Sukkot Essays

Translated into English, the word loses some of its mystery and other-worldliness. Yet these "guests" are indeed quite mysterious (at least until we learn more about them) and other-worldly (at least until we make them part of ours)...

Dwelling in the sukkah for seven days is a beautiful and inspiring experience; however, one would hardly describe it as “easy.” Yet this is the mitzvah singled out by the Talmud as G-d’s “easy mitzvah”!

Why would I be so quick to want to take care of Zoe, a little girl I don’t know and will most likely never see again, when I didn’t seem to have that kind of time, patience, or ability for my own baby?

The dwelling is simple, but the mitzvah is beautified.

Unlike our everyday environment, the sukkah doesn't tell us any lies. It reflects reality as it actually is: fluid, unpredictable and always new

Why do vacillation and hardship fuel growth? How can contradictory ideas embody a singular truth? Why does a simple physical deed elevate us to levels of holiness and G-dliness?

At the call of the dawn, two priests sounded their trumpets and began to descend the 15 steps that led down from the Men's Courtyard to the Women's Courtyard...

It came to pass that one Sukkot, the honor of pouring the water on the altar was given to a Sadducee priest; but instead of pouring the water into its prescribed bowl in the southwest corner of the altar, this priest spilled it on his feet...

Sukkot is the festival that celebrates Jewish unity. Unity is the underlying theme of the festival’s three precepts: joy, the taking of the Four Kinds, and dwelling in the sukkah..

The very virtues of the other three kinds--the understanding of the lulav, the feeling of the hadas, the across-the-board perfection of the etrog--spell their deficiency...

The Zohar teaches that our Sukkos guests include not only those who visibly partake of the festive meals, but also guests from the spiritual realm...

The esrog expresses the concept of unity by virtue of the fact that it grows on the tree for an entire calendar year, and is exposed to all the seasonal variations and changes of climate. Not only does the esrog withstand all these influences, but it responds positively to them...

G-dliness is present not merely in the synagogue or in the house of study, but in every dimension and corner of our lives. This concept is made tangible by the mitzvah of dwelling in a sukkah..

hen we are "thirsty", when we desire to be united with G-d in a way that transcends the limited scope of our thoughts and feelings, we derive pleasure from "water", from kabbalas ol...

The relationship, from its very inception, has been plagued by a quarrel between the spouses. As is common with many couples, they find themselves continuously and constantly arguing the same argument.