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Category: Appointed Times

The Season of our Joy

Tags:  Atzeret, etrog, fragrance, hadas, lulav, rejoicing, Sh'mini, simchat torah, species, sukkah, Sukkot, taste, Torah

By Keren Golan Pryor, Ze'ev Avneri

Sukkot is a season of special celebration. Each mo'ed is a time when we are invited by the Creator of all to draw aside in close communion with Him. They are days when we are summoned to reflect on the lessons of the past and to renew ourselves, in nearness to Him, for the days that lie ahead. Each season has unique, special memories and its own particular meaning and character. Sukkot is named 'Season of our Joy' and the central symbol of the season is the sukkah, built to remind us of the temporary dwellings that our forefathers lived in as they traveled through the wilderness after God brought them out of slavery in Egypt.

Dwelling in your Sukkah

Fragile and Temporary

We see another reference to the sukkah and the celebration of Sukkot in Nehemiah 8:17, "And all the congregation who returned from captivity made sukkot (booths, tabernacles) and dwelt in the sukkot... and there was great rejoicing." Even in the face of the difficult task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, while encountering hindrance and hostility from the enemy in their midst, the Israelites could greatly rejoice in their sukkot. How could these flimsy constructions cause them to rejoice? They remembered that, just as in the wilderness, the Presence of God was their strength. By His Word and command, the open, fragile sukkah becomes a refuge, a fortress protecting us from every enemy.

An important aspect of the temporary nature of the tent homes in the wilderness is that they were portable and not designed to remain in one place indefinitely. The sons of Israel would stay encamped around the Mishkan (Tabernacle) as long as the cloud indicating God's presence was above it. When the cloud moved, they moved (Numbers 9:22). The cloud depicted, as it were, the Shepherd's staff. It was the means whereby Adonai made His will known to His people--indicating when to move, and in which direction, and when ...

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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission. Adapted from Bikurei Tziyon #66 .

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