CARLSBAD, California — This year we have the great privilege of ushering the joyous holiday of Sukkot on the holy Shabbat! It is a double ‘whammy’ of spiritual greatness. Sukkot is the holiday on which we celebrate the Divine Protection enjoyed by the Jewish people during their 40-year sojourn in the desert. A wilderness is a very harsh environment. The Jewish people did not just survive an extended period, they actually thrived. We are reminded that during that time they were openly held in the ‘embrace’ of G-d, who protected them with the Clouds of Glory.
Enjoying that level of Divine Protection is certainly uplifting. When the celebration is timed to coincide with the late harvest, one’s joy becomes palpable. It is of course during the late harvest that one literally takes stock of his blessings. We make an accounting and we thusly see just how much we have been blessed. As people in the world like to say, “While material wealth doesn’t guarantee happiness, it certainly doesn’t hurt.”
The Torah commands us to dwell in a temporary structure, outside of our homes, for the week of the holiday. Many people actually sleep in their Sukkot. At the very least we must be sure to eat our meals (and snacks) in the Sukkah. It must be a temporary structure, with its roof constructed of detached organic material, like palm fronds, to demonstrate our unwavering faith in the Almighty’s protection.
There is an additional special commandment that we fulfill on Sukkot, and that is the Mitzvah of the Four Species. The Lulav and Etrog are taken, together with myrtle twigs and willow twigs (Hadassim and Aravot), and gently waved in six directions. While facing east we wave the set in the following order: Right, Left, Forward, Up, Down, Backwards. This represents that G-d’s Presence is everywhere.
We are taught that the Four Species represents all different types of people. Those who have great Torah knowledge and do many Mitzvos are like the Etrog, which both smells good and tastes good. Those whose strength lies in Torah knowledge are compared to the Lulav, which comes from the delicious tasting date palm. Those whose strong suit is Mitzvah observance are like the myrtle twigs, which smell wonderfully. And those with neither an abundance of Torah nor Mitzvot are likened to the willow branch. All four are necessary to be present for the set to be Kosher for use. Every one of our people is precious and necessary for our spiritual health.
While we have both of these stellar commandments the name of the holiday is Sukkot, which demonstrates that there is something superior about that Mitzvah. The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of righteous memory, teaches that the superiority of the Sukkah resides in the fact that when one enters its walls, he is totally enveloped by holiness. Imagine! Breathing the air of a Mitzvah. This idea is emblematic of the truth of our existence in this world, we are truly surrounded and enveloped by the Almighty. The walls of the Sukkah sensitize us to the Presence of the Creator and His loving embrace.
With this in mind it becomes clearer and clearer why this is called the “Time of Our Joy!”
Wishing everyone an uplifting, joyous, and HEALTHY Shabbos & Chag Same’ach!
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Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is Director of Coastal Chabads and Chabad at La Costa. Rabbi Eilfort welcomes readers’ comments and questions and may be reached at RabbiE@ChabadatLaCosta.com.