Why build a succah in the fall?

Hi,

"Although we departed from Egypt in the month of Nisan, He did not instruct us to make a succah at that time of year, because it is the time of summer [lit. harvest], and everyone makes huts at that time for shade, and so our construction of succot would not be recognized as fulfillment of our Creator's command. Therefore, He instructed us to build them in the seventh month, the time of rain, when it is normal for people to leave their huts and dwell in their homes. We leave the house and dwell in the succah, and thus everyone sees that this the Royal command that we fulfill."

ואף על פי שיצאנו ממצרים בחדש ניסן לא צונו לעשות סוכה באותו הזמן לפי שהוא ימות הקיץ ודרך כל אדם לעשות סוכה לצל ולא היתה ניכרת עשייתנו בהם שהם במצות הבורא יתברך ולכן צוה אותנו שנעשה בחדש השביעי שהוא זמן הגשמים ודרך כל אדם לצאת מסוכתו ולישב בביתו ואנחנו יוצאין מן הבית לישב בסוכה בזה יראה לכל שמצות המלך היא עלינו לעשותה

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

מועדים לשמחה,

Mordechai

Succot and Faith

Hi,

"‘You shall sit in Succot for seven days…so that your generations will know that I placed the Jews in Succot when I removed them from, etc.’ The verse linked the mitzvah of Succah with the departure from Egypt, as it does for many mitzvot, because this is something we saw with our eyes and we heard with our ears, and no one may contradict us, and it shows the truth of the Creator who created all according to His desire, and who has the strength and reign and power in the Heavens and the lower areas, to do as He will, and no one may tell Him what to do, as He did with us when He took us out of Egypt with signs and miracles.

"The Succot which the verse says Gd placed us in are the clouds of His glory, with which Gd surrounded the Jews lest they be struck by heat or sun. As a model of this Gd instructed us to create Succot, so that we will remember His miracles and awesome deeds."

בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים וגו' למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל בהוציאי אותם וגו' תלה הכתוב מצות סוכה ביציאת מצרים וכן הרבה מצות לפי שהוא דבר שראינו בעינינו ובאזנינו שמענו ואין אדם יכול להכחישנו והיא המורה על אמיתת מציאות הבורא יתעלה שהוא ברא הכל לרצונו והוא אשר לו הכח והממשלה והיכולת בעליונים ובתחתונים לעשות בהן כרצונו ואין מי שיאמר לו מה תעשה כאשר עשה עמנו בהוציאו אותנו מארץ מצרים באותות ובמופתים

והסוכות שאומר הכתוב שהושיבנו בהם הם ענני כבודו שהקיפן בהם לבל יכה בהם שרב ושמש ודוגמא לזה צונו לעשות סוכות כדי שנזכור נפלאותיו ונוראותיו 

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

מועדים לשמחה,
Mordechai

The shelter of the Divine Succah

Hi,

"It is written, “Any ezrach in Yisrael shall dwell in succot.” Anyone who is of the sacred Jewish root and stem shall dwell in succot, beneath the shade of Hashem."

(Zohar to Parshat Emor)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

The merit of the Succah

Hi,

“'You shall sit in the succah for seven days' - This is parallel to the seven clouds of glory [which protected the Jews in the desert, on their way from Egypt to Israel].

"Also, the seven days when the Jews sit in the succah earn them seven chuppot: Cloud, smoke, light, fire, flame, glory of the Shechinah and the [messianic] succah of the Leviathan."

(Baal haTurim to Vayyikra 23:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Transcending our obligations

Hi,

"Casual partaking of food - i.e., a piece of bread the size of an egg, or a cooked dish of the five kinds of grain; fruit, wine and water when not taken as part of a meal; all these may be consumed outside the sukkah...

"However, he who is fully imbued with the significance of the sukkah will not drink even water outside it."

(R' Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, Horeb paragraph 222A)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Succah as Exile under Divine Protection

Hi,

"The mitzvah of Succah is to leave permanent dwellings and shelter in all ways beneath His wings, on HaShem’s oversight. This itself is the clarification which comes through exile, to shelter in HaShem through all of the oppression and trouble, so that we will know that everything comes from HaShem’s direction."

(Rav Tzadok haKohen of Lublin, Pri Tzaddik, Devarim, Chag Succot #8)

Moadim l'Simchah,
Mordechai

The out-of-season Succah

Hi,

The Torah says to sit in the succah in order to commemorate HaShem's protection for us, when we left Egypt. However, we left Egypt in the Spring - why do we celebrate Succot in the Fall?

"Because that would be the summertime, and people ordinarily prepare huts for shade, so that our creation of a succah would not be identifiable as fulfillment of a Divine command. Therefore, Gd instructed us to prepare the succah in the seventh month, a time of rain, when most people leave their huts for their homes, and we leave our homes to sit in the succah. In this way we demonstrate that are doing this to fulfill a Divine command."

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

Have a great day,
Mordechai