Parashat Sukkot
September 14, 2021
Rabbi Josh Cahan, High School Talmud Teacher and Tefilah Chair
Clouds and Huts
There is a fascinating debate in a Midrash about what a sukkah is meant to be. God says we
should dwell in sukkot because God sheltered us in sukkot as we traveled through the desert.
But there is no other mention of the Israelites having booths during their journey. So what is
this about? Rabbi Eliezer suggests that sukkah is just another term for the tents mentioned elsewhere, while Rabbi Akiva suggests that God is alluding to the Cloud of Glory that
accompanied the people and sheltered them from the hardships of the desert climate.
should dwell in sukkot because God sheltered us in sukkot as we traveled through the desert.
But there is no other mention of the Israelites having booths during their journey. So what is
this about? Rabbi Eliezer suggests that sukkah is just another term for the tents mentioned elsewhere, while Rabbi Akiva suggests that God is alluding to the Cloud of Glory that
accompanied the people and sheltered them from the hardships of the desert climate.
The difference is not just between literal and symbolic readings. Sukkah as a hut is temporary and
fragile, providing only the bare minimum of shelter as the weather turns cold and rainy. The
Clouds of Glory are the opposite — they are the ultimate symbol of strength, protecting us from
the heat and sun, keeping us secure in God’s impermeable embrace. The sukkah, in other
words, represents at the same time two completely opposite experiences.
These two meanings are responses to two different problems. The hut image responds to the
smugness and satisfaction one might feel at the end of a successful harvest. In moments of
strength, we need to carve out a space to renew our humility, to remind us of the fragility of life
at the height of our hubris. The Clouds of Glory, by contrast, are a safe harbor when are we
filled with anxiety and fear as we look ahead to a cold and dark winter. They invite us to step
briefly off of the train hurtling toward hardship and remember the warmth and security of God’s
embrace, to give us the courage to endure what winter holds in store.
Most years I have felt that I needed the hut far more than the Clouds. We live our lives in sturdy
buildings that shield us from the cold and are masters of nature on a level even our
grandparents couldn’t imagine. Not this year. No walls were able to keep out a tiny virus, and
the end feels further away all the time. Our lives are, it turns out, subject to the whims of nature
more than we would have believed. I am so ready to sink into the embrace of God’s Cloud this
week, to eat and laugh with friends in our well-ventilated, Covid-safe outdoor dwellings. And to
remember, I hope, that God’s love is with us through all the ups and downs, and that life, in all its
richness, is still there to be lived, even if we have to get creative about how we do so.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.