)
The Torah offers the following explanation for living in the sukka for seven days: “In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 23:43). This mitzva serves three functions:
- It reminds us of the Exodus, as do Shabbat and all the holidays.
- It reminds us of the booths the Israelites built for themselves when they left Egypt and traveled through the wilderness.
- It reminds us of the clouds of glory with which God protected them during that time.
Let us elaborate on the second message:
The temporary sukka reminds us of the difficult times we went through during our Egyptian enslavement, and our forty years of wandering in the wilderness. This is meant to lead us to thank God for having brought us to the land of milk and honey, a good and spacious land, where we could build solid, permanent homes. But a great danger also lurks: as a result of the abundance, we might become arrogant and forget that all blessing comes from God. Arrogance leads to sinfulness, which causes destruction (Deuteronomy 8:11-20). To avoid this, God commanded us to build temporary dwellings during the Holiday of Ingathering. The timing is intentional, because in Israel it is right before the winter, which sends everyone indoors to protect themselves from the cold, wind, and rain. Sitting in the sukka, partly exposed to the elements, we remember all abundance is only due to God’s kindness.
Without this reminder, living comfortably at home is likely to lead people to arrive at the false conclusion that our walls and roofs can protect us from all problems. However, our lives in this world are temporary, and even the strongest homes cannot protect us from natural disasters, illness, and war. Even if someone is fortunate enough to live to old age, life will eventually come to an end. In retrospect, it will be clear that his or her time in this world was temporary and only thanks to God’s kindness.
Those who forget this truth are living a lie. They may well think the more they invest in worldly pleasures, the better and more stable their life will be. In truth, the more they adhere to eternal values and faith, bringing virtue and blessing to the world, the more they will live an authentic, meaningful life, full of true joy. To help us internalize this message on Sukkot, many communities read the Book of Ecclesiastes, which teaches us that without faith, all the good and beautiful things in the world are meaningless.
