1. Amidst everything that’s going on, the holidays are an anchor that gives strength. And tonight - Sukkot 5786 begins. We are entering a week into a new and holy home - the sukkah. It reminds us of the sukkot (huts) in which our ancestors lived during the great journey from Egypt to the Land of Israel. Today there is a special candle lighting for the holiday, a special Kiddush text and then the holiday meal, and there is also a blessing for sitting in the sukkah.
2. Tomorrow, Tuesday morning - we will begin to fulfill the mitzvah of the four species. We take together an etrog, myrtle, lulav and willow and bless over them each day of Sukkot (except Shabbat). There is much meaning to this connection between the four species, which symbolize all types of Jews, and also all the parts that exist within our souls.
3. Sukkot is called "the time of our joy." It is the only holiday about which the Torah says "and you shall rejoice in your festival." There is an actual commandment to rejoice in it. We add many additions to the prayers, including the "Hallel" which is composed of festive chapters of Psalms. There are many other customs. For example, Simchat Beit HaShoevah (joyous events with music held every evening, commemorating the great celebration that took place in the Holy Temple during these days). May we merit to draw joy from the holiday this year, and may it be filled with joyful events.
4. Each day of the seven days of Sukkot, one of the seven "ushpizin" (guests) comes to us in the sukkah - the forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, Yosef the tzadik, Moshe Rabbenu, Aharon the Kohen and King David. There is a special text said when inviting the "ushpiz" of that day, and some have the custom to study each day about the guest who "arrives" that day. On this day we meet with the message of that guest, with his special quality, with the spiritual content he bequeathed to us. For example, Avraham our forefather, tonight - we received from him the faith and the courage to preserve it before the whole world, kindness and hospitality, influence on others and more.
5. This is not a holiday for children only. It contains very deep messages. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote: "Sukkot reminds us that one does not need to live in a palace to be happy. The sukkah, this small hut, filled with simplicity and humility, is revealed during the holiday as far more beautiful than all the magnificent stone houses. This is a week-long workshop that teaches us to rejoice properly."
Happy Sukkot!
