Sukkot—The Season of Our Joy

October 16, 2024

by: Ilse Strauss

Wednesday, 16 October 2024 | The rhythm of life in the Land of Promise is governed by a cycle of annual holidays, days set aside in the 12-month Israeli calendar to celebrate what Leviticus 23:2 calls, “The feasts of the Lord…” Some are solemn, dedicated to repentance and rededication. Others are more exuberant, a joyous celebration of God’s might, care, loving-kindness and faithfulness.

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) falls in the latter category. In fact, the weeklong feast is considered such a happy time that it is referred to as “the season of our joy.” Sunset tonight ushers in the festival of Sukkot—and seven days of joyous celebration—for the people of Israel according to God’s specific instruction in Leviticus 23:40, “you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.”

The Feast of Tabernacles is the last of the three Fall Feasts, following Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and marks an end to the High Holy Days.

The name Sukkot is plural for sukkah, the Hebrew word for hut or booth. The feast commemorates the 40 years a fledgling nation of former slaves wandered the desert en route to the Promised Land, living in temporary huts or sukkot—with nothing but the faithfulness of God to provide for their daily necessities, such as safety, shelter and sustenance in a barren wilderness.

Today, more than three millennia later, the descendants of those who spent four decades in the desert sustained by God’s care still celebrate Sukkot according to His command: “You shall dwell in booths for seven days…that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt…” (Lev. 23:42–43).

The days leading up to the holiday pass in a flurry of activity as Israelis become makeshift carpenters to construct temporary shelters outside their homes, in backyards and on balconies, sidewalks and every other conceivable open space. Building the sukkah is always a great family adventure, and young and old usually come together to erect and then decorate the family’s temporary dwelling.

Great care goes into ensuring that the family sukkah is as festive as possible, with the interior beautified with pictures, flags of Israel, handicrafts, flowers and fresh fruit. The temporary dwellings—often made from a frame of wood or metal, covered with sheets, rugs or blankets as “walls” and branches or leaves as the roof through which those inside can see the sky—becomes “home.” For the week of Sukkot, Israelis spend their free time in the sukkah, enjoying their meals, visiting with loved ones and even sleeping under the stars—much like their ancestors did in the wilderness.

Yet the significance of the sukkah or temporary hut goes beyond a physical reminder of God’s care to fulfil our everyday needs. Jewish tradition holds that dwelling in the sukkah is like being enfolded in God’s embrace. According to this belief, God commanded Israel to erect the temporary dwellings in memory of the “clouds of glory.”

During the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness, God provided a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The pillar of cloud guided the Israelites as they journeyed by day, but when they camped at night, the cloud took on a different form and became a tabernacle overhead. This was reportedly the same cloud of glory that hovered above Mount Sinai—the clouds of the glory of God.

While the Israelites dwelled in the desert, Jewish belief holds that God enfolded them in a tabernacle of the cloud of His glory, the cloud of His presence. Moreover, each year over Sukkot, He invites their posterity to do the same. As Israel dwells in temporary huts in memory of the cloud of His glory in the desert, they, like their forefathers, dwell in His embrace.

This year, Israel obviously finds it harder to celebrate. It has been just over a year since the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Just over a hundred hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Israel fights a physical war against those who have repeatedly vowed to destroy her on multiple fronts as well as an equality fierce war against emotive propaganda. From a worldly perspective, it seems there’s very little to celebrate, yet celebrate Israel will. At first glance, that might seem counterintuitive. Let me explain.

God Himself draws the correlation between Sukkot and joy when He instructs Israel to spend the feast in delight and jubilation before Him (Lev. 23:40). Joy is thus a decision based on God’s directive rather than a fleeting emotion.

Moreover, on Sukkot Israel remembers and affirms that true happiness is not found in the earthly trappings that money can buy; neither is stability derived from a hefty bank balance, a fancy title or a lofty position. And this year, just like so many other times during the times when it seemed like there was very little light at the end of the tunnel for the Jewish people, Israel will choose to celebrate God as the one true source of joy, love, security, provision and protection. The God who met every need of their ancestors as they wandered exposed in the wilderness for 40 years with no way to fend for themselves is the same God who continues to care for Israel in the Promised Land as the God who pledged to watch over them without slumbering or sleeping (Ps. 121:4).

On Sukkot this year, Israel affirms yet again: Am Yisrael chai! The people of Israel live because the God of Israel lives.

Bridges for Peace wishes all our Jewish friends a happy Sukkot and a festive season of joy in the God of Israel.

Posted on October 16, 2024

Source: (Bridges for Peace, October 16, 2024)

Photo Credit: Zoe McHenry/bridgesforpeace.com