Living Torah Archives

During their sojourn in the desert, G-d protected the Jewish people against danger and the elements with the Clouds of Glory, which the Torah refers to as “sukkahs.” To commemorate this, He commanded us to observe the holiday of Sukkos, when we spend a week in temporary huts.

The sukkah is a testament to G‑d’s protection over the Jewish people. Like the clouds of glory in the desert, which it represents, the sukkah brings the nations of the world to respect the Jewish people and to recognize that this world has one true Master, G‑d Almighty. Thus, the coronation of G‑d which the Jewish people initiated on Rosh Hashana also reaches its apex on Sukkos, as all the nations of the world recognize G‑d’s dominion.

Chabad philosophy teaches that the sukkah—which represents the clouds of glory that sheltered the Jewish people in the desert—is also the revelation of the incense cloud that blanketed the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. On Sukkos it is revealed for all to see, even non-Jewish passersby.

The two central mitzvos of Sukkos—the sukkah and the Four Kinds—have at their core the theme of Jewish unity.