Sukkot: A Counterintuitive Affirmation of Faith
Most of us are aware of the symbolism of the Sukkah, the fragile structure deliberately built to be tenuous and limited in its ability to protect. On one level, we “dwell” in it during the seasonal transition of chill and wet to feel a bit of the experience of our desert-sojourning ancestors. But the early Zionist sage, HaRav Kook, delves into the deeper insights to be gleaned:
The Sukkah is for us a fortress of defense…Is it not extraordinary that a temporary abode like the sukkah can so protect us…precisely because the sukkah is so flimsily built…it merits being our strong tower and citadel…not by virtue of its physical strength…Only through the Law…for the effort required to construct our house…we need particularly the spiritual potency, the vigor of the festival, the might of God’s eternal word.
In essence, it’s the material vulnerability of the sukkah that invites us and evokes from us an inner strength of mind and spirit to rise to our own defense, advocacy, and expression of character. And it is God’s guidance that structures and sustains the inner soul force. Particularly in these uncertain times, when the institutions and structures we’ve depended upon are threatened, it is the power of people as individuals and as a collective that will determine our fate and our future.