Only five days after Yom Kippur, we enter Sukkot, one of Judaism’s three pilgrimage holidays. Sukkot is the harvest festival and recalls our ancestors’ journey through the wilderness.
Rosh Hashanah asks us to awaken.
Yom Kippur asks us to return.
Sukkot asks us to rejoice.
וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם לִפְנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
“You shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.”
For seven days we spend time in a sukkah, a hut with a roof of branches. The Zohar calls the sukkah צִלָּא דִמְהֵימְנוּתָא, “the shade of faith.” Jewish tradition also associates the sukkah with ענני הכבוד, the Clouds of Glory, God’s protective presence surrounding Israel.
Sukkot is called זמן שמחתנו, the season of our joy. Sitting under a temporary roof, we are reminded that true security is not just found behind stronger walls. It is found in faith, gratitude, presence, and joy.
For me that apparent contradiction is the beautiful part. Sukkot reminds us to be grateful for what we have and, even when life is uncertain, never to lose hope. There is still much to celebrate. Life itself.
חג סוכות שמח ושבת שלום
Chag Sukkot Sameach and Shabbat Shalom.
