Sukkot 5753

As we are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot, the third of the pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar, it is worthwhile to consider for a few minutes the “history” of the word Sukkot or its singular, sukkah -- and its many lessons and morals. I am sure we are all aware that the origin of the holiday is in the Leviticus 23::34-43... and there is no question that the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving long predates Israel’s departure from Egypt. In fact, the first time we hear of “Sukkot” is in Genesis 33:17, “and Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths (sukkot) for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called sukkot. So we learn that there was a “Sukkot” in the land of Canaan in the times of the third patriarch.

Now, what is a sukkah? Most people think of it as a temporary place of habitation, a hut. A hut, of course, has four walls and a roof. However, an examination of the origin of the word shows that the sukkah is not a walled hut but an open shelter, merely a canopy protecting one from the sun or from the rain, as found in the book of Isaiah 4:6, “and there shall be a sukkah for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain.” In the book of Jonah we read that “Jonah went out the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a sukkah, and sat under it in the shade...” Furthermore, in the book of Amos 9:11 we find an entirely different use for the word, “In that day I shall raise up the Sukkah of David that is fallen...”

The sukkah get its name from its top, or its roof, which is called s’khakh. In the Hebrew, verbs that have a repeating second and third letters often drop one letter and make the remaining letter hard and accentuated. Thus from the verb romem, which means elevate, we get ‘rommu’ -- which means exalt (or literally elevate to the utmost) -- and from sekhakh we get “vesakota -- and cover the ark with a vail.” in Exodus 40:3.

Where does all of this take us? To the most profound meaning of Sukkot, and the symbolism of the sukkah in which we dwell for seven days. Having endured the time of judgement of the High holidays, Jews do nothing less than “move in” with their Father. Symbolic of God’s shelter and protection during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we enter our own sukkah, exposing ourselves to the harshness of the elements, with a leaky roof and no walls to protect us from foe or beast we place our trust in the Lord who will shield us under His own sekhakh in His Sukkah. Hag same’ah, happy holiday to you all.

As we are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot, the third of the pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar (the calendar of Rosh-Hashanah), it is worthwhile to consider for a few minutes the "history" of the word Sukkot or its singular, sukkah -- and see what lessons and morals can be drawn from our research.

I am sure we are all aware that the origin of the holiday is in the Leviticus 23:34-43,   "...on the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles [sukkot] for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation unto you... it is a day of solemn assembly...howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month when ye have gathered the fruits of the land ye shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days.... and ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willow of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days...ye shall dwell in booths seven days....that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths [sukkot], when I brought them out of the land of Egypt..."

Furthermore, there is no question that the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving long predates Israel’s departure from Egypt. In fact, the first time we find the word "Sukkot" in the Scriptures is in Genesis 33:17, "and Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths (sukkot) for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called sukkot." So we learn that there was a "Sukkot" in the land of Canaan in the times of the third patriarch -- a place called Sukkot, where somekind of booths were built to place the cattle.

So, we can now ask, "what is a sukkah?" Most people think of it as a temporary place of habitation, a hut. A hut, of course, has four walls and a roof. Indeed, the Talmud discusses at length just how the walls are to be constructed, and how many walls are necessary for a sukkah to be "kosher." However, an examination of the origin of the word suggestss that the sukkah may not be a walled hut but an open shelter, merely a canopy protecting one from the sun or from the rain, as found in the book of Isaiah 4:6, "and there shall be a sukkah for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain." In the book of Jonah we read that "Jonah went out the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a sukkah, and sat under it in the shade..." Furthermore, in the book of Amos 9:11 we find an entirely different use for the word, "In that day I shall raise up the Sukkah of David that is fallen..." What is Amos talking about? The reference is to the reestablishment of the lineage of David as the legitimate rulers over Israel -- not aboutrr building any kind of a particular structure of wood and stone and masonery.

Finally, and most interestingly, is a passage in the Jerusalemite Talmud which says, "At any rate a sukkah is kosher as long as its covering is proper." [Yer. Sukah 8] This passage is significant, in my opinion, since it puts to rest all arguments about how many walls must a sukkah have - or what is the true nature of this strange structure called sukkah. In fact, this passage from Talmud Yerushalmi leads us to an entirely different conclusion about the word "sukkah."

The sukkah get its name from its top, or its roof, which is called слк s’khakh. In the Hebrew, verbs that have a repeating second and third letters often drop one letter and make the remaining letter hard and accentuated. Thus from the verb шон romem, which means elevate, we get ‘rommu’ -- meaning exalt, "Be Thou exalted in Thy strength; so will we sing and praise Thy power." [Psalms 21:14] From sekhakh we get "And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony; and thou shalt screen (vesakota) the ark with a vail." [Exodus 40:3].

Where does all of this take us? To the most profound meaning of Sukkot, and the symbolism of the sukkah in which we dwell for seven days. Every day of the year we recite in the evening service, "Ufros aleynu sukkat sh'lomekha -- Spread over us the covering (Sukkah) of your peace..." Having endured the time of judgement of the High holidays, Jews do nothing less than "move in" with their Father. Symbolic of God’s shelter and protection during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we enter our own sukkah, exposing ourselves to the harshness of the elements, with a leaky roof and posssibly no walls to protect us from foe or beast we place our trust in the Lord who will shield us under His own sekhakh in His Sukkah. Hag same’ah, happy holiday to you all.

Sisu vesimkhu besimkhat khag -- be joyous and exult in the elation of the festival, we are told in our text. What is a true and proper exultation and celebration? One that does not depend, that does not draw upon any circumstance in our life. A joy that is not connected to either time or place -- but is “natural” and stems from its own source and character. It is a part of life, it has its own existence, in fact, and its dominion extends over time and space -- and mankind.

Now, some of you will say, nothing like that exists in our world. We are connected to this world. When a brick falls on our toe, we hurt and we cringe and we cease to celebrate, no matter how happy we were before the brick happened to come in contact with our toe... And who would not? Well, the happiness I spoke about a minute ago, obviously, could not contend with the brick, or the one who comes in contact with it -- but it does exist in God’s domain, where a brick does not move if God does not move it, where there are no “accidents,” and where “perfect” is an every-day occurrence. Such happiness may have existed in the Garden of Eden at the Time of Creation, and it may return to this earth in the Messianic era -- but for now it dwells with God, and in Torah, as we read in the 126th Psalm, “az yimale skhok pinu ulshonenu rina -- then our mouth will be filled with laughter, joyous song will be on our tongue...”

What is the nature of this kind of celebration, and how is it different from what does exist in this world and is commonly known and accepted as joy?

The nature of this kind of celebration is pure enjoyment. What exists these days and is called "celebration" is marked by excitement, which is a form of agitation. One gets excited, to be sure, by good things -- but one also gets excited by bad occurrences, by frustrations and disappointments, which drive us up the wall, which make us angry, which disturb our equilibrium. Enjoyment, on the other hand, is idyllic, long-lasting and even-tempered. It is the kind of joy that one relates to “heaven,” where the righteous spend an un-exciting eternity sitting at long tables reading Torah.

However, even in the here and now, in our imperfect world where bricks will occasionally fall and hurt our toes, and where much greater tragedies may befall us and our dear ones, making our joy less than perfect and less than complete -- it is still a great mitzvah to be cognizant that we are in God’s grace at all times. And with this realization, it is a great mitzvah to be joyous. In the words of the Ba’al Shem, “Mitzvah gedola lih’yot besimkha tamid.” This joy should be real and sincere and as complete as possible -- unconditional and without reservation. What should we be joyous about? Well, there is life, existence, every breath we take. It is an affirmation of creation, it is a confirmation of the sovereign God who acted in creation, it is recognition of the sovereignty of that God who created.

Life, our very existence, should be a source of great joy and celebration. God created man, so we believe and so we teach, to celebrate and sing His glory. Thus life is a celebration. Each of us must think to himself, “I am a special creation of God, and I need to thank Him. I can do this by this very simple and direct means -- by rejoicing and celebrating.” Is the knowledge that we are special, that we have a relationship with God not reason enough to celebrate? Can anyone suggest a greater joy than that of knowing with a certainty that one has a connection and a relation with the mightiest King of all? Does one need more reason than this -- the “reason d’etre” -- the very purpose of life? Well, if you are a Jew, and if you look for reason beyond reason, you can continue to question, and you can continue to discover. You can open the Torah and read, “vesamakhta bekhagekha -- and you shall rejoice in your feasts.” God has given these feasts to man to be happy, to find the added dimension beyond the three dimensions of our world, the purpose beyond the purpose of our existence. Celebrate for Torah, for God’s inspirational hand-book. Make the celebration of your holidays the purpose of your continued existence. Travel through time in anticipation of the joy of Torah, the joy of “khagim uzmanim lesason -- feasts and times of elation.”

Every day of the year, in the morning service, we read the 100th Psalm, “Ivdu et Adona’y besimkha, bo’u lefanav birnana. De’u ki adona’y hu elohim -- hu asanu velo anakhnu -- worship the Lord in gladness, come before Him with joyous song. Know that the Lord is God, He fashioned us and we are His...” We do not read this Psalm on Shabbat and holidays. Why? Because Shabbat and holidays are our feasts, our ordained days of rejoicing. On week-days we read it, to learn and commit to memory the obligation to be “besimkha tamid -- always happy” -- “ki hu asanu velo anakhnu -- He fashioned us and we are His.” The sukkah, our holiday prop, is a pleasure dome, where we enter to be with Him, to know His perfection, to celebrate His Joy. May you find that perfect Joy this holiday. Amen.

Sukkot 5757

Sisu vesimkhu besimkhat khag -- be joyous and exult in the elation of the festival, we are told in our text. What is a true and proper exultation and celebration? One that does not depend, that does not draw upon any circumstances in our life. A joy that is not connected to either time or place -- but is "natural" and stems from its own source and character. It is a part of life, it has its own existence, in fact, and its dominion extends over time and space -- and mankind.

Now, some of you will say, nothing like that exists in our world. We are connected to this world. When a brick falls on our toe, we hurt and we cringe and we cease to celebrate, no matter how happy we were before the brick happened to come in contact with our toe... And who would not? Well, the happiness I spoke about a minute ago, obviously, could not contend with the brick, or the one who comes in contact with it -- but it does exist in God’s domain, where a brick does not move if God does not move it, where there are no "accidents," and where "perfect" is an every-day occurrence. Such happiness may have existed in the Garden of Eden at the Time of Creation, and it may return to this earth in the Messianic era -- but for now it dwells with God, and in Torah, as we read in the 126th Psalm, "az yimale skhok pinu ulshonenu rina -- then our mouth will be filled with laughter, joyous song will be on our tongue..."

What is the nature of this kind of celebration, and how is it different from what does exist in this world and is commonly known and accepted as joy?

The definition of this kind of celebration is that it is absolutely pure enjoyment. What exists these days and is called "celebration" is marked by excitement, which is a form of agitation. One gets excited, to be sure, by good things -- but one also gets excited by bad occurrences, by frustrations and disappointments, which "drive us up the wall," which make us angry, which disturb our equilibrium. Enjoyment, on the other hand, is idyllic, long-lasting and even-tempered. It is the kind of feeling of joy that one relates to "heaven," where the righteous spend an "un-exciting" eternity sitting at long tables reading Torah.

However, even in the here-and-now, in our imperfect world where bricks will occasionally fall and hurt our toes, and where much greater tragedies may befall us and our dear ones, making our joy less than perfect and less than complete -- it is still a great mitzvah to be cognizant that we are in God’s grace at all times. And with this realization, it is a great mitzvah to be joyous. In the words of the Ba’al Shem, "Mitzvah gedola lih’yot besimkha tamid." This joy should be real and sincere and as complete as possible -- unconditional and without reservation. What should we be joyous about? Well, there is life, existence, every breath we take. It is an affirmation of creation, it is a confirmation of the sovereign God who acted in creation, it is recognition of the sovereignty of that God who created.

Life, our very existence, should be a source of great joy and celebration. God created man, so we believe -- and so we teach, to celebrate and sing His glory. Thus, life is a celebration. Each of us must think to himself, "I am a special creation of God, and I need to thank Him. I can do this by this very simple and direct means -- by rejoicing and celebrating." Is the knowledge that we are special, that we have a relationship with God not reason enough to celebrate? Can anyone suggest a greater joy than that of knowing with a certainty that one has a connection and a relation with the mightiest King of all? Does one need more reason than this -- the "reason d’etre" -- the very purpose of life? Well, if you are a Jew, and if you look for reason beyond reason, you can continue to question, and you can continue to discover. You can open the Torah and read, "vesamakhta bekhagekha -- and you shall rejoice in your feasts." God has given these feasts to man to be happy, to find the added dimension beyond the three dimensions of our world, the purpose beyond the purpose of our existence. Celebrate for Torah, for God’s inspirational hand-book. Make the celebration of your holidays the purpose of your continued existence. Travel through time in anticipation of the joy of Torah, the joy of "khagim uzmanim lesason -- feasts and times of elation."

Every day of the year, in the morning service, we read the 100th Psalm, "Ivdu et Adona’y besimkha, bo’u lefanav birnana. De’u ki adona’y hu elohim -- hu asanu velo anakhnu -- worship the Lord in gladness, come before Him with joyous song. Know that the Lord is God, He fashioned us and we are His..." We do not read this Psalm on Shabbat and holidays. Why? Because Shabbat and holidays are our feasts, our God-ordained days of rejoicing. On week-days we read it, to learn and commit to memory the obligation to be "besimkha tamid -- always happy" -- "ki hu asanu velo anakhnu -- for He has fashioned us and we are His." The sukkah, our holiday prop, is a pleasure dome, where we enter to be with Him, to know His perfection, to celebrate His Joy. May you find that perfect Joy this holiday. Amen.

This weekend we are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot, the third of the pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar (the calendar which begins with Rosh-Hashanah). Let's consider for a few minutes the "history" of the word Sukkot or its singular, sukkah -- and see what conclusions can be drawn from our research.

I bet you are going to be very surprised when I tell you that the earliest Scriptural reference to our holiday is none other than our first matriarch, Sarah. In Bereshit 11 we read, "Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child." [Gen 11:29,30] The great commentator, Rashi, explains, "[Iscah] is named thus because she is "sukkah," which means covered, with the holy spirit; and because all are "sukkin," which means come under the cover of, her beauty; and further, iscah relates to "nesikhut," which means princely, even as "Sarah" comes from "s'rara," meaning authority." Thus we see that our first exposure to the concept of Sukkah relates to qualities of grace, beauty, and divine authority.

Now, when it comes to our holiday, we take our clue from the book of Bamidbar, which is called in English Leviticus. "On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles [sukkot] for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation unto you... It is a day of solemn assembly... Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month when ye have gathered the fruits of the land ye shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days.... And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willow of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days... Ye shall dwell in booths seven days.... That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths [sukkot], when I brought them out of the land of Egypt..." [Lev. 23:34-43] However, our Jewish holidays are always rooted in ancient traditions of an agrarian society, and there is no doubt that the farmers of the Middle East dwelled in huts during the harvest season long before Moshe Rabeinu taught the Torah to the Children of Israel. Thus, the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving long predates Israel’s departure from Egypt.

In fact, the first time we find the word "Sukkot" in our Scriptures is in Genesis 33:17, "and Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths (sukkot) for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called sukkot." So we learn that there was a place named "Sukkot" in the land of Canaan in the times of the third patriarch -- a place where some kind of booths were built to keep the cattle and shield them from the weather.

The prophet Amos, who was called to speak against the people of Israel and of Judea, was an angry prophet of doom and destruction -- and yet he finished his message with words of hope: "On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the Lord who does this. The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God." [9:11-15] This " booth of David" is "Sukkat David" in Hebrew. As you may well guess, it does not refer to an actual sukkah that one constructs next to one's house. Rather, it refers to the "cover of authority" of the House of David, the rightful and God-anointed king over His people, Israel.

So, we can now ask, "what is a sukkah?" Most people think of it as a temporary place of habitation, a hut. A hut, of course, has four walls and a roof. Indeed, the Talmud discusses at length just how the walls are to be constructed, and how many walls are necessary for a sukkah to be "kosher." However, an examination of the origin of the word suggests that the sukkah does not necessarily have be a walled structure -- it can be an open shelter as well, merely a canopy protecting one from the sun or from the rain, as found in the book of Isaiah 4:6, "and there shall be a sukkah for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain." In the book of Jonah, which was chanted as the Haftarah on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, we read that "Jonah went out the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a sukkah, and sat under it in the shade..."

Finally, and most interestingly, is a passage in the Jerusalem Talmud which says, "Sukkah mikol makom kshera uvilvad shetehe msukhekhet kehilkhata -- At any rate a sukkah is kosher as long as its covering is proper." [Yer. Sukah 8] This passage is significant, in my opinion, since it puts to rest all arguments about how many walls must a sukkah have - or what is the true nature of this strange structure called sukkah. In fact, this passage from Talmud Yerushalmi leads us to an entirely different conclusion about the word "sukkah."

The sukkah get its name from its top, or its roof, which is called слк s’khakh. In the Hebrew, verbs that have a repeating second and third letters often drop one letter and make the remaining letter hard and accentuated. Thus from the verb шон romem, which means elevate, we get ‘rommu’ -- meaning exalt, "Roma adona'y be'uzekha nashira unezamra gvurotekha -- Be Thou exalted in Thy strength; so will we sing and praise Thy power." [Psalms 21:14] From sekhakh слк we get "Vesamta et aron ha'edut vsakota al ha'aron et haparokhet -- And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony; and thou shalt screen (vesakota) the ark with a vail." [Exodus 40:3].

Where does all of this lead us? To the most profound meaning of Sukkot, and the symbolism of the sukkah in which we dwell for seven days. Every day of the year we recite in the evening service, "Ufros aleynu sukkat shelomekha -- Spread over us the covering of your peace..." Having endured the time of judgement of the High holidays, Jews do nothing less than "move in" with their Father, with God. Symbolic of God’s shelter and protection during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we enter our own sukkah, exposing ourselves to the harshness of the elements, with a leaky roof and possibly no walls to protect us from encroaching foe or wild beast, we place our trust in the Lord who will shield us under His own sekhakh in His Sukkah. Hag same’ah, happy holiday to you all.

As we are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot, the third of the pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar (the one that begins with Rosh-Hashanah in September), it is worthwhile to consider for a few minutes aspect of the Sukkot holiday that we do not always stress in preparing for the holiday. The Mishna, the Oral Teaching that was a part of Torah but was not set down until after the destruction of the First Temple, says, "Be'arba'a prakim ha'olam nidon, befesakh al hatevu'a... uvkhag nidonim al hama'yim. In four parts are we judged: on Passover in the matter of wheat... and in khag (meaning Sukkot) in the matter of water." [Rosh Hashanah a:b] and the Talmud explains and expands, "Why did the Torah tell us to pour water on the holiday? The Holy One Blessed be He said: pour water before me on the khag so that the rains shall be to you a blessing throughout the year." [Rosh Hashanah 16:71] and the Vilna Ga'on, the great sage taught that the end of judgement of mankind is also about water, because water is life, as it is said, the living waters.

On Sukkot, as on the two other 'rgalim' -- or pilgrimage holidays, we recite the Hallel. But only on this Khag do we use the special visual aids to our pleading for God's mercy: The Etrog and Lulav. The Torah commands us, " And you shall take on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." [Lev. 23:40] These are not instruments for the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving long predating Israel’s departure from Egypt. These are the etrog and lulav that symbolize the heart, the spine, the eyes and the mouth -- all of them trembling as we recite together the words of pleading: "Ana adona'y hoshi'a na, ana adona'y hatzlikha na -- please, oh Lord, redeem us; Please, oh Lord, prosper our cause..."

The Mishna tells us that this is a time of Judgement, but we have just completed a time of judgement in the High Holidays! Why should we go from one to the other time of judgement in such quick succession? The sages respond by saying that it is, in fact, the same time! The first days of the year (and the second, since one day is not long enough), the trial begins. The great judge sits on His Chair of Honor and Sovereignty, and all his heavenly host run around in fear and awe -- for all will be judged, and none is totally innocent.

On Sukkot we have a special part in the service, in which we take a Torah scroll and all the etrogim and lulavim and walk around the sanctuary in what are called "Hakafot" -- encircling. It is as if we were encompassing the congregation, as we recite the "hoshana" prayers, poetry of pleading with God, recalling our history of holy men and martyrs who loved God and were a pleasing companions to Him. For the sake of all these, we ask, please redeem us, dear God.

Finally, we arrive at a different conclusion to the holiday from all other holidays that just came to an end. On sukkot, at the end of the prescribed seven days of the holiday we read, "On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall do no labor in it;" [Num. 29:35] And here again, the Mishnah tells us, "and on the Assembly for the fruit of the tree." [Rosh Hashanah a:b] Our sages explain that what this passage means is in reference to the verse in Deu. "Ki ha'adam etz hasadeh -- For man is like the tree of the field" So, one would ask, why not use the etrog and lulav on the eighth day of assembly? Well, the time of appeal is over, too. The eighth day is a time of reconciliation for us with our fate for the coming year.

Indeed, one might be tempted to think of the whole Sukkot period as a time of awe and fear, akin to or worse from the Ten Days of Awe from Rosh Hashanah to the end of Kippur. But that is not so! The sages define Sukkot as "zman simkhateno," the time of our rejoicing. We are supposed to be happy even as we are apprehensive, joyful while in suspense. So there is a duality or even dichotomy in our mood and in our attitude to this holiday. This is not a bad thing. You can have tragicomedies and happy sad stories. It is the face of life. We have tears and laughter intermingled in our daily routine. What we always hope is that the joy will overcome the tears and turn sadness to mirth. Enjoy your holiday, simkhu bakhag -- and be but happy, vaha'yitem akh same'akh.

Amen

Sukkot 5762

We are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot - the third of the pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar. I sure hope that you we are all aware that the origin of the holiday is in the Torah, ""On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles [sukkot] for seven days unto the Lord." [Leviticus 23:34] There is no question that the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving holiday long predates Israel's departure from Egypt. In fact, are you aware that the first time we hear of "Sukkot" is in Genesis 33:17, "and Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths (sukkot) for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called sukkot." So we learn that there was a "Sukkot" in the land of Canaan in the times of the third patriarch.
However, it would not be wrong to ask, ‘what is a sukkah?' Most people think of sukkah as a hut, a temporary place of habitation. Such a hut, of course, would have to be constructed with four walls and a roof. However, an examination of the origin of the word shows that the sukkah is not a walled hut but an open shelter, merely a canopy protecting one from the sun or from the rain, as found in the book of Isaiah 4:6, "and there shall be a sukkah for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain." In the book of Jonah we read that "Jonah went out the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a sukkah, and sat under it in the shade..." Furthermore, in the book of Amos 9:11 we find an entirely different use for the word, "In that day I shall raise up the Sukkah of David that is fallen..." This last reference is not at all a structure but rather a cencept - as we also find in our prayerbook, where we wish for peace with the words, "ufros aleynu sukkat shelomekha - and spead over us the shelter (sukkah) of your peace..."
We celebrate the holiday as the Torah text tells us, because God provided us with shelter during our years of wandering in the desert. The reason for our being in the desert was the exodus from Egypt and the appointment we had with God at Sinai, to receive His Torah and become His Covenant people. The sukkah get its name from its top, or its roof, which is called s'khakh. In the Hebrew language, verbs that have a repeating second and third letters often drop one letter and make the remaining letter hard and accentuated. Thus from the verb romem, which means elevate, we get ‘romemu' -- which means exalt (or literally elevate to the utmost) -- and from sekhakh we get "vesakota -- and cover the ark with a vail." in Exodus 40:3. How did God provide for us a shelter in the desert? By giving us the Torah. From the Head of things, from God Almighty, came the greatest shelter - the Torah of God, the Teaching of Truth (Torat Emet) which was articulated and taught by Moshe.
Where does all of this take us? I believe to the most profound meaning of Sukkot, and the symbolism of the sukkah in which we dwell for seven days. Having endured a time of judgement during the High holidays, at this time of year do nothing less than "move in" with their Father. Symbolic of God's shelter and protection during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we enter our own sukkah, exposing ourselves to the harshness of the elements, with a leaky roof and no walls to protect us from foe or beast - as we place our trust in the Lord who will shield us under His own sekhakh in His Sukkah. The sekhakh is Torah, and His hut is "sukkat Shalom" - the peaceful habitation. Is there anyone on earth who will not wish for this celebration, for this festival? Khag Same'akh and Shabbat Shalom

Sukkot 5763

This evening we are celebrating both Shabbat and the third of the pilgrimage holidays, as mentioned in the Torah. In the Holy Text the first festival is Pesakh, the second is Shavuot – and the third... You guessed it! As we are celebrating the Festival of Sukkot, this third pilgrimage holidays mentioned in the Torah, though first in the fall calendar, it is worthwhile for us to consider the "history" of the word Sukkot or its singular, sukkah – as well as its origin and its many lessons and morals.
I am sure we are all aware that the holiday is mentioned in the Leviticus 23:34-43, "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy gathering; you shall do no labor in it. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy gathering to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no labor in it. These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy gatherings, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day; Beside the Sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days; on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And you shall take on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And you shall keep it a feast to the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days; all who are Israelites born shall dwell in booths; That your generations may know that I made the people of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."
There is no question that the celebration of a harvest thanksgiving, "when you have gathered in the fruit of the land," long predates Israel's departure from Egypt. The very first time that the Torah makes reference to "Sukkah" is none other than in telling of our matriarch, Sarah. In Bereshit 11 we read, "Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child." [Gen 11:29,30] The great commentator, Rashi, explains, "[Iscah] is named thus because she is "sukkah," which means covered, with the holy spirit; and because all are "sukkin," which means come under the cover of, her beauty; and further, iscah relates to "nesikhut," which means princely, even as "Sarah" comes from "s'rara," meaning authority." Thus we see that our first exposure to the concept of Sukkah relates to qualities of grace, beauty, and divine "cover" or authority.
The next time we hear of "Sukkot" is in Genesis 33:17, "and Jacob journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a house, and made booths (sukkot) for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called sukkot." So we learn that there was a "Sukkot" in the land of Canaan in the times of the third patriarch. So, have you figured out, at long last, what a sukkah is? Most people think of it as a temporary place of habitation, a hut. A hut, of course, has four walls and a roof. Many people build their sukkah with walls. However, an examination of the origin of the word shows that the sukkah is not a walled hut at all, but rather an open shelter, merely a canopy protecting one from the sun or from the rain, as found in the book of Isaiah 4:6, "and there shall be a sukkah for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a place a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain."
In the book of Jonah, which we just heard sang in its entirety on Yom Kippur afternoon, we read that "Jonah went out the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a sukkah, and sat under it in the shade..." Furthermore, in the book of Amos 9:11 we find an entirely different use for the word, "In that day I shall raise up the Sukkah of David that is fallen..." The sukkah gets its name from its top, or its roof, which is called "s'khakh." In the Hebrew, verbs that have a repeating second and third letters of ten drop one letter and make the remaining letter hard and accentuated. Thus from the verb romem, which means elevate, we get ‘romemu' -- which means exalt (or literally elevate to the utmost), and "El Ram" – A mighty God. From sekhakh we get "vesakota – and cover the ark with a veil." in Exodus 40:3. When the Israelites lived in their own land, they would spend the time of harvest in the field, living in sukkot, while they collected the harvest. Thus sukkot is a celebration of a free people living by the fruit of their labors. Sukkot where also the non-permanent "tents" that the Israelites lived in while they were in the desert. At that time, they did not gather the fruit of their labors, but rather the fruit of the largess of God Almighty – the manna that came down from heaven daily, except on the Shabbat. Thus, the sukkah reminds us of God's favor in allowing the work of our hands to bear fruit – and His great favor to our forefather whom he redeemed from Egypt and sustained in the desert.
The prophet Isaiah uses the sukkah as a different symbol: "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a canopy. And there shall be a sukkah for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." [Isaiah 4:5,4] Here, the sukkah is both a cover from the heat of the day – as the huts that the harvesting farmers would use – but the prophet also looks at the sukkah as a "safe dwelling" where one can escape from danger, as from a heavy storm.
A few years ago I had a moment of clarity in which I recognized the most profound meaning of Sukkot, and the symbolism of the sukkah in which we dwell for seven days. Having endured the time of judgement of the High holidays, Jews do nothing less than "move in" with their Father. Symbolic of God's shelter and protection during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we enter our own sukkah, exposing ourselves to the harshness of the elements, with a leaky roof and no walls to protect us from foe or beast we place our trust in the Lord who will shield us under His own sekhakh in His Sukkah. I like this interpretation, and I hope you will agree with me that it is a perfect way to end the High holidays.
Hag same'ah, happy holiday to you all.

Sukkot 5764

This shabbat we are celebrating the beginning of the Festival of Sukkot, which commemorates the sustenance provided by the Lord God during our forty years' wanderings through the desert of Sinai. We are commanded in the Torah, "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy gathering; you shall do no labor in it. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy gathering to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no labor in it." [Lev. 23:34-36] However, there is another mention of the holiday in Devarim, the fifth book of the Torah, that is interesting to note and examine.
"Khag hasukkot ta'ase lekha shiv'at yamim... – You shall observe the Feast of Booths seven days, after you have gathered in your grain and your wine; Vesamakhta bekhagekha – And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates. Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord your God shall bless you in all your produce, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice. – Vaha'yita akh same'akh" [Deu.16:13-15]
The text speaks of rejoicing in the holiday in the beginning of verse 14, in a manner similar to verse 11, which says that on Shavu'ot we shall "rejoice in our feast." However, the Shavuot text, or any other Torah text, does not conclude with the words we have relating to Sukkot: "therefore you shall surely rejoice. – Vaha'yita akh same'akh." What is this all about?
The great commentators of Torah have argued over the ages and explained that there is rejoicing and there is rejoicing. They point up that the Torah tells us that God said to the man "By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return to the ground," [Gen. 3:19] and to the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply the pain of your child bearing; in sorrow you shall bring forth children" [Ibid 3:16] How can we rejoice when we have such a burden over our lives? King Solomon, in his proverbs, taught us that Torah "is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her; and happy is every one who holds her fast." [Proverbs 3:18] and that "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding." [Ibid 3:13] Therefore, on Shavu'ot, the time of the giving of the Torah, we can, and need to be happy. Also on Sukkot, when we recall that we dwelled in the temporary shelters in the desert, we rejoice at the grace and love of God towards His people. However, on Sukkot, learning about the "temporary shelters," we are made aware of another condition that is temporary. Our temporal existence is temporary – and our tradition tells us that just as God was faithful to keep us alive in the Sukkot in the desert, so will he care for our immortal souls when life comes to an end and our all too temporary body, the sukkah of our spirit, comes to its end.
Thus the sages suggest that on sukkot we can achieve a measure of the joy that goes beyond the bound of our human constraint, knowing our end is sure to come sooner or later. On this holiday, sitting in the temporary shelter we construct hurriedly after the Days of Awe, we become aware of our immortal soul and its sure reward by a God who was faithful to our fathers in spite of their failings, from Adam to the age of the exodus, from the time of our arrival in the Promised land to the time of our exile. Ose shalom bimromav, hu ya'ase shalom – He who makes peace in His heavens will saurely make peace for us, and we shall surely rejoice!

Go back Home or more Offerings