Succot - A Celebration of Life

From Tal Chermon, By Rav Shlomo Aviner Translated by Bracha Slae

Our rabbis have noted that the mitzva of Succa is unique in that one performs it with his whole body. He "walks into" the mitzva fully clothed, down to the mud on his boots. In this way, the mitzva of Succa is similar to that of building the Land of Israel. There is even a source for this parallel in Psalms: "And His Succa was in Shalem, and His dwelling place in Zion." The Vilna Gaon notes another similarity: Just as one is commanded to personally construct his own Succa ("ta'ase v'lo min ha'asui"), so is he commanded to become personally involved in the mitzva of building Eretz Israel. These are the acts that God rewards.

Moreover, one can even perform the mitzva of Succa while he is asleep. The halacha deems sleeping in a Succa even more important than eating there. This indicates that there are mitzvot that a Jew performs while "doing nothing", a sign of the unique nature of the Jewish soul. (Likewise, the mitzva of living in Eretz Israel is also fulfilled while asleep.)

On Succot, we show that we are in love with life in this world; with our whole being we immerse ourselves in the mitzva. On Yom Kippur, we rest and desist from all worldly matters in imitation of the angels. In contrast, on Succot, we fulfill the mitzva with our bodies, even when our intellects and will power are asleep. As soon as the fast of Yom Kippur ends, we begin to build our Succot, emphasizing the connection between these two seemingly opposite mitzvot, which together testify to the uniqueness of the Jewish soul. This is no regression. On the contrary, the "otherworldly" sanctity of Yom Kippur thereby extends to the very concrete, tangible mitzva of Succa.

Our sages debated the preferred type of shofar - straight or bent - and finally ruled that a shofar should be bent. During the Days of Awe, we emphasize the spiritual, and the material (the shofar) must bow down before it. But after the Days of Awe, we return to this world with the Lulav in our hands. A bent or bowed Lulav is not kosher; it must stand upright, showing pride in its sanctity.