The Calendar עִנְיְנֵי דְּיוֹמָא
בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כָּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת׃
לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם׃
You shall live in sukkot for seven days. All citizens in Israel shall live in sukkot.
This is so that future generations will know that I (God) settled Benei Yisrael in sukkot when I brought them out of Mitzrayim (Egypt). I am God your Lord.
A sukkah is a kind of shelter. The ones we build for the holiday of Sukkot are like huts. According to these pesukim, it’s important to remember the shelter God gave our ancestors when they left Mitzrayim.
But what kinds of shelter were they? There’s a dispute in a midrash.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ הָיוּ.
רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר עַנְנֵי כָּבוֹד הָיוּ.
R. Eliezer says: They were actual sukkot.
R Akiva says: They were clouds of God’s presence.
- How does it change the way you feel about your sukkah to think of it as the clouds of God’s presence vs. the huts Benei Yisrael used in the wilderness?
- Could both be right? How?
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