The holiday of Sukkot is all about living precariously. Unlike Passover, which can take weeks of preparation, the holiday of Sukkot is all about simplicity. It is the simple things in life, the holiday reminds you, that are the most important. Life is, at least for this brief period of time, all about the basics: shelter, food and family.
No matter how fancy the sukkah, it remains a temporary building we erect and then dismantle. The decorations we hang don't change the fact that we are at the mercy of the outdoors. Hot, cold, rain, snow - it makes no difference what the weather is on a given day. The point is that you are outside, exposed, open to all.
Within the limitations placed on us (required dimensions, permissible materials, how much or how little must be covered), the commandments are clear. First ordered outside of the permanent and comfortable shelters we have built, we are, at the same time, ordered to protect ourselves and our families. We must build a shelter, gather our families, and eat, sleep and live there.
In a very real sense, Sukkot is about being exposed to potentially hostile elements and it is for this reason one can easily understand that Israel itself is perhaps the largest sukkah of all. We can surround ourselves with an army, build a wall and establish checkpoints, but ultimately, as we can see from the tragic events on the first day of Sukkot, we are living precariously.
When you think about the rockets that are launched against our cities daily, the uncertainty of where the next rocket will fall, our fate seems to be out of our control and others might be forgiven for believing that the message of the holiday seems to imply that this is as it should be. The reality, however, is far different. We are not ordered to endanger ourselves, nor are we ordered to battle the elements unequipped and alone. Our enemies see our vulnerability, that we have left the safety of our homes and they seek to take advantage of our weakness.
The message the Palestinians have consistently tried to deliver over the last four years of this most recent Intifada is that we in Israel should have no safety, no protection. No matter where we are, at home, in a bus, in a school or cafe. Whether we are walking or running or sleeping or shopping, traveling or learning, playing basketball, hiking or eating, we should be afraid they will attack us if they can. There are no limits to which they will not go, no place they will not attack. No one is too young, too old, too frail. All are enemies, all are targets. To live in Israel, the Palestinians promise, is to live precariously.
In this, they are correct. Life is precarious. This message is one that we as a people have heard before, one that has been delivered by many enemies in the past. But it is also a message we have received from Above. To succeed as a nation and a people, we must understand the difference between those who seek to impose this message on us out of hatred, and He who offers this message out of love.
What Sukkot teaches us is that you can protect yourself. Not only can you take measures to ensure your survival in a precarious world, you are commanded to take these steps. The world of Sukkot is very clearly defined. For a few brief days, we are to learn the lesson, and then return to the safer, more comfortable world we have built for the other 51 weeks of the year.
It seems particularly befitting that Israel should begin a battle against incoming rockets on Sukkot. It is time for the army to act decisively, to build a sukkah over our country. It is our obligation to protect and fight against the precarious life our enemies would force against us because to allow these murderous acts to continue would be a desecration of the lives we have built, the lives we have lost, the land that is ours.
If we are to learn the lesson of Sukkot, the army will act decisively now to protect the nation. Sukkot is not about going unarmed against your enemy, nor is it about accepting unconditionally that others will seek to do us harm. What we must learn in our relationship between our people and Our Master is not the same as what we must learn between our people and our mortal enemies.
The lesson of Sukkot is that if we have faith and protect ourselves as we can (by building a sukkah and braving the elements), God will, in turn, protect us, as well. That is the lesson we have sought to teach ourselves for thousands of years and it remains relevant today. It is not, however, related to the lesson that the Palestinians are seeking to teach us.
The building of the sukkah, in a very symbolic sense, is equivalent to the defense measures we must take against our enemies. They must not be allowed to attack as they wish. We are not expected to let them shower us with rockets, bombs and bullets without taking whatever measures are needed to protect ourselves.
In the name of Afik, Tifferet, Yuval and Dorit and dozens of others whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the endless rocket attacks that have turned our southern region into a shooting range, the army must finally be allowed to protect us against the elements, the cruelty of our enemies and the precarious life they would inflict upon us.
No matter how fancy the sukkah, it remains a temporary building we erect and then dismantle. The decorations we hang don't change the fact that we are at the mercy of the outdoors. Hot, cold, rain, snow - it makes no difference what the weather is on a given day. The point is that you are outside, exposed, open to all.
Within the limitations placed on us (required dimensions, permissible materials, how much or how little must be covered), the commandments are clear. First ordered outside of the permanent and comfortable shelters we have built, we are, at the same time, ordered to protect ourselves and our families. We must build a shelter, gather our families, and eat, sleep and live there.
In a very real sense, Sukkot is about being exposed to potentially hostile elements and it is for this reason one can easily understand that Israel itself is perhaps the largest sukkah of all. We can surround ourselves with an army, build a wall and establish checkpoints, but ultimately, as we can see from the tragic events on the first day of Sukkot, we are living precariously.
When you think about the rockets that are launched against our cities daily, the uncertainty of where the next rocket will fall, our fate seems to be out of our control and others might be forgiven for believing that the message of the holiday seems to imply that this is as it should be. The reality, however, is far different. We are not ordered to endanger ourselves, nor are we ordered to battle the elements unequipped and alone. Our enemies see our vulnerability, that we have left the safety of our homes and they seek to take advantage of our weakness.
The message the Palestinians have consistently tried to deliver over the last four years of this most recent Intifada is that we in Israel should have no safety, no protection. No matter where we are, at home, in a bus, in a school or cafe. Whether we are walking or running or sleeping or shopping, traveling or learning, playing basketball, hiking or eating, we should be afraid they will attack us if they can. There are no limits to which they will not go, no place they will not attack. No one is too young, too old, too frail. All are enemies, all are targets. To live in Israel, the Palestinians promise, is to live precariously.
In this, they are correct. Life is precarious. This message is one that we as a people have heard before, one that has been delivered by many enemies in the past. But it is also a message we have received from Above. To succeed as a nation and a people, we must understand the difference between those who seek to impose this message on us out of hatred, and He who offers this message out of love.
What Sukkot teaches us is that you can protect yourself. Not only can you take measures to ensure your survival in a precarious world, you are commanded to take these steps. The world of Sukkot is very clearly defined. For a few brief days, we are to learn the lesson, and then return to the safer, more comfortable world we have built for the other 51 weeks of the year.
It seems particularly befitting that Israel should begin a battle against incoming rockets on Sukkot. It is time for the army to act decisively, to build a sukkah over our country. It is our obligation to protect and fight against the precarious life our enemies would force against us because to allow these murderous acts to continue would be a desecration of the lives we have built, the lives we have lost, the land that is ours.
If we are to learn the lesson of Sukkot, the army will act decisively now to protect the nation. Sukkot is not about going unarmed against your enemy, nor is it about accepting unconditionally that others will seek to do us harm. What we must learn in our relationship between our people and Our Master is not the same as what we must learn between our people and our mortal enemies.
The lesson of Sukkot is that if we have faith and protect ourselves as we can (by building a sukkah and braving the elements), God will, in turn, protect us, as well. That is the lesson we have sought to teach ourselves for thousands of years and it remains relevant today. It is not, however, related to the lesson that the Palestinians are seeking to teach us.
The building of the sukkah, in a very symbolic sense, is equivalent to the defense measures we must take against our enemies. They must not be allowed to attack as they wish. We are not expected to let them shower us with rockets, bombs and bullets without taking whatever measures are needed to protect ourselves.
In the name of Afik, Tifferet, Yuval and Dorit and dozens of others whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the endless rocket attacks that have turned our southern region into a shooting range, the army must finally be allowed to protect us against the elements, the cruelty of our enemies and the precarious life they would inflict upon us.