Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Imagine for a few moments being able to travel in a time machine, and return to the year 660 bce right in the days of Sukkot, and travel across the planet to land in what is now Northern Israel. Imagine also, that you have arrived at a village in the Galilee, and that you observe from afar a family of farmers, with children, cattle, camels, all of them traveling on their way to Jerusalem. It is one of the three journeys that this poor family makes, during the pilgrimage periods to participate in the great celebrations of Sukkot and visit the great first Temple that King Solomon built.

In this exercise in imagination, suppose that you can follow them and accompany them until they reach the great gates of the walled city. Now imagine the reaction of their children who visit the holy city and arrive at the Temple for the first time in their lives. Before them would be the splendor of the great city, which is visited by a huge number of people. Surely those kids had never seen so many people gathered in their own town. For them, the great walls of the city and the hugeness of the sacred temple were as imposing and impressive as it has been for many, for example, while visiting the tallest building in New York, or the pyramids in Egypt, or Teotihuacán in Mexico, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris, one is amazed by how imposing the Temple was.

Having this imagination exercise, I would like to question, what would it mean for thousands of Israelites in the Land of Israel, to experience the festival of Sukkot while both Temples existed in Jerusalem. Apart from having to change the fixed and routine lifestyle by moving to a flimsy Sukkah, this family, along with thousands of others, also had to experience an impressive change between the quiet life in the countryside and nature, to the great city they arrive to, and within it, to find a new cultural life. Imagine being able to meet the great sages who taught in academies, to listen to the music of the Levites in the Temple, playing trumpets, shofars, drums, tambourines and flutes to accompany the Cohanim carrying out the sacrifices of dozens of animals. These families could, perhaps for the first time, be astonished at the magnificence of the architecture, not only of the Temple, but of other large buildings. They could also had contact with so many people who came from towns that surely did not even know of its existence! Sukkot was quite a cultural and social event!

Now let's go back in our time machine to Shreveport, Louisiana and the year 2025. What does all this mean to us? Like those families far away in time and space, during the Sukkot festival TODAY we also have two experiences: The first is to get out of the fixed, concrete, safe and reliable home, to a temporary Sukkah of palm, with leaks if it rains, cold for some, and for others even a dangerous mitzva to fulfill. The other experience is from the daily routine, the comfort zone, from the profane home, to a temporary challenge, to a zone of change, from the Sukkah that represents the sacredness of the Bet Hamikdash of that time. It is the departure from the known, to the new, to the unknown, the important thing is THE TRANSITION ITSELF. The ideal practice to fulfill the mitzvah of Sucot, would be to sleep in it, but at least eating once a day in it, in a not comfortable place. We could ask ourselves, what we do consider as fixed, safe and reliable? Is our home really fixed, safe and reliable as well? We are all aware that unexpected changes of nature, a war, a fire or a tornado (God forbid), can shake the foundations of our society, our community and our family as well.

Hasn’t it happened to you on some occasions, that just when we live enjoying an economic tranquility, in the midst of a stable routine of work, studies, labor, like in the Book of Job a disturbing spirit suddenly appears and wonders: What would happen if...? And then, an unexpected change happens God forbid: This is how it happened with the October 7^th war, or with a hurricane, or an earthquake, or an accident, an illness, and even a madman who decided to go outside a synagogue in Manchester and kill two people coming out from Yom Kippur services. All of this may brake the tranquility of our existence, and places us in a situation similar to that of living in a Sukkah and eating under a palm roof... Can anyone ensure our tranquility in the future? Any insurance company would answer negatively.

Living in a Sukkah, transporting ourselves into it, and leaving our comfort, is a good way to experience a test situation, to know "what would happen if". In experiencing this situation, we can first of all remember that it is just a simulacrum of something we could, God forbid, experience ourselves. And by understanding it this way, we can then value and bless the Eternal, for being able to enjoy our own comfort zone: a fixed home, with a safe and secure roof, a soft bed, a fridge with food in it, the heat system at home, electricity, internet...

On the other hand, by blessing in the Sukkah: LESHEV BASukkah, we are not only fulfilling a Mitzva of the Torah, because it is written, but also because being insecure, temporarily, without all the benefits that it represents having a fixed house, STILL, it is something we also have to bless for. The Mishna in Berachot 9:2 makes it clear that although the blessings are different, we are expected to accept both good and evil with blessing, since both are the will of the Almighty. In fact, this can be quite a difficult task: can we really expect someone to cheerfully thank God for the bad as well as the good?

A Hasidic tale recounts the attitude of Reb Meshulam Zusha of Anipoli who lived until the end of the 18^th century. His teacher Reb Dov Ber, known as the Maggid (the preacher) of Mezeritch, was once asked: "How is it possible to accept the good and the bad with true equanimity, thanking the Almighty for both with equal intensity?" The Maggid replied, "Go and ask my student, Reb Zusha". The students searched for Reb Zusha and found him sitting in a corner, in rags, in a little hut, an image that only recalled great poverty, pain and suffering. They entered his hut and asked, "Reb Zusha, the Maggid sent us to you. How is it possible to accept good and evil with true equanimity?" Hearing the question, Reb Zusha was shocked and told them, "I'm sorry, but you must be wrong, for I am not the right person to ask, because I, thank God, have never experienced anything bad!" Reb Zusha could fully see the divine hand in everything, even in a simple hut. From God's perspective everything is good! misfortune is just a human evaluation. Reb Zusha was able to see beyond the time perspective and recognize everything as the will of the Almighty. Reb Zusha's level is indeed very high and perhaps beyond the reach of those facing the vicissitudes of life.

I hope that while being at the Sukkah, when we bless LESHEV BASukkah, we may understand the great message for not only living in the Sukkah, but also of our own lives, and we can understand it at a deep level, like Reb Zusha, so we can always face the vicissitudes that we have in our lives are: Hakol Letova! In the end, everything is for the good!
 

Shabat Shalom, Chag Sukkot Sameach and Moadim Lesimcha!

Rabbi David Laor

October 10^th, 2025