וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃
절기를 지킬 때에는 너와 네 자녀와 노비와 네 성중에 거하는 레위인과 객과 고아와 과부가 함께 연락하되
Sforno
והגר והיתום והאלמנה, they will rejoice over finding the various gleanings of the tree fruit harvested at that period.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ושמחת בחגך, “you shall be joyous on your festival.” Our sages in Moed Katan 8 state that from the words “be joyous on your festival” one can infer that one should not get married on the intermediate days of the festival, as that would be mixing two kinds of joy together, something not appropriate. The Torah mentions here that the joy it has in mind is the joy with G’d’s blessing, for it adds: “for the Lord your G’d has blessed you with all your harvest,” etc. You will observe that the expression שמחה does not occur in connection with the Pessach festival. Neither is mention made of the word ברכה, blessing, in connection with that festival. The reason is that on the other two festivals different parts of the harvest are already at hand, i.e. G’d’s blessing has become manifest, something not yet apparent on Pessach. Seeing that on the other festivals the harvest is in the home it is possible to share it with the four categories of people mentioned in the Torah. This adds to the joy of the festival.
On Pessach, not only has the new harvest not yet been brought in but the old harvest is just about depleted. It is therefore difficult to provide joy for the people with whom the Torah wants us to share our joy. By not demanding joy from us on Pessach, the Torah displayed a deep psychological insight into the minds of most of us, who, even though we might share with the Levite, etc. even at that time, would not do so joyously.
Another reason why joy has not been mentioned by the Torah in connection with Pessach though it does appear in connection with Shavuot, and on Sukkot the Torah mentions joy no fewer than three times, is in line with the statement in Rosh Hashanah 16 that the world is judged on four occasions during the year, On Pessach G’d decides if the harvest (grain) will be bountiful; on Shavuot G’d decides if the harvest of the orchards will be bountiful; on Sukkot G’d decides on the water supply for the coming year, whereas on Rosh Hashanah G’d judges the fates of every individual for the forthcoming year. Seeing that Pessach is not only a day of judgment, but we do not know yet how this judgment will manifest itself seeing the year is still ahead, it is not yet time for rejoicing (Pessikta d'Rav Kahane 29). By the time Shavuot occurs it has already become clear that the barley and wheat have matured, etc. There is therefore ample reason for joy. By the time Sukkot comes around the other three judgments have also been seen to have been favourable; therefore the Torah mentions joy three times in connection with that festival.
On Pessach, not only has the new harvest not yet been brought in but the old harvest is just about depleted. It is therefore difficult to provide joy for the people with whom the Torah wants us to share our joy. By not demanding joy from us on Pessach, the Torah displayed a deep psychological insight into the minds of most of us, who, even though we might share with the Levite, etc. even at that time, would not do so joyously.
Another reason why joy has not been mentioned by the Torah in connection with Pessach though it does appear in connection with Shavuot, and on Sukkot the Torah mentions joy no fewer than three times, is in line with the statement in Rosh Hashanah 16 that the world is judged on four occasions during the year, On Pessach G’d decides if the harvest (grain) will be bountiful; on Shavuot G’d decides if the harvest of the orchards will be bountiful; on Sukkot G’d decides on the water supply for the coming year, whereas on Rosh Hashanah G’d judges the fates of every individual for the forthcoming year. Seeing that Pessach is not only a day of judgment, but we do not know yet how this judgment will manifest itself seeing the year is still ahead, it is not yet time for rejoicing (Pessikta d'Rav Kahane 29). By the time Shavuot occurs it has already become clear that the barley and wheat have matured, etc. There is therefore ample reason for joy. By the time Sukkot comes around the other three judgments have also been seen to have been favourable; therefore the Torah mentions joy three times in connection with that festival.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: The three festivals listed here in their proper sequence correspond to the three patriarchs who represented the three attributes of חסד, דין, רחמים, “loving kindness” (undeserved), “Justice,” “Mercy” (allowance being made for man’s inadequacy). Pessach symbolises that on the one hand G’d practiced judgments on the Egyptians when He killed their firstborn, whereas at the same time He extended kindness to us by “passing over” the houses of the Jewish people. [Remember that G’d did not entrust this task to an angel, as angels do not have the latitude to extend this kind of kindness when it is not warranted by some merits. Ed.]
Onkelos translates the word ופסח, which we normally translate as “he passed over,” (Exodus 12,23) as ויחוס, “He displayed loving kindness.” This is also reflected in Psalms 136,10: “Who struck Egypt through their first-born, His steadfast love is eternal.” Whereas this plague was judgment meted out to the Egyptians, it was a great act of kindness for the Israelite firstborn.
Shavuot corresponds to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute which usually reconciles the opposing demands of the attributes of Chessed and Justice respectively. This is why the sages in Berachot 58 consider the term והתפארת in Chronicles I 29,11 as referring to the giving of the Torah. The Torah was given under the exclusive aegis of the tetragram. Sukkot on the other hand, corresponds to the attribute of Justice.
The very word סוכה is interpreted in Megillah 14 as “Holy Spirit” [Avraham was told by G’d to submit to the dictates of Sarah known already as יסכה when introduced in Genesis 11,29. She was covered like a סוכה with Holy Spirit.] When David writes in Psalms 68,18: “the Lord is among them (the myriads of chariots) at Sinai in holiness,” he referred to the difference between סיני בקדש and בקדש סיני respectively. Had the Torah written the latter formulation I would have thought that a place was assigned to the Lord. As it is, it is the reverse. He determines “place,” no one determines a place for Him. He is the “place” of the universe. Even the (whole) universe is not “His place.” The meaning of מקום עולמו is similar to בית עולמו. We find that בית is an allusion to חכמה already in the very first letter ב in the Torah, at the beginning of the Torah. Just as חכמה is known as בית, so סוכה is known as בית (compare Genesis 33,17); in other words סוכה symbolizes חכמה. Solomon reinforces this concept in Proverbs 24,3: “a house is built by wisdom.” The symbolism is extended by our author to include the three walls which the סוכה has to have and which are symbolized by the shape of the letter ב which is closed on three sides. [Although the author sees the festival Sukkot as representing the attribute of Justice, presumably because it follows the activity of that attribute during the early part of the month of Tishrey, he goes out of his way to equate the procedures of building a Sukkah with the emanation חכמה which is only one rung below the highest emanation כתר, and several rungs above that of דין, Justice. Observance of the commandments then signifies that we have successfully contended with that attribute with the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Ed.].
Onkelos translates the word ופסח, which we normally translate as “he passed over,” (Exodus 12,23) as ויחוס, “He displayed loving kindness.” This is also reflected in Psalms 136,10: “Who struck Egypt through their first-born, His steadfast love is eternal.” Whereas this plague was judgment meted out to the Egyptians, it was a great act of kindness for the Israelite firstborn.
Shavuot corresponds to the attribute of Mercy, an attribute which usually reconciles the opposing demands of the attributes of Chessed and Justice respectively. This is why the sages in Berachot 58 consider the term והתפארת in Chronicles I 29,11 as referring to the giving of the Torah. The Torah was given under the exclusive aegis of the tetragram. Sukkot on the other hand, corresponds to the attribute of Justice.
The very word סוכה is interpreted in Megillah 14 as “Holy Spirit” [Avraham was told by G’d to submit to the dictates of Sarah known already as יסכה when introduced in Genesis 11,29. She was covered like a סוכה with Holy Spirit.] When David writes in Psalms 68,18: “the Lord is among them (the myriads of chariots) at Sinai in holiness,” he referred to the difference between סיני בקדש and בקדש סיני respectively. Had the Torah written the latter formulation I would have thought that a place was assigned to the Lord. As it is, it is the reverse. He determines “place,” no one determines a place for Him. He is the “place” of the universe. Even the (whole) universe is not “His place.” The meaning of מקום עולמו is similar to בית עולמו. We find that בית is an allusion to חכמה already in the very first letter ב in the Torah, at the beginning of the Torah. Just as חכמה is known as בית, so סוכה is known as בית (compare Genesis 33,17); in other words סוכה symbolizes חכמה. Solomon reinforces this concept in Proverbs 24,3: “a house is built by wisdom.” The symbolism is extended by our author to include the three walls which the סוכה has to have and which are symbolized by the shape of the letter ב which is closed on three sides. [Although the author sees the festival Sukkot as representing the attribute of Justice, presumably because it follows the activity of that attribute during the early part of the month of Tishrey, he goes out of his way to equate the procedures of building a Sukkah with the emanation חכמה which is only one rung below the highest emanation כתר, and several rungs above that of דין, Justice. Observance of the commandments then signifies that we have successfully contended with that attribute with the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Ed.].