Sukkoth

Succot

by Rabbi David Friedman

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the festival of Sukkot for seven days, for the purposes of Adonai. On the first day is a holy time of gathering; all wage-earning work is forbidden… You will sit in sukkot for seven days, every citizen of Israel will sit in sukkot, so that your generations will experience the fact that I sat the people of Israel down in sukkot when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.” (Leviticus 23. 34-35, 41-43, my translation)

As I sit in our beautifully decorated sukkah this year, I hear the sounds of Israel during our most joyful mo’ed (national meeting time with God): beautiful melodies are coming from the synagogues surrounding my home; the Hasidic community in town can be heard, with hundreds of men singing in unison, all in joyful tunes. Then there is the sound that only God Himself can produce: the long-awaited thunder, signaling the change of seasons and the rainfall for which all of us hope. A children’s group is playing and also learning texts of the Torah together, happily singing as Zechariah told us they would: “So the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls, playing in its streets” (Zech. 8.5, my translation).

Such joy is inspired by the historical narrative of God’s protection and provision in Israel’s honeymoon period of our ancestors’ lives. But this joy is a bit tempered this year.

The year 5773 sees threats like the modern state of Israel has never had in our short history.  40,000 rockets are aimed against our borders from Lebanon; we don’t even know how many chemical weapons that Syria’s regime possesses, or what will happen with them as their current civil war pushes on. Syria may have transported some of these weapons into Lebanon, for the use of Hizbullah against our people on our northern border. Southern Lebanon has become a fortress-zone, with an estimated 100 villages having been abandoned and turned into Hizbullah fortress-towns. The rocketing from the Gaza strip by Hamas operatives continues; Eilat saw her first rocket ever just 3 weeks ago. Everyone saw and heard the words of the Iranian threat to Israel, directly from the Iranian president, which took place recently at the UN, on American soil. Israel’s Prime Minister is certain that Iran will have nuclear weapons by summer 2013, if not already. The Palestinian Authority continues its PR blitz against Israel, publicly denouncing Israel at every opportunity, still educating its children on the duty of violent jihad against Israel, while continuing to gladly take our tax shekels and medical supplies.

The near future has never looked so troubled from here. Every time I ride the public transportation system, I find myself praying for every person whom I can see in the bus—for protection, that in a day of conflict this person would turn to God in all earnestness; that God would preserve them physically so they may see Messiah’s return; and that God would keep them from death, exile, capture or imprisonment; and finally that He would draw each one of these persons to Him starting now. I find myself praying for the safety of the neighborhoods that I walk through in my town: for His hand of protection upon every home and family. This is our people and our state, and we are in great need of His help right now.

Moshe’s words that he spoke to HaShem in our reading for this Shabbat so well summarize what I feel:

 “Look and see that this nation is Your people.” Then He said: “My Presence will come along, and I will grant you rest.” Then he said to Him: “If Your face doesn’t come along, don’t bring us up from here.” (Ex. 33.13b-15, my translation)

Moshe recognized that the only important factor in the survival of Israel in his generation was that God Himself would “walk alongside” Israel … that He would educate, protect and provide for the people. If He didn’t, then there was no chance that the people could survive and fulfill the holy role that He had given to us (cf. Ex. 19.5-6).

This year and this Sukkot bring with it a cry to our hearts. It is a cry echoed in the lives of many of us here in the Land. It is a similar cry, I believe, to what Moshe expressed to HaShem in Exodus 33.13-15, quoted above. I would state it as follows:

“O God, how we need your mercy. As You showed Yourself to Moshe our father, please do so to our nation and people today. As You walked with Moshe and the tribes through the arid Sinai, please walk with Israel today through what our eyes see and our ears hear. Show us Who You are because we need You so much!”

Given such a cry, God’s description of Himself from our Shabbat reading is encouraging today:

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” (Ex. 34.6-7, NIV)

Given our great need for His presence in Israel, His compassion, patience, and covenant faithfulness are really appreciated! The sukkah is an historical remembrance to us of this very compassion, patience and covenant faithfulness.

As we sit in our sukkot, recalling with joy what God did for our ancestors, let us also ask Him to work similarly in the state of Israel today. “Vigorously seek God out while He can be found; call to Him in His nearness” (Isaiah 55.6, my translation). The sukkah is a place full of God’s presence. Leviticus 23 calls Sukkot a mo’ed in Hebrew. He is near to us on this national mo’ed (again, this word is nicely defined as a national time of meeting with God). During Sukkot, our Jewish people are together beneath a physical covering with a deep spiritual meaning. HaShem promises to be there. Can there be a better or more prudent time to ask Him for mercy for the nation of Israel? I cannot think of any better time.

David Friedman

UMJC rabbi

Jerusalem, Israel