Succos 5787 - True Shelter

The Torah tells us about the mitzvah of dwelling in a Succah:

“You shall dwell in thatched booths for a seven-day period; every native in Israel shall dwell in thatched booths. So that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in succos when I took them from the land of Egypt. I am Hashem your G-d.”(Vayikra 23:42–43)

The Torah provides a reason for the mitzvah: we dwell in Succos because the Children of Israel dwelled in Succos when they left Egypt.

Rabbi Eliezer therefore seems to follow the straightforward understanding of the verse when he explains that the succos refers to the actual dwellings in which the Jewish people lived in the wilderness. (See Sifra 17:11.)

Rabbi Akiva disagrees. He explains that the succos refers to the Clouds of Glory that protected the Jewish people in the wilderness. These miraculous clouds protected them from the heat of the sun and from the dangers and harsh conditions of the desert.

Rashi, in his commentary on this verse, cites Rabbi Akiva's interpretation that the succos refers to the Clouds of Glory rather than to the physical booths.

This is puzzling.

Rashi famously explains that his primary purpose is to explain the pshuto shel mikra, the straightforward meaning of the Torah. (See, for example, Rashi on Bereishis 3:8.) If so, why does Rashi here choose Rabbi Akiva's interpretation rather than the seemingly more literal interpretation of Rabbi Eliezer?

Rabbi Elie Munk offers a beautiful answer.

The Clouds of Glory were not merely a miraculous form of physical protection. They represented Hashem's special presence and protection over the Jewish people.

After the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe pleaded with Hashem to continue to watch over the Jewish people and to maintain His special relationship with them. As part of the reconciliation between Hashem and the Jewish people, Hashem ultimately agreed to continue His special Divine protection over them. The Clouds of Glory therefore represented something much greater than shelter from the desert sun: they were a manifestation of Hashem's continued presence among His people.

This gives us a beautiful insight into the timing of Succos.

Succos begins only a few days after Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we spend an entire day standing before Hashem in prayer and introspection. We confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and seek to repair our relationship with Him. And then, soon afterwards, we leave our homes and enter the Succah.

The Succah makes this message tangible.

We leave the security of our permanent homes and enter a temporary structure that provides far less physical protection where we can feel the cold, the heat and the wind. We are reminded that our security does not come from the strength of our physical structures. Our true protection comes from Hashem.

This is the deeper message of Rabbi Akiva's understanding of succos. The Succah does not merely commemorate where the Jewish people lived in the wilderness. It reminds us of the Divine protection and closeness represented by the Clouds of Glory.

There is also a powerful lesson here about the transition from Yom Kippur to Succos.

The intense spirituality of Yom Kippur can fade very quickly. After spending an entire day in prayer and reflection, we return to our ordinary lives. The Succah gives us a physical reminder that the closeness to Hashem that we experienced on Yom Kippur does not have to end when Yom Kippur ends.

For an entire week, we live in the Succah and surround ourselves with the awareness that Hashem is with us and watching over us.

May we merit to use the days of Succos to strengthen our relationship with Hashem and to carry the awareness of His presence with us—not only throughout Succos, but throughout the entire year.