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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18482/full/18482/our-sukkot-may-be-fragile-but-strength-is-from-creator/ <br /><br /> <b>Our sukkot may be fragile but strength is from Creator</b> <br /> Friday, September 20, 2002 | by <p>Rabbi Pinchas Lipner </p> <br /><br /><p>Sukkot<br /><br /> Leviticus 22:26 - 23:44<br /><br /> Numbers 29:12-16<br /><br /> Zechariah 14:1-24<br /><br /> It is pretty much a universally accepted truth that insecurity is a condition of mankind and therefore man is instinctively engaged in a constant pursuit of the sense of security he lacks.<br /><br /> Generally, strength is associated with security. Nations, for example, depend on the power of their armed forces to provide security for their citizens.<br /><br /> Yet as Jews we have been taught and have absorbed well the notion of placing our trust far more in the Almighty than in the power of human protectors. In the festival prayer of Hallel, we say, "Yisrael, b'tach Bashem," "Israel place your trust in the Almighty." The mezuzah on my door affords me a greater sense of safety than any locks or alarm systems.<br /><br /> The Hebrew word for wisdom, chachmah, is composed of four letters that can be rearranged to read "Coach, mah?" meaning "What, indeed, is strength?" The knowledge that our safety and security will be found in our Creator's arms and not in an arms depot is the supreme Chachmah.<br /><br /> How can we best transmit this important lesson? The answer may be found in the sequence of holidays on the Jewish calendar and in the physical displacement of the Jew and his family as they leave the "security" of a solid home to take up residency for a week in a flimsy booth with a fragile roof called a sukkah.<br /><br /> Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler of blessed memory, in his Michtav MeEliyahu, suggests that during the three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av (when the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed), Jews experience a deep feeling of despondency. This is not only because of the ancient destruction, but also because the world around us today makes us feel unsafe and insecure, with good reason.<br /><br /> Comfort, however, follows this time of mourning. When we despair of the world, we are inclined to discard our illusions and to repudiate our dependence on man and his physical strength. This realization in turn pushes us toward contrition and renewal.<br /><br /> Our journey starts with sadness, followed by comfort that results from self-recognition, which is followed by the desire for repentance. This is climaxed by Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.<br /><br /> The final stop on our odyssey is Sukkot, the festival of joy. We learn to serve the Almighty with sincere happiness, having wrung this lesson from the awe and reverence of the preceding High Holy Days. We come to this understanding only after we have cleansed ourselves of all delusions and illusions, returning to G-d under whose protection we now dwell, as symbolized by the sukkah in which we are now asked to reside.<br /><br /> At this season we recite an additional psalm in our morning prayers. In it is written: "In the days of trouble, He will hide me in His Sukkah." It does not say "house" but rather "sukkah." This is also true of the addition to the Grace After Meals during Sukkot, "And spread over us the sukkah of Your peace." Not a house, but a sukkah! We beseech G-d for real security, which is supplied not by our power or technological skill but only by G-d. His providence and protection is symbolized by the sukkah, which holds no illusions of power but which is strong and secure by merit of G-d's protection.<br /><br /> I recall, in this regard, the enormous gratitude I felt after the big earthquake of 1989, which took place during the festival of Sukkot. To the best of my knowledge, not a single sukkah in the area collapsed because of the tremor.<br /><br /> We can now begin to comprehend why it is that just as we were celebrating the great joy of the Sukkot harvest in the midst of affluence and prosperity, we were commanded to move from our sturdy home into the frail dwelling of a sukkah. Our happiness is complete not when our storehouses are overflowing and our stomachs are full, but when we are surrounded by the sukkah and can absorb the truth that our real sense of security rests in G-d's hands.<br /><br /> A few years ago, after an article appeared in this newspaper suggesting an agenda to be discussed as we "sit in our sukkot," my wife prevailed upon the editor to first encourage everyone to build, decorate and sit in a sukkah before concerning ourselves with possible topics of conversation. She advised him that many of our children are bereft for lack of this sublimely beautiful practice. One can only pray that this wonderful and meaningful observance will indeed spread and grow. In this merit may we soon see the fulfillment of our supplication, "Spread over us the sukkah of your peace upon us and all of your people, Israel and upon Jerusalem."<br /><br /> Chag sameach.</p> <p> </p>

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