The Outdoors
In his book, Inside Outside, Herman Wouk describes the struggle of living a Jewish life in a non Jewish society. It is a masterful description of living by one set of values at home and encountering a different one on the street.


Every Jew in the Diaspora identifies with this dichotomy. I feel it every Shabbat when I walk outside. To me, Shabbat is a sacred day. To my neighbors, it's just another

We usually associate religious life with religious activities.

weekend. On Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and inspiration, the contrast is most stark. In the synagogue, the day pulses with religious fervor. Outside, it is just another afternoon.


The festival of Sukkot is an exception. During this festival, we build sukkot, festive outdoor huts, and celebrate our Jewishness outside. When we step out of our homes or synagogues into the usually secular environment, we encounter the uniquely Jewish and sacred sukkah.


Outside Activities
The sukkah not only sanctifies our outside space, but also our outside activities. We usually associate religious life with religious activities. Prayer and charity are considered holy. Eating and sports are comparatively mundane and not associated with Judaism. For the purpose of this essay, we will lable them "outside activities."


Yet, the sukkah brings holiness even to those activities that are usually viewed as mundane. Anything we do, whether playing a game, eating dinner or studying the Torah, becomes a mitzvah when it is done in the sukkah.


The sukkah demonstrates that Judaism is not only celebrated with "inside (religious) activities," but with "outside (mundane) activities," too. So long as they are conducted in accordance with G-d's instructions, mundane activities can be labeled holy.


Absorbed
Another beautiful element of the sukkah is that it fully absorbs us. When we step into a sukkah, we literally step into the mitzvah and the sacred energy it generates.

In the land of Israel... outside and inside are in perfect harmony.



Such complete immersion is otherwise only achieved through meditation.


The perfect meditative state is one of total immersion and complete concentration. In the perfect meditative state, the consciousness is utterly immersed in the meditative experience and unleashes a spontaneous flow of spiritual energy.


Those who engage in a mitzvah through meditation inspire their souls to great heights. Their mitzvah is not only performed by their bodily limbs, but also by their entire beings. So absorbed are they in their mitzvah that it becomes their reality.


The sukkah inspires a similar state of total immersion. When we enter the sukkah, we are fully surrounded and totally immersed in the bond with G-d that this mitzvah effects. The entire sukkah pulses with Divine energy and it absorbs us completely.


Israel
Herman Wouk's Inside Outside struggle is only prevalent in the Diaspora. In the land of Israel, there is no contrast; outside and inside are in perfect harmony. It is like living in one large sukkah, where the rabbi and the street vendor are both Jewish; the synagogue and the mall are both on holy ground. You don't need to enter the synagogue to engage Judaism - the street is as Jewish as the synagogue is.


It is the only country where we can engage our Jewishness fully and never worry about what others think. In Israel, there is no dichotomy; we are one with our Jewishness and are proud to be Jewish.


The Pitfall
That the sukkah atmosphere prevails throughout the land presents a potential drawback. When shopping is as Jewish as praying, it is easy to grow lax in religious observance. When the streets feel as Jewish as the synagogue, there is no need to enter the synagogue.


In the Diaspora, where the mall and the streets feel distinctly un-Jewish, the synagogue is the only place that feels Jewish. The only way to feel Jewish in the Diaspora is to observe the Jewish rituals.


In Israel, Judaism is an identity. In the Diaspora, it is a way of life.


The Sukkah
In a Utopian world, we would have the best of both elements. We would merge the

Merge the practice of the Diaspora with the sanctity of Israel.

practice of the Diaspora with the sanctity of Israel. Our world is not a Utopia, but we have something nearly as good - we have the sukkah, which helps us work toward this goal.


On Sukkot, we bring our Jewishness outside. It does not encompass the whole of the land, only the sukkah - the festive hut of ritual observance. Bound by the sukkah walls, our outside Jewishness does not lose its religious meaning.


Celebrating Judaism outdoors on Sukkot prepares us for the sense of Jewish identity felt throughout the land of Israel. Ensuring that our outdoor celebration occurs in the sukkah, a hut of ritual observance, ensures our fidelity to religious observance.