The Days of Awe, which concluded with Yom Kippur, were filled with the awe of judgment. In Elul, the Jewish people rose early for the penitential prayers of “slihot”; on Rosh Hashanah, they gathered in prayer and for the sounding of the shofar; during the Ten Days of Repentance, they engaged in teshuva, culminating in the “Ne’ilah” prayer of Yom Kippur. Now the days of joy have arrived.
The Four Species, the decorated sukkah, the festive “Hallel” prayers – all these combine to create the joy of the Sukkot holiday, each moment leaving a lasting impression.
Sukkot's message for us
Modern life, crowded and demanding, has accustomed us to think that in order to feel calm, we must reach a state of permanence and stability. We mistakenly thought that only what is fixed and secure can bring serenity and peace. And then comes the temporary, fragile sukkah – only partially covered, leaving us exposed and unprotected – inviting us into its warm, comforting embrace, and it is this sukkah that instills joy within us.
The sukkah offers the “shade of faith,” and its message is this: Sometimes in order to rejoice, we must step outside; let go a little, loosen our grip, begin to understand that we don’t need to control everything at all times. Now we are outside, in something temporary and fragile – and yet, we are joyful and content. “You shall dwell in sukkot seven days… so that your generations may know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:42).
Remembering the past
The purpose of going out to the sukkah is to know and remember what happened to our ancestors when they left Egypt. It was precisely at the moment when slavery had ended, when the Ten Plagues had struck the Egyptians and taught them an unforgettable lesson, and when the Egyptian people – who revered power and victory – were overwhelmed with awe and respect, offering the Israelites all that they had. And then came the command: Go out!
An entire nation left with nothing and went into the wilderness. And God remembers those youthful days for us as a merit; He desires that we, too, remember them, and this is the essence of this wondrous holiday. “Thus said the Lord: ‘I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal days, when you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land unsown’” (Jeremiah 2:2).
In that journey, God’s love for His people was revealed more than at any other time in history. The people of Israel were enveloped in clouds of glory and lacked nothing. “And in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, along the entire way you traveled until you came to this place” (Deuteronomy 1:31).
We let go, we released, and He carried us as a father carries his children. In that time, we became a nation – the Chosen People.
Releasing control
And we, in order to feel belonging and stability, must sometimes disconnect from the sense of control and responsibility and strengthen our bond with the One who created and sustains the world. This is the paradise of the sukkah into which we step. Beneath its schach we find shelter, and between its fragile walls we find rest.
People have the power to rejoice in any situation if only they are willing to release their tight, unyielding grip; if only they surrender a little to divine guidance. We need this annual journey out of the closed walls of the home, into the simple, pure, and natural embrace of creation itself: rickety wooden walls, greenery from the earth lovingly placed above in faith. And inside, among simple, beloved decorations of fabric and paper, how good it is to sit with family and rejoice!
Faith brings serenity. And this harmony – between the beauty of nature and the peaceful heart of the Jew who trusts in God and thanks Him for all the good – this is the very essence of Sukkot. ■
The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.