The Sukkah: Our Boldest Statement in a World of War

https://www.frocksinstock.com/photos?pgid=k6fs4e3c-sukkahs-on-porches-in-israel_27

The Zohar teaches that on Sukkos, we step into the Tzeileh D’Mehmenusa—the “shade of Emunah.”¹ This phrase has always felt  a bit abstract to me—something profound yet difficult to fully wrap my head around. 

But this year, it’s hitting differently. We’re under skies filled with the constant threat of rockets and drones—a sobering reminder of our fragility. And yet, here we are,  building simple sukkahs that defy the instinct to hide behind solid walls. 

For this week, we leave the comfort of our homes and sit in our relatively flimsy Sukkah —a temporary structure where we spend the week with the Ribbono Shel Olam.

As Rav Sacks wrote:

“Sukkot is the festival of insecurity. It is the festival of a people who know they will never be entirely safe, surrounded as they are by larger, stronger nations, assaulted as they have so often been for having the courage to be different. Sitting in the sukka, betzila demehe…