Yom Kippur and Sukkos: The Link
There is an obvious reason for the sense of urgency conveyed by the requirement to build the Sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur. One should always connect a resolution for the good to something concrete. If time is allowed to elapse between the time when one makes a commitment for the good, albeit sincere, and its implementation, there is always the danger that the inspiration will fizzle out.
What’s the Urgency?
As soon as Yom Kippur is over, it is customary to begin building the Sukkah. Indeed, we are told by Jewish legal authorities that we should not delay the building - or at least, the talking about the building of the Sukkah.
There is an obvious reason for the sense of urgency conveyed by the requirement to build the Sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur. One should always connect a resolution for the good to something concrete. If time is allowed to elapse between the time when one makes a commitment for the good, albeit sincere, and its implementation, there is always the danger that the inspiration will fizzle out.
Preventing Compartmentalization
On a deeper level, one can suggest a more specific connection between Yom Kippur and the Mitzvah of Sukkah. One of our greatness weaknesses is that we tend to compartmentalize our moral and Jewish lives. This attitude renders us vulnerable, for even as we find times and places for doing what is right, we tend to find times and places where Jewish values become irrelevant. When Yom Kippur comes to an end, it is natural for us to look for ways of preventing any relapses. What can we do to keep us strong in our moral and spiritual lives?
The answer is the mitzvah of Sukkah.
The Sukkah is the one Mitzvah which envelops the entire person. For one week, we enter into the Sukkah with our entire body, our clothing - even our boots! This Mitzvah repudiates the notion of a part time Jewish existence, and is, therefore, the most efficient means to preserving the resolutions of Yom Kippur.
Representative of Messianic Age
Both Yom Kippur and Sukkos are representative of the future Messianic Age.
On Yom Kippur we get in touch with the core of our soul that is always pure and holy and provides us with a taste of holiness of the Messianic Age.
Sukkos provides the ability to translate that core into every facet of our being portending the time when the “knowledge of G-d will cover the entire world.”
From the book Light from the Future: Yom Kippur by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
