Night and day they knocked on his door in their hundreds and thousands - Chassidim of all ages, people seeking spiritual guidance, people who begged him to intercede for them and give them strength in their trials and

Reb Pinchos turned to him in anguish:"Why do you not enter my sukkah?"

tribulations. So much did this distract
Rabbi Pinchos of Korets from his own service of his Maker that he prayed one day that he should be disliked. That would solve everything: people would no longer disturb him and he would be quite free of all bothersome contacts.

And indeed, from that day on he secluded himself for lone communion with the Creator. He lived austerely and was never seen in company except for when he attended synagogue for communal prayer.

The festival of Sukkos drew near and he was obliged to hire a Gentile to build his sukkah. No fellow Jew would help him, for in answer to his prayer, he was disliked by them all. The Goy did not have the tools that were needed, so the Rebbetzin had to call on the neighbors to borrow from them. That too was difficult to arrange, because her husband was so disliked.

When the first night of Sukkos came, Rabbi Pinchos asked various people to be his guest in the honor of the holiday, but not a single one would accept his invitation, because he was so disliked.

He walked home alone. Entering his sukkah, he began to chant the traditional invitation to the first of the Ushpizin. He looked up and saw the Patriarch Abraham standing right outside his sukkah - though he wouldn't enter.

Reb Pinchos turned to him in anguish:"Why do you not enter my sukkah? What is my sin?"

And Avraham Avinu replied: "It is not my custom to enter a place where there are no guests."

From that day on, Reb Pinchos prayed to the Almighty that he be restored to his former lot and that he should once again find favor in the eyes of man.

The holiday of Sukkos symbolizes unity. Over the course of this holiday many people sit in one sukkah doing the mitzvah together.

We should take the lesson of the sukkah to heart.

In fact, when commentaries discuss the time of Moshiach they speak of all people sitting in one sukkah together with the descendants of King David, which implies unity among the people. The sukkah is an equalizer. The pious and the rebellious, the old and the young, the learned and the ignorant, the wise and the unwise all do the mitzvah together.

In today's day and age, when there is so much discord and disharmony between various people and different countries, we should take the lesson of the sukkah to heart and try to create unity, harmony and love among people.

In the merit of the unity portrayed may we all sit together and celebrate with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.