Feeling At Home Amidst G-dliness [Sukkot, Jewish holiday]

The Torah commands, "For seven days you shall dwell in sukkos [booths, tabernacles]." In defining this mitzvah, our Sages state, "You must live [in the sukkah] just as you live [in your home]." For the seven days of the holiday, all of the daily routines of our life must be carried out in the sukkah. As our Sages explain: "For all of these seven days, one should consider the sukkah as one's permanent dwelling, and one's home as temporary.... A person should eat, drink, relax... and study in the sukkah."

Our Sages point out that5 "the mitzvos were given for the sole purpose of refining the created beings": by observing a mitzvah a person elevates himself and his surrounding environment. Most mitzvos are focused only on limited aspects of our being and limited dimensions of our environment. When putting on tefillin one elevates one's head, heart, and arm, as well as the actual leather artifacts involved. When, by contrast, a person lives in a sukkah, his entire body is enveloped by the mitzvah: even the most mundane aspects of his life become means of connection7 to G-d.

The message of the mitzvah of sukkah is not self-contained; it influences our conduct throughout the entire year to come. The Torah simply tells us to8 "know Him in all your ways"; and our Sages comment, "This is a short verse upon which all the fundamentals of the Torah depend." For G-dliness is present not merely in the synagogue or in the house of study, but in every dimension and corner of our lives. This concept is made tangible by the mitzvah of dwelling in a sukkah.

Whenever one fulfills a mitzvah with material objects, a connection is established between them and the spiritual import of the mitzvah. From that time on, they are known as tashmishei mitzvah ("objects used for a mitzvah"). Since their connection with spirituality remains, an object that has been used in performing a mitzvah should not later be used for unrefined purposes.

There is an even deeper connection between the building materials used for the sukkah and the spiritual influences associated with it. Thus our Sages say, "Just as the sacrifices become consecrated for the sake of heaven,... so too, the sukkah becomes consecrated for the sake of heaven."

The sukkah represents a deeper fusion between materiality and spirituality than that which is achieved through the performance of many other mitzvos. In most instances, the connection between the material object and the spiritual effect established through the observance of a mitzvah does not permeate the material entity entirely. Therefore, though we are required to treat them with respect, these objects are not considered holy: they are not totally united with spirituality. Consecration implies that the physical entity becomes suffused with holiness, and this deeper bond is achieved through the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah.

Our Sages associate the mitzvah of sukkah with unity, as may be seen by the phrase, "Your sukkah of peace," and in our Sages' statement that15 "All Israel are fit to dwell in one sukkah."

Why is the sukkah associated with peace and unity? Chassidic thought explains that observing the mitzvah of sukkah draws down to this world a transcendent spiritual light whose revelation erases all differences between men and establishes a fundamental equality among them. Our world is characterized by differentiation. The mitzvah of sukkah is intended to suffuse the world with a G-dly state of oneness that is, essentially, uncharacteristic of this diverse world.

In another sense, the unity established by this mitzvah resolves the differences that exist between spirituality and material existence. From the perspective of the world, the two appear to be opposites. From G-d's perspective, however, both the material and the spiritual are expressions of Himself and can be fused together harmoniously.

Our Rabbis explain that through dwelling in the sukkah we will merit the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, as is implied by the verse, "And His sukkah will be in [Jeru]salem." The ultimate fusion between the material and the spiritual will take place in the Era of the Redemption and in particular, in the Beis HaMikdash, where the Divine Presence will be openly revealed. May this take place in the immediate future.

"Your Sukkah of Peace"

Woo! I get to make the first rap/hip-hop reference of the Sukkot season!

Sorry for the levity, hl, but anytime a sukkah is mentioned someone has to mention rap.

The prophet Zechariah predicted that the day would come when all nations would honor God.

"On that day God will be One and God's name will be One." (Zechariah 14:9). All the gentile nations would now turn to Jerusalem in friendship. The marker would be that they would "go up annually to worship God and to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot" (Zechariah 14:15).

The rabbis expanded this universal image. Seventy bulls were sacrificed on Sukkot. Why? The answer: One bull was to be sacrificed for the well-being of every one of the 70 nations that made up the civilized world.

Thus, Sukkot was the holiday in which Jews expressed their loving concern for the well-being of all non-Jews on the earth.

The prophet Zechariah predicted that the day would come when all nations would honor God.
"On that day God will be One and God's name will be One." (Zechariah 14:9). All the gentile nations would now turn to Jerusalem in friendship. The marker would be that they would "go up annually to worship God and to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot" (Zechariah 14:15).
The rabbis expanded this universal image. Seventy bulls were sacrificed on Sukkot. Why? The answer: One bull was to be sacrificed for the well-being of every one of the 70 nations that made up the civilized world.

Thus, Sukkot was the holiday in which Jews expressed their loving concern for the well-being of all non-Jews on the earth.

Thank you for these Sukkot posts, hl. Their message is very important, and I didn't mean to detract from it by my levity. It's just that I've been waiting for a post with the word "sukkah" in it so I could make the season's first obligatory rap reference!

I suggest that if there's ever an Orthodox Jewish rap act (like Mattityahu's reggae act) it call itself "Sukkahs of Peace!"

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