A Sukkah to Survive

Ever since the Jews left Egypt some 3,300 years ago, we've been wandering the globe. 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 we resonate with the sukkah--a temporary home that can be set up quickly just about anywhere. In a sense, the sukkah represents the Jewish home; it's not rooted in one place, requires little to build and can be constructed from readily-accessible materials.

Our Jewish identity remains pristine, safely preserved But, I suspect there's more to the sukkah's message. After all, the Torah expects us to make it our home for a full week, right at the start of the Jewish year. What we do in the first days of the year impacts how the rest of the year will progress, and the sukkah is no exception.

To build a kosher sukkah, you need to have two primary elements:

1. Walls that are stable.
2. A roof that is not.

If your sukkah walls flap in the wind, your sukkah may not be kosher. And a sukkah's roof that is impermeable is also a no-no: if the rain can't make its way in, the sukkah is no good.

Regardless of where in the world we Jews have made our home, we always built on these two principles.

Our walls are solid. What people do in society is their business, but inside our homes we preserve an environment of our own. Our Jewish identity remains pristine, safely preserved inside the sturdy walls that define us, regardless of where we are.

And, no matter how tough our situation might be, we keep an eye out for the Heavens. There is no ceiling to our potential, to the possibility of change and improvement. At all times, we remain aware of the gaps above us that allow us to dream, transcend the here and now, and succeed.

Happy Sukkot!