Sukkot Insights

Living somewhere for a week, even dwelling somewhere, is almost like staying at a beach house, a hotel, or a relative's place for a week. There is hardly time to unpack...

Are we transient beings for whom movement is life and "at rest" an inscription for the gravestone? Are we rooted souls, for whom the "journeys" of life are just so many guises of the singular quest for home?

For a thing to be the thing it is, it cannot be too small, and it cannot be too big. There is one exception, however: the sukkah

The etrog says: "I am perfect." The lulav says: "Knowledge is everything." The hadas says "Action is the most important thing." The aravah says: "I am nothing." These are things we all need to say, at least once in a while.

There is escapist happiness. There is true happiness. And then there is ultimate happiness. The sukkah is symbolic of this highest form of joy.

Why do we celebrate Sukkot immediately after the High Holidays?

The first half of Tishrei is marked by solemnity, the second by elation; but the Chassidic masters explain that these are simply the "hidden" and "revealed" dimensions of the same elements

On its surface, the holiday of Sukkot is quite bizarre. Every other holiday on the Jewish calendar commemorates an event which occurred on that particular date; but absolutely nothing happened on the 15th of Tishrei!

G-d is keyed into our trendy lifestyles. In an effort to provide mitzvahs that accommodate our modern angular leanings he provided the mitzvah of sukkot.

Does Jewish unity allow for diversity? The pros and cons of multiculturalism are reflected in the two primary mitzvot of Sukkot -- taking the Four Kinds and dwelling in the sukkah.

Judaism is forward thinking, eager to embrace innovation and fresh perspective. So why are we abandoning our homes and living in thatched huts, as we did 3400 years ago?

Normally, we are connected to a particular mitzvah -- and through the mitzvah, to the One who commanded the mitzvah -- only as long as we are actually involved in its execution. Sukkah is an exception.

I think I am going to buy a houseplant and name it Ned. I realized I needed a houseplant after my internet stopped working a few hours ago, and there was nobody around to talk to. Mostly I will talk to Ned about the word "in."

Be it due to pogroms, expulsions, or an innate itch for change, we've crisscrossed the globe numerous times throughout history. This may explain why the sukkah so resonates with us...

Come the day after Sukkot, and our sukkah has yet to be taken down, it actually hurts me to look at it. Gone is its beauty, its vitality, its light. It does not have a hold on me, it does not beckon me...

Yes, crises seem to be at the center of our holiday experiences. Even in our personal lives, we may notice how emergencies give us a jarring wake-up call, prompting us to ask G‑d for assistance. But what about the other days?

At the core of Sukkot is the quest for oneness. Let's take a look...

Why is the holiday named after the mitzvah of sukkah? Why was this mitzvah chosen to represent the inner message of the holiday – what of the holiday's other mitzvot?

Though the body may have enjoyed Yom Kippur, it gets a bit envious. "Can I have a day like that," it asks, "when I can indulge in my relationship with G‑d?"

The sukkah, when done by the book, is incongruence itself: Live in a temporary structure as though it were permanent. What other structure does that remind you of?