Outside in
Whatever we experience through the sounding of Shofar on Rosh Hashanah manifests itself during the days of Sukkos. On Rosh Hashanah we ask G-d to be our King and show us His delight in maintaining an intimate relationship with us. During Yom Kippur we remove any and all impediments to our relationship with Him. G-d responds enthusiastically by telling us to enter into His Sukkah; to allow Him to envelop us and take us into His embrace.
Why Sukkos in the Fall?
Sukkos is the Festival during which we are commanded to dwell in a temporary dwelling place called a Sukkah for seven days. This, the Torah tells us, is to let us know that G-d provided the Jewish nation with Sukkos when they were liberated from Egypt.
What is the definition of the historical Sukkos on which the modern day Sukkah is modeled?
The Talmud explains that this refers either to the booths that they built for shelter in the desert, or to the “clouds of glory” that miraculously surrounded the Jewish camp in the desert and protected them from the elements and enemies.
Commentators ask: why we don’t celebrate Sukkos on or right after Passover. It was, after all, at that time of year when the Jews actually began to dwell in Sukkos?
Counterintuitive
One answer is that Passover occurs in the mild spring season. At that time it is most natural for people to leave their homes and take up residence outdoors, in tents or huts. If we were to observe Sukkos in the spring, no one would recognize that dwelling in the Sukkah was to commemorate G-d’s kindness in the desert, but rather because of convenience.
By scheduling Sukkos in the fall—at the commencement of the cold and rainy season, which is counterintuitive— when most people leave the outdoor accommodations to return to their homes, it demonstrates how we acknowledges G-d’s kindness and miracles.
Return of the Protective Clouds
Another reason offered is based on the teaching that when the Jews worshipped the Golden Calf, the protective clouds that surrounded them disappeared. They did not reappear until G-d forgave them on the first Yom Kippur-Day of Atonement. However, the process of forgiveness was not complete until they built the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the desert, which expressed the sentiment that G-d was willing to once more dwell in their midst.
Thus it was a few days after Yom Kippur—the time it took for the contributions to the Mishkan be made and for it to be built—before the clouds returned. This coincides with the beginning of the Holiday of Sukkos.
Sukkos: the Culmination of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
A third explanation — based on Chassidic sources — informs us that Sukkos follows immediately after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because it is actually the culmination of the process of these holidays.
In the book of Psalms we read: “Sound the Shofar on the hidden day, on the day of our festival.” Commentaries explain that the “hidden day” refers to Rosh Hashanah, the only holiday that occurs on the occasion of the new, but still hidden, moon. Commentaries further note that the words “on the day of our festival” refer to Sukkos. This verse is therefore telling us that whatever we experience through the sounding of Shofar on Rosh Hashanah manifests itself during the days of Sukkos.
To explain: Rosh Hashanah is when we ask G-d to be our King. By sounding the Shofar we coronate Him as our Monarch. To be sure, without Rosh Hashanah, G-d would still continue to rule, but it would be without any feeling or pleasure. Rosh Hashanah is thus when we petition G-d to show us His love and His delight in maintaining an intimate relationship with us.
Yom Kippur is a natural continuation of Rosh Hashanah. It is when we ask G-d for forgiveness; when we remove any and all impediments to our relationship with Him. When Yom Kippur is over, we immediately proceed to demonstrate our zeal and excitement to be close to G-d, by busying ourselves with the building of a Sukkah, preparing the Lulav and Esrog etc.
At this point—after pleading with G-d to be our King and have this intimate relationship with us (Rosh Hashanah) and after removing all obstacles (Yom Kippur), and by translating our commitment in action (the days before Sukkos), G-d responds enthusiastically by telling us to enter into His Sukkah, i.e., to allow Him to envelop us and take us into His embrace. Indeed, the Sukkah, as the only Mitzvah that one enters into totally, is expressive of G-d’s total and unqualified acceptance of us.
Intertwined
Upon deeper reflection all three explanations are interconnected. When a person is in love with someone they will live with them even if it means that they have to leave their comfortable home. The love that we cultivate throughout the month of Tishrei is what makes us feel comfortable even in the dreary weather that often accompanies the Holiday of Sukkos. It gets us to do the unconventional and to feel joy living in the Sukkah at precisely the time that most “normal” people move inside.
Likewise, when the Jewish people demonstrated to which degree they wanted G-d to dwell in their midst by contributing to the construction of the Mishkan, it was an indication of their great love. Indeed, the love of a Ba’al Teshuvah, one who repents for past transgression is more intense than the love of a tzadik, one who has never sinned. Our Sages thus state that “in the place where a Ba’al Teshuvah stands, a perfect tzadik is incapable of staning.” And this Teshuvah that is motivated by the unprecedented passion for G-d engendered by the sin is what transforms the sins of the penitent to a virtue.
Stepping Out of Bounds
When one is so in love it translates in doing things that are out of the bounds of propriety and normalcy. As our Sages state regarding the love of our Patriarch Abraham, “love causes stepping over the bounds.” It is no wonder that precisely at this time of intense love that we are more than willing to leave the comfort of our homes and spend the week in a flimsy Sukkah.
This approach can explain the custom of many Chassidic leaders and their followers who would eat in the Sukkah even when Jewish law exempts them such as when it rains. Jewish law clearly exempts one who is distressed by the Sukkah, why then would they insist on remaining there?
In light of the above it makes sense. The Sukkah is the hut we go into with joy because of our love for G-d regardless of the lack of comfort. Indeed, not eating in the Sukkah is a greater pain and cause of distress to someone in love than the rain.
Lovesick
There are many reasons why we pray for the coming of Moshiach. From material benefits that will come our way to the introduction of true security and peace for our entire nation and indeed for the entire world.
However, the ultimate reason is for us to dwell together in the “Sukkah of Peace” which is a metaphor for the heightened awareness of and closeness with G-d. As long as we are in exile, we cannot reach the highest level of G-dly awareness and the love that it engenders. We are therefore lovesick for G-d, waiting impatiently for Him to take us into His embrace.
How do we express that anticipation and love?
One way is by dwelling in a Sukkah because of the love for G-d that we generated during the preceding days and weeks. It expresses the reality that our anticipation for Moshiach is primarily based on the fact that no matter how hard we try we cannot now get into the ultimate Divine Sukkah where we will experience unfiltered and unfettered G-dly energy. By dwelling in the Sukkah now despite the lack of comfort it may entail, we demonstrate how much we are in love with G-d and how hard we try to be in G-d’s Sukkah and that we will not be satisfied until Moshiach takes us out of exile and brings into G-d’s rebuilt Sanctuary.
From the book Light from the Future: Sukkos by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
