How Sukkot is a Holiday for G-d

In comparison to other major holidays like Pesach and Shavuot, which celebrate the occurrence of a historical event, Sukkot is celebrating something that will happen. There was no exact date for the Jewish people to move into huts in the desert. As we spoke about earlier, the sukkah can represent the holy clouds protecting the Jewish People in the desert, but are we forgetting about another crucial miracle? One that we would not have survived without? If you still aren’t remembering, I’ll just tell you: the Mannah. Yet, we don’t celebrate this in the Jewish calendar. 

There is a reason why Sukkot happens in the seventh month of the year, this is because the Jewish people had just done Teshuva. We had just elevated ourselves to be closer to G-d. 

Pesach and Shavuot are holidays that represent a reward to Israel, miracles that were given because the Jews had proven themselves to follow the path of the Torah, the path of righteousness. These holidays are categorized as “for G-d ”, for which they prove to G-d that He created man for a reason and that they would turn into the nation of Israel and follow His ways. These holidays are a reminder for G-d. 

The Jewish people had not always proven themselves holy and close to G-d, so let me sadly remind you of the time of the Golden Calf. This was a moment of weakness for the Jewish people, a lapse in faith that we will forever be reminded of. The angels took this major lapse in judgment as an opportunity to confront G-d that Man never needed to be created, and they had indeed voted against them. After these dark days, Yom Kippur arrives, and the souls of the Jewish people are restored. 

By this logic, the holiday of Sukkot is established because the Jewish people continue to follow the way of G-d. This wasn’t a new year resolution that we forgot about within the first month of the year. This was a change in mindset that stuck with us. We continued to follow what we said; we continued to follow G-d. 

The 15th of Tishrei is the first day our Teshuva is acknowledged after Yom Kippur. We shake the Lulav and Etrog and cover ourselves, spiritually,  with the holiness of G-d. The goal is to see us change and protect ourselves from our inner evil urges. It takes great strength to overcome an urge, and we are showing our progress. 

To take this idea to the broader world, each day of Sukkot represents a decade in all of our lives. Just as we do not remain in the holy Sukkah, we do not remain on this earth forever. It is just a stepping stone to help us reach the ultimate destination, Olam Haba. Just like the first day of Sukkot, the first decade of all of our lives are sin-free. Each day we offer sacrifices for the rest of our people, AKA the 70 tribes. 

On the 8th day, after all the urges have left us and we have proven ourselves to G-d, it is finally “for us.” This is because it is not the Jewish people’s turn to celebrate our achievements. It is finally Israel’s opportunity to commemorate.