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October 1, 2004/Tishri 6 5765, Vol. 57, No. 5
Sukkot has double identity
Torah study
SHLOMO RISKIN
Shabbat Chol Hamoed
What is the true meaning of the symbol of the sukkah? Is it the temporary hut that the Israelites constructed in the desert when they wandered from place to place? Or is the sukkah meant to be reminiscent of the divine "clouds of glory" that encompassed us in the desert, the sanctuary that served as the forerunner of our Holy Temple in Jerusalem?
The major biblical description of the festivals is to be found in Chapter 23 of the Book of Leviticus. There are two textual curiosities that need to be examined. The three festivals that were always considered to be our national festivals, and that also biblically appear as the "desert" festivals, are Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, which commemorate when we left Egypt, when we received the Torah at Sinai and when we lived in desert booths.
It seems strange that in the biblical exposition of the Hebrew calendar, Pesach and Shavuot are explained, after which comes Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and only at the conclusion of the description comes Sukkot. One can argue that this is the way the months fall in the calendar year. However, that too is strange. After all, the Israelites left Egypt for the desert; presumably they built their booths immediately after Pesach. Would it not have been more logical for the order to be Pesach, Sukkot, Shavuot, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur?
Secondly, the Festival of Sukkot is broken up into two parts. Initially the Torah tells us: "and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 'On the 15th day of this seventh month shall be the Festival of Sukkot, seven days for God ... these are the Festivals of the Lord which you shall call holy congregations'" (Leviticus 23:33-38). It would seem that these last words conclude the biblical description of the festivals and the Hebrew calendar. But then, in the very next verse, the Torah comes back again to Sukkot, as if for the first time: "but on the 15th day of the seventh month, when you gather in the crop of the land, you shall celebrate God's festival for a seven day period. ... You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a citron tree, the branches of date palms, twigs of a plaited tree (myrtle) and willows of brooks ... You shall dwell in booths for a seven day period ... so that your generations will know that I caused the people of Israel to dwell in booths when I took them from the Land of Egypt'" (Leviticus 23:39-44).
I have heard it said in the name of the Vilna Gaon that this repetition of Sukkot with the commandment concerning the four species introduces a new aspect of the Sukkot festival: the celebration of our entering into the Land of Israel. Maimonides explains the joy of Sukkot as expressing the transition of the Israelites from the arid desert to a place of trees and rivers, fruits and vegetables symbolized by the four species (Guide for the Perplexed, Part 3 Chapter 43).
Hence, there are two identities to the festival of Sukkot. On the one hand, it is a desert festival that celebrates our survival while living in flimsy booths. From that perspective, perhaps it ought to have found its place immediately after Pesach in terms of the calendar.
However, the second identity of Sukkot, the four species that represent our conquest and inhabitancy of our homeland and signal the beginning of redemption, belongs after Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur - the festivals of God's dominion over the world and God's divine temple.
So which Sukkot do we celebrate? Both at the very same time. And when we sit in the sukkah, are we sitting in transitory booths or in a divine sanctuary protected by rays of God's glory? I think it depends on whether we are celebrating the festival in the Diaspora or in the Land of Israel.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the leader of Efrat, Israel.
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