Shavuot helps us REMEMBER and RELIVE the great experience of Revelation at Sinai, of Maamad Har Sinai, or Matan Torah. Sukkot (Simchat Torah) helps us REJOICE in that great moment and in the legacy of that experience - the Torah. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur help us down the path towards sincere T'SHUVA which will hopefully be matched by G-d's forgiveness. Sukkot (Hoshana Rabba) helps us REJOICE in the relationship we have with G-d and in the T'shuva process and in the potential elevation of our T'shuva to the level of Repentance from Love, T'shuva Mei'Ahava. Sukkot helps us do mitzvot with a greater degree of HIDUR, and consequently with a greater amount of SIMCHA. We beautify our mitzvot more on Sukkot than on any other time of the year. This practice of NOI MITZVA brings with it our sense of HAPPINESS and JOY in our relationship with G-d. On other Holidays, joy is often a byproduct of other emotions. On Sukkot, JOY is the main focus. This is more than hinted at. The nickname of Zman Simchateinu parallel the Time of our Freedom of Pesasch and the Zman Matan Torateinu of Shavuot. Altough Sukkot's appelation does not seem Holiday-specific, it actually is. In fact, one can say (as we have in Torah Tidbits over the years) that Sukkot reflects the Simcha of Pesach (both 7-day holidays that begin on the 15th of their respective "first month of the year". But on Sukkot, that joy shines brightly, undimmed by the other emotions that we find in following the instructions of the Hagada that in every generation, one has to see it as if he himself (she herself) came out of Egypt. Succeed at reliving and personalizing Egyptian slavery, and one becomes filled with a variety of emotions, including those that actually clash with joy. Not so on Sukkot. We don't relive the Wilderness experience, we REJOICE in our memories of G-d's prtection in the form of the Heavenly Clouds of Glory, and/or in His building actual sukkot (so to speak) because of His love for us and His appreciation of our having followed Him into the "land that was not planted". SIMCHA is a mitzva on each of the Three Festivals, but the word is mentioned three times with Sukkot, compared to once for Shavuot and not at all for Pesach. CHAG SAMEACH [The Sukkot Homepage]
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