Our sages call the shade of the succah "the shadow of faith". Generally speaking, when a person sits within the confines of his own house, he feels confident and has no fear. It is only when he leaves his home and sleeps outside that his confidence diminishes. He fears animals, thieves, etc.
With the Jewish People, the opposite holds, however. As long as they sit at home, they fear lest wealth and complacence will bring them to arrogance and they will forget G-d. When Succot arrives, a Jew leaves his home and sleeps in his succah under the shadow of faith. His heart fills with joy and trust in G-d, for he is doing the will of his Maker, finding refuge under G-d's wing. Whoever finds refuge there has no fear but only joy.
As we know, the mitzvah of sitting in one's succah and the mitzvah of settling Eretz Yisrael resemble each other. In the case of the succah, a person puts his whole body in the succah, lives in it, eats and drinks and sleeps in it, thereby fulfilling the mitzvah properly.
It is the same with settling the Land of Israel. A Jew who comes to the Land and lives in it ascends spiritually, basks in the atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael and gains wisdom from the place where the Divine Presence resides. Here in Eretz Yisrael, the Jews grow full of fortitude and trust in G-d. Really, all they have done is to return home to their natural abode; yet, whether they know it or not, they are fulfilling the commandment of their Creator.
Today, just as every moment that we sit in the succah we fulfill a mitzvah, so, too, every moment that we dwell in the Land and settle it, we are fulfilling a mitzvah. From dwelling in the Land, we not only gain merit ourselves, but we also bring merit to the Jewish People and to the whole world through the revealed glory of G-d.
This is especially true regarding the Jews who settle Gush Katif, Judea and Samaria, literally risking their lives to settle our land. The merit of Eretz Yisrael defends them and shall continue to do so. The faith under whose wing they take refuge is the "shadow of faith" of our generation.
I shall bless them with G-d's blessing to Joshua bin Nun: "Be strong and courageous!" (Joshua 10:25) May G-d be with you! How fortunate we all are that we have people like you!
With blessings for a joyous Succot.
With the Jewish People, the opposite holds, however. As long as they sit at home, they fear lest wealth and complacence will bring them to arrogance and they will forget G-d. When Succot arrives, a Jew leaves his home and sleeps in his succah under the shadow of faith. His heart fills with joy and trust in G-d, for he is doing the will of his Maker, finding refuge under G-d's wing. Whoever finds refuge there has no fear but only joy.
As we know, the mitzvah of sitting in one's succah and the mitzvah of settling Eretz Yisrael resemble each other. In the case of the succah, a person puts his whole body in the succah, lives in it, eats and drinks and sleeps in it, thereby fulfilling the mitzvah properly.
It is the same with settling the Land of Israel. A Jew who comes to the Land and lives in it ascends spiritually, basks in the atmosphere of Eretz Yisrael and gains wisdom from the place where the Divine Presence resides. Here in Eretz Yisrael, the Jews grow full of fortitude and trust in G-d. Really, all they have done is to return home to their natural abode; yet, whether they know it or not, they are fulfilling the commandment of their Creator.
Today, just as every moment that we sit in the succah we fulfill a mitzvah, so, too, every moment that we dwell in the Land and settle it, we are fulfilling a mitzvah. From dwelling in the Land, we not only gain merit ourselves, but we also bring merit to the Jewish People and to the whole world through the revealed glory of G-d.
This is especially true regarding the Jews who settle Gush Katif, Judea and Samaria, literally risking their lives to settle our land. The merit of Eretz Yisrael defends them and shall continue to do so. The faith under whose wing they take refuge is the "shadow of faith" of our generation.
I shall bless them with G-d's blessing to Joshua bin Nun: "Be strong and courageous!" (Joshua 10:25) May G-d be with you! How fortunate we all are that we have people like you!
With blessings for a joyous Succot.