(מב)בַּסֻּכֹּ֥ת תֵּשְׁב֖וּ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים כָּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יֵשְׁב֖וּ בַּסֻּכֹּֽת׃(מג) לְמַעַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י בַסֻּכּ֗וֹת הוֹשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּהוֹצִיאִ֥י אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶֽם׃
(42) You shall dwell in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall dwell in booths,(43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I Adonai your God.
… having the Israelites relive their wilderness experience on the festival of Sukkot [by living in a sukkah] was bound to place them in a frame of mind that enabled them to detach themselves from the order of life that they had come to accept as normal and to view it critically.
דתניא (ויקרא כג, מג) כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל ענני כבוד היו דברי ר' אליעזר ר"ע אומר סוכות ממש עשו להם
As it is taught : “I made the children of Israel to reside in sukkot”; They were clouds of glory, - this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Akiva says: They made for themselves actual sukkot.
https://kaplancenter.org/behaving/holidays/a-meditation-for-sukkot-5775/
Thinking of return to the simple and natural sounds very appealing on one level, but I keep wondering whether the people in Liberia who suffer from ebola want more of the simple life or would rather have more technology and “civilization”. The issue is complex.
https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/inner-journey
Looking at the names of the Israelite encampments in that light, one becomes aware that the place names themselves are heavy with symbolism – are they real places, or states of being?
The very first destination sets the tone for this symbolic journey: “The Children of Israel set out from Ramses and encamped at Sukkot.” (Num. 13:5) Ramses is one of the fortified cities that Pharaoh forced the Children of Israel to construct. “Sukkot” means “temporary shelters”. The first step of the journey is the willingness to leave the “fortified city” of the self behind, and instead to dwell in a sukkah, an open and fragile structure. This is the only way we can grow and change: by making ourselves vulnerable and open. Surely there is comfort in staying behind the walls of a fortress, even if it also the place of one’s imprisonment. But for those of us who sense that there is a calling greater than static safety, we must, despite our fears, risk opening ourselves to the unknown, moment to moment. We can only serve YHVH, Life Unfolding, if we give up our defenses. We cannot meet life on its own terms, or find out who we really are, or discover the exhilarating and ecstatic essence of life, if we never venture beyond our comfort zone. Perhaps this is “Rule No. 1” of the spiritual journey.
(א) שִׁעוּר הַסֻּכָּה גָּבְהָהּ אֵין פָּחוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים וְלֹא יָתֵר עַל עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה. וְרָחְבָּהּ אֵין פָּחוֹת מִשִּׁבְעָה טְפָחִים עַל שִׁבְעָה טְפָחִים. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לְהוֹסִיף בְּרָחְבָּהּ אֲפִלּוּ כַּמָּה מִילִין. הָיְתָה פְּחוּתָה מֵעֲשָׂרָה אוֹ מִשִּׁבְעָה עַל שִׁבְעָה אוֹ גְּבוֹהָה מֵעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה כָּל שֶׁהוּא הֲרֵי זוֹ פְּסוּלָה:
(1) The measurements of a sukkah: its height may not be less than ten handbreadths nor more than twenty cubits. And its width may not be less than than seven handbreadths by seven handbreadths, but one may add to its size — even several mil. [A mil is a unit of measure equivalent, according to different opinions, to about a kilometer or a little under a mile.] If it was at all less than ten [in height] or seven by seven, or more than twenty cubits tall, it is disqualified.
(ב) סֻכָּה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ שָׁלֹשׁ דְּפָנוֹת פְּסוּלָה. הָיוּ לָהּ שְׁתֵּי דְּפָנוֹת גְּמוּרוֹת זוֹ בְּצַד זוֹ כְּמִין גַּ''ם עוֹשֶׂה דֹּפֶן שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּרָחְבּוֹ יֶתֶר עַל טֶפַח וּמַעֲמִידוֹ בְּפָחוֹת מִשְּׁלֹשָׁה סָמוּךְ לְאֶחָד מִשְּׁתֵּי הַדְּפָנוֹת וְדַיּוֹ. וְצָרִיךְ לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהּ צוּרַת פֶּתַח מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין לָהּ שָׁלֹשׁ דָּפְנוֹת גְּמוּרוֹת. וּכְבָר בֵּאַרְנוּ בְּהִלְכוֹת שַׁבָּת שֶׁצּוּרַת פֶּתַח הָאָמוּר בְּכָל מָקוֹם אֲפִלּוּ קָנֶה מִכָּאן וְקָנֶה מִכָּאן וְקָנֶה עַל גַּבֵּיהֶן אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַגִּיעַ לָהֶן:
A sukkah without three walls is invalid. If it had two complete walls next to one another in the shape of [the Greek letter] gamma (Γ), one may make a wall with a width greater than one hand-breadth and stand it less than three [hand-breadths] adjacent to one of the [other] two walls, and that is enough. But one must [still] fashion the shape of a doorway . . .
Remember that the number of walls required is related to the forms of the Hebrew letters of the word sukkah.[Samech-–four walls, kaf–three walls, hey–two and a half walls].
Fit panels of a sukkah are from anything. For we only need any partition that exists — even from animals. ....
A sukkah that does not have a roof is disqualified. How is that? For example, [if] the two tops of the panels connected one to another, like a type of [wigwam] or one leaned the panel of the sukkah on the wall. If it had a roof, even a handbreadth; or he raised the panel adjacent to the wall a handbreadth from the ground — it is surely fit. [In a case of] a round sukkah: If there is enough in its circumference to square its interior to seven handbreadths on seven handbreadths, it is surely fit — even though it does not have corners.
This covering, called sekhakh, must be of material that grows from the soil, has been detached from the ground, and cannot be defiled. Hides and the like are excluded because they do not grow from the soil; vines and tendrils are excluded because they are attached to the ground; cloth, utensils, or metal objects are excluded because they can become ritually defiled. The sekhakh is usually of cut branches or plants.
The most commonly used materials for s'khakh today are some mixture of pine or other evergreen coniferous tree branches and/or bamboo poles or bamboo mats.
Some examples of sukkot:
