The festival of Sukkot is one of the most joyous occasions on the Jewish calendar. It is deeply connected to the earlier High Holidays of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and is the culmination of the Fall festival period.
But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei), when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe a festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take a choice fruit [an etrog], palm fronds, thick branches, and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of HaShem your G-d for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to HaShem seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days, every citizen of Israel is to live in a sukkah, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Israel live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am HaShem your G-d (Leviticus 23:39-43).
Sukkot is an agricultural festival, and recalls several themes:
- our wandering in the desert for forty years
- our dwelling in temporary shelters (sukkot)
- of God's faithfulness in providing for us and our crops
- our regathering back to our Land
- and of a future ingathering of the Nations.
By dwelling in sukkot every year, we are faced with the reality of our human frailty and immortality. Just like the sukkah, our earthly bodies are but temporary dwelling places. When forced to dwell in a sukkah during the festival days, we find ourselves exposed to the elements, eating our meals without certain familiar comforts, and spending time in a shelter that at any moment could be brought down by weather.
So too it is with us. Our gufot, our bodies, are also fragile temporary dwelling places, where at any time, could be brought down. This reality begs us to recognize our dependence upon HaShem, who daily causes us to live. When we arise every morning, we say “Modeh ani...I am grateful unto you, O King who lives forever, for having once again, as I awaken, restored my soul unto me.” In this prayer, we acknowledge every morning that if G-d so willed, He could have chosen not to restore our souls unto us another day. So for giving us another opportunity to do His will, we give thanks to our Creator.
Sukkot is our ability to appreciate HaShem's blessings. It is the recognition of our constant dependence upon G-d, and the culmination of the High Holiday season. Sukkot additionally marks the final conclusion of our pleas to G-d for a sweet new year, and for blessings in the seasons to come.
Sukkot also marks our ultimate messianic hope of salvation. For Sukkot is also known as Chag Ha'Asif, the Festival of Ingathering. For it is in this festival, we are taught, that a day will come when all nations will be ingathered to
Chag Sameach!
Good post, Reb Joshua,
I'm relating back to part of David Craigs great input to Moniques Liturgy discussion, where he said everyone should feel the ground move under their feet every now and then. HaShem seems to be faithful enough to us that He established a time to shake us out of our culturely developed creature comforts, to redevelop our mind sets and values. Things Adoni developes in us as apposed to things that we should not freeze and keep but let evaporate in their own time. I remember a couple of earth quakes, and the world tips to one side then rocks back the other side while the earth is moving under your feet and your thinking about a safe place to be. Alters your perceptions on life. May be a total adjustment. We reconsider the things of value. Thank you Adoni for the days and nights the sukkah blew apart with the wind, and it rained, we couldn't keep all the water out. We survived the lesson, but did we learn what you wanted us to learn. And thats just a fraction of the Sukkot experience. I hope all have fulfilling in Tabernacles.