Welcome to the daily chizuk (encouragement). The Zohar calls the holiday of Sukkot the Tzela de-Mehemnuta, the shade of emunah. What’s the explanation? The Torah commands us to sit in the sukkah (hut) to remind ourselves how Hashem protected our ancestors in the desert with Sukkot. But it’s not just a commemoration. It’s to teach us that Hashem protects us now the same way.
There’s a machloket (disagreement) in the Gemara about which miracle exactly we are remembering. Rebbe Eliezer says it’s that Hashem protected us with the clouds of glory. The clouds were like a fortress for the Jewish people. It was comfortable there. The temperature was just right. But Rebbe Akiva says we’re remembering that the Jews sat in regular huts made out of wood, just like we do today. According to Rebbe Eliezer, the holiday is understandable. The clouds of glory were a huge miracle. But according to Rebbe Akiva, what’s the big deal that they sat in huts? And Rebbe Eliezer says—Yitzchak Sher explains—according to Rebbe Akiva, we are remembering that Hashem provided wood for every single individual family in the middle of the desert. It wasn’t just a general miracle for all of Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people). Rather, Hashem helped everyone separately. Every family had a house. This is Hashgacha Pratit (individual supervision). Everyone was given exactly what they needed for their family to be protected from the elements. This shows the love that Hashem has for us individually.
The Maharal writes similarly, that on Sukkot, we are celebrating that Hashem protects us as individuals. Every moment of the day, we are sitting in His shelter. And while we’re sitting in the sukkah, we should have in mind the clouds of glory as well as Hashem’s individual supervision. We know that the sukkah only has to be made up of two walls and a tefach, which is a little bit. And the Arizal says this represents the image of an arm embracing. From the shoulder to the elbow is one arm. From the elbow to the fingers is the second wall. And the curl of the fingers is the tefach. And when we sit in the sukkah, we are in the embrace of Hashem.
We also know that the sukkah has to provide more shade than sun. And I saw an explanation that the sukkah represents emunah, being in the shade of Hashem, while the sun, the light, represents knowledge and understanding. The emunah has to overpower the sechel (intellect). We don’t have to understand everything. But we have to know Hashem is watching and protecting. Hashem is always looking out for us as individuals. Sometimes we just have to believe. And sometimes Hashem actually shows us.
A few years ago, around this time, someone I know had his salary cut significantly. The place he worked at wasn’t doing so well, and they had to cut all the salaries. He turned to Hashem and said, “Hashem, I don’t have the time to take on any other steady jobs. But I need that money. Please, can you make up the difference?” A few days later, he got a bill sent to his house from the homeowner’s insurance, which had never happened before. It’s usually sent directly to the mortgage company. He looked at the bill in astonishment. How could the insurance be so expensive? He decided to do some research and found another insurance that had the exact same coverage for thousands of dollars less. So he switched insurances. At the very same time, he was offered another job that paid very well. The job would only be for a few days a year. And it turns out that the amount of money from that job, plus the amount he saved on insurance, was the exact amount that he had just lost. Look at the Yad Hashem (the hand of Hashem). The sukkah reminds us: We are always in the embrace of Hashem. And whether we see it or not, Hashem is always looking out for us. May we all merit to feel Hashem’s Hashgacha (providence). And may we all have a Chag Sameach. Tizku Hashem. Shanim Rabot.