Exhausted From Sukkot Prep? Think of It as Gathering Treasure

The house is almost ready for Sukkot. We, on the other hand, may be considerably less so.

The pots seem to be multiplying, the laundry is piling up, and the sukkah wall has once again decided to develop a personality of its own. Somewhere between one task and the next exhausted sigh, a thought creeps in:

If this is supposed to be the season of our joy, why does it feel like working a double shift?

King David gives us a verse that seems almost tailor-made for the days before a holiday:

“I rejoice over Your word like one who finds great treasure” (Tehillim 119:162).

Imagine someone being handed a bag filled with gold. It is heavy. His arms hurt. He is out of breath.

But is he complaining?

Probably not. He is smiling from ear to ear.

The weight has not disappeared. It simply feels different because he knows what he is carrying. Every additional pound means more treasure.

And perhaps that is a useful way to think about the work before Sukkot, too.

When Preparation Becomes Part of the Mitzvah

The Gemara (Shabbat 119a) describes great sages personally taking part in preparations for Shabbat. One would prepare the head of an animal for cooking; another would salt fish.

These were Torah giants whose time was extraordinarily precious. Yet preparing for Shabbat was not something they considered beneath them or merely a distraction from more important things. Taking part in those preparations was itself a way of honoring Shabbat.

The same perspective can transform the way we approach preparations for Yom Tov.

The cooking, shopping, setting the table, preparing the sukkah, and getting the family ready are not simply annoying obstacles standing between us and the holiday. When they are done for the sake of honoring Yom Tov and fulfilling Hashem’s will, the preparation itself becomes meaningful avodat Hashem.

The work may still be tiring. But suddenly, we understand what we are carrying.

The Difficulty Doesn’t Cancel the Joy

King David does not say that he rejoices only when fulfilling Hashem’s will is easy.

“I rejoice over Your word.”

There is joy simply in having the privilege of doing what Hashem asks of us.

That idea reaches far beyond holiday preparation.

It is there when you get out of bed for prayer on a cold morning while the blanket is practically begging you to stay. It is there in the tzedakah you give when money is tight. And it is there in the sentence you choose not to say when every part of you wants to answer back.

The Rambam (Hilchot Lulav 8:15) writes about the tremendous importance of rejoicing in the performance of mitzvot and in the love of Hashem Who commanded them, describing this joy as a great form of service.

That does not mean the difficulty magically disappears.

The sigh may still escape. Your feet may still hurt. The kitchen may still look as though something exploded in it.

But somewhere inside all that effort, we can remind ourselves: I am not just completing another exhausting task. I am gathering treasure.

As our sages teach in Pirkei Avot (5:23), “According to the effort is the reward.”

The effort matters.

“Just a Little More Treasure”

Here is one small idea to try before Sukkot, and perhaps long after it is over.

Whenever you feel that sigh coming as you prepare to do a mitzvah or something necessary to enable one, tell yourself:

“Just a little more treasure.”

Smile in the kitchen, even when it looks like the aftermath of a small war. Put on some music while tackling the mountain of laundry. Let the children help decorate the sukkah, even if their version of “helping” creates another job for you afterward.

The workload may not change.

But the way you experience it can.

And then, on the first night of Sukkot, when you finally sit down in the sukkah and look at the table, the decorations, the food, and the people gathered around you, perhaps you will understand King David’s words a little differently:

“I rejoice over Your word like one who finds great treasure.”

And when the holiday is over and you finally collapse onto the couch, you can remind yourself:

I didn’t just get tired.

I became richer.