person. And that's what the inyan of Simchat Torah is supposed to show, that this is the simchah that Torah uMitzvot became so close in the Yid, it became part of the essence of the Yid, not only superficially as it is concerning חודש האביב, and a little bit more as it is concerning חג הקציר, but it's חג האסיף when you really gather it, and it becomes part of you. And that's why we read then the פסוק that the Torah is מורשה זו ירושה to show that the Torah became one with the Yidden, in the essence of the Yidden, and therefore, that even if chas veshalom a Yid turns away from Torah uMitzvot, he still returns to Hashem because the Torah is part of him and he could never chas veshalom get away from it.