In Tractate Sukkah 11b, there is a dispute about the essence of the holiday of Sukkot. Rabbi Eliezer says that building the Sukkah commemorates the “Clouds of Glory” that protected Israel in the desert (the miracle referred to in the Torah, Leviticus 23:43): “So that future generations will know that I placed the children of Israel in sukkot when I took them out of Egypt. I am Hashem, your G-d.” Rabbi Eliezer holds that Sukkot commemorate the miracle of God surrounding us with heavenly clouds to protect and guide us through the wilderness.
Rabbi Akiva argues that Sukkot commemorates actual Sukkot (huts) that the people of Israel made in the desert — the mitzvah recalls the building of sukkot by the Jewish people.
G-D’S SUKKAH SHIELDS US FROM HEAVEN ONLY AFTER WE HAVE SHOWN OUR FAITH BY FOLLOWING G-D INTO THE DESERT WITH OUR FLIMSY MAN-MADE SUKKOT
Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov, author of Sefer HaToda’ah, reconciles Rabbi Eliezer’s and Rabbi Akiva’s dispute: “This one and that one are the words of the living G-d. First, they made real sukkot, and in their merit — as a reward for leaving their houses in Egypt to dwell in temporary huts without questioning G-d — they merited G-d surrounding them with Clouds of Glory… to teach us that G-d will not abandon those who walk in His ways and place their faith in Him, and He will show them wonders.”
To summarize: the Gaon of Vilna, the Aruch HaShulchan, and Sefer HaToda’ah maintain that the Clouds of Glory came as a reward for the people of Israel for either having the faith to leave Egypt to live in their flimsy huts thereby showing their faith in G-d, or for repenting.
IS THERE REALLY A DISPUTE ABOUT THE SOURCE FOR THE MITZVAH OF SUKKAH?
Why do the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch rule in favor of Rabbi Eliezer (who says the sukkah commemorates the miracle of the Heavenly Clouds that protected Israel on all sides)? Do we not have a rule, as stated in Eruvin 46b, that in such disputes the halacha follows Rabbi Akiva over his contemporaries? This question can be easily answered with the approach in Sefer HaToda’ah, which explains that both opinions complement each other: both Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva agree that the people of Israel built sukkot of their own and later also enjoyed the Divine sukkot of the Clouds. The people demonstrated self-sacrifice and faith by leaving their comfortable, cozy, and “safe” homes to follow God’s guidance into the unknown desert. The dispute is only about which aspect to accent or focus on. There is no practical halachic difference that would prevent the Shulchan Aruch from preferring Rabbi Eliezer’s emphasis.
How can we reconcile Rabbi Akiva’s view with the verse, “So that future generations will know that I placed the children of Israel in sukkot when I took them out of Egypt. I am Hashem, your G-d.”? The verse clearly refers to an act of G-d — placing the people of Israel under the Heavenly Sukkah — not to man-made huts. This too is resolved by the approach of Sefer HaToda’ah: Rabbi Akiva agrees that there were G-d-made sukkot that followed and encircled Israel, which came as a reward for the man-made sukkot that the Jews had the faith to build and move into initially.
Another remez (hint) that all agree there are two sukkot, and that G-d provides Heavenly Sukkot after man makes his sukkah of faith, is the Torah’s use of the word sukkot — plural. Yes, there are two sukkot, and both require G-d’s role to succeed. However, one is first made by man, and G-d sustains that one and then “lowers” His Heavenly Sukkah only after man has made his best effort and shown his faith.
TEMPLES FALL FROM HEAVEN ONLY WHEN MAN MAKES AN HONEST EFFORT TO BUILD THE TEMPLE
This view is similar to that of Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal in Eim HaBanim Semeichah, where he resolves an apparent contradiction concerning the Third Beit HaMikdash (Temple in Jerusalem). Some sources indicate that the Temple will fall from Heaven, while other views hold that man will build the Temple — after all, it is a mitzvah incumbent on every Jew in every generation to build the Temple with his own hands. Rabbi Teichtal explains that there is one Temple built in Heaven in the “Jerusalem Above,” which faces down toward the Temple that we build with our hands in the “Jerusalem Below.” This explanation aligns well with the correlation drawn between the Temple and Sukkot, as stated in Amos 9:11: “On that day I will raise up the fallen Sukkah of David,” which refers to the Temple.
NOW WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THERE IS A SPECIAL ELEMENT OF HAPPINESS ON SUKKOT
We are now entering a phase in which we merit redemption as a result of our faith, for there is no true happiness without faith, and no faith without happiness.
In the words of Rav Kahane in Ohr HaRayon: the rule is that “happiness is a prerequisite to true faith in G-d, and there can be no true faith within a person who has given up hope and is depressed. Every mitzvah must be done with happiness as a sign of faith in G-d. Happiness based on faith in G-d brings peace and tranquility to the Jewish soul, because faith in G-d brings a person to be happy with his lot; there is no blessing more valuable than this, and no wealth greater… One might ask: Have we not seen righteous people abandoned, whose offspring seek bread? However, one who is happy with his lot — though he appears to lack material comforts — does not feel lacking; thus he lacks nothing. Is there a greater blessing than this? Is there any deeper tranquility of the soul than this? …”
TRUE FAITH = HAPPINESS, EVEN WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was once approached by a father who asked why his sons had left Judaism and no longer observed Shabbat, while his neighbor’s sons remained strictly observant. “Did I not risk and lose my employment, like my neighbor, because I refused to work on Shabbat in those difficult early years in America?” he asked. “Did I not show my children, by example, how important Shabbat is?” Rav Moshe responded, “Yes, but your neighbor kept Shabbat with joy and happiness, showing true faith that G-d would provide, whereas you showed sadness and kvetched — complained.”
For the individual, humility, happiness, and faith are interconnected and bring about personal redemption.
For the nation, self-respect, self-sacrifice, and faith bring redemption.
The Rambam writes in Hilchot Lulav 8:12–15:
Even though it is a mitzvah to be happy on all the holidays, on Sukkot there is extra happiness, as it says, “You shall rejoice before Hashem seven days…” And how is this happiness expressed? (The Rambam describes instruments.) And they danced — at the Simchat Beit HaSho’eivah. This increase in joy was not performed by ordinary people or anyone who wished to join, but by the great and wise rabbis, the heads of yeshivot and the Sanhedrin, the pious and the elders, and the “men of action.” The entire nation — men and women — would come to see and hear this joy, to make the people happy in performing the mitzvah and in their love of G-d who commanded it. This is a great service. Whoever restrains himself from this joy is cursed… There is nothing greater and more honorable than being happy before G-d, as it says in Shmuel Bet (ch. 6). We see there that King David expresses his love and faith through extreme humility — by dancing wildly in a way only a truly humble man would not be embarrassed to perform.
Rabbis and “men of action” are expected to be the pioneers of faith and self-sacrifice — to lead the nation and show there is no reason to fear man. After that, the masses can be expected to follow.
SLAVES CANNOT REACH THAT LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM, FAITH, AND HAPPINESS
This is perhaps why slaves are exempt from the mitzvah of sukkah, and why there is a special law that if one is bothered and saddened by being in the sukkah, he is exempt. The connection is clear. The slave has no place in the sukkah that symbolizes freedom of the soul — the elevation of the Jewish soul from that of a slave to that of a free person. The sukkah is relevant only to one who no longer fears his man-made master but places his faith in G-d and does what must be done despite the blatant provocation such actions present to his former human master. Ibn Ezra, so often quoted by Rabbi Kahane, hy”d, expresses this concept: we must wonder why a huge camp of 600,000 men (the Jews leaving Egypt) feared those who pursued them and did not fight for their lives and their children’s safety. The answer: the Egyptians were their masters, and this generation had from youth borne Egypt’s yoke and possessed a lowly soul.
SOMEONE WHO IS SADDENED BY SUKKAH HAS NO PLACE IN THE SUKKAH
It would be absurd for the Torah to obligate someone who is bothered and saddened by being in the sukkah to celebrate there — in the very structure meant to commemorate the pinnacle of happiness and our willingness to follow G-d with full faith, even into the wilderness, into a temporary, flimsy, vulnerable hut. One who remains a slave to material comforts and illusions of peace and security will never find peace of mind in the shadow and protection of G-d; he has no place in that flimsy little sukkah of faith. Only one who accepts what G-d sends with love and happiness can stand alone under the wings of the Almighty in the shadow of faith.
FROM MAN’S FLIMSY SUKKAH OF FAITH SHALL EMERGE STRENGTH
Rabbi Kahane encapsulates the essence of the “Jewish Idea” represented by the sukkah. He asks: Why is the word “sukkah” used in Tanach in reference to the final redemption (Amos 9:11; Tehillim 76:3–4)? If a sukkah is a weak, temporary structure, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to speak of establishing the “Palace of David” rather than the “Sukkah of David”? Why does King David classify Jerusalem and the Temple — signs of strength and G-d’s power — with the name “sukkah”? Why do we say in our evening prayers, “Spread over us the sukkah of Your peace”?
The answer: the Torah and our Sages wished to teach a fundamental principle of faith. The word sukkah comes from the root sachach — to protect and cover (see Tehillim 91:4; 140:8; and Shemot 40:3). Thus, specifically from the concept of schach — defense and protection from danger — comes the word sukkah, which, though weak and temporary, symbolizes G-d’s power and defense for Israel’s salvation. From many mighty enemies, there is nothing to fear if Israel places its faith in G-d who helps and shields us. Therefore it is specifically the apparently weak and shabby sukkah that is established as a symbol of G-d’s strength and power. Accordingly we read the chapters of Tanach that speak of the defeat of Gog and the nations who rise against the shabby, fallen sukkah — and who are destroyed by the Master of the Cloud of Glory, who can do anything.
Remembering the experience of the sukkah at the Exodus is meant to instill faith in G-d and inspire acts of faith both personally and nationally. Redemption, divine intervention, and protection come in the merit of this faith, expressed by fulfilling “dangerous,” “unpopular,” or “embarrassing” mitzvot that may provoke the nations and thus require true faith in G-d’s deliverance. Just as He protected the Jews who followed Him into the temporary and unknown confines of the sukkah in the wilderness, so too can we find security, tranquility, and protection only when we are prepared to follow G-d’s Torah — even if it seems we will stand alone with G-d against the world. If we refuse to take necessary actions to protect Israel due to fear of the nations, we will bring tragedy upon Israel. In contrast, following G-d’s Torah will bring victory to Israel against all odds.
This is the true lesson of sukkah. Freezing “settlements” and postponing “annexation plans” will not bring peace; they will only encourage more terrorism. Building anywhere in Israel, expelling our enemies, and building the Temple as prescribed in the Torah will inevitably bring peace and security. Similarly, continuing the war against Hamas and destroying them is the way to bring peace to Israel and prevent the next Oct. 7 Simchat Torah massacre.
Yekutiel (Mike) Guzofsky is the commander of the IDU (Israel Dog Unit) a national Israeli canine unit that searches for missing people and that provides security for towns in Yesha – Judea and Samaria.
