With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur behind us, the holiday of Sukkot is fast approaching. Perhaps the most visible symbol of Sukkot is the Sukkah, the temporary structure that the JCC and most congregations build to commemorate the holiday, and that many of us also place in our yards.
There are many reasons for building, and dwelling in, a Sukkah. The Torah specifically tells us to "live in Sukkahs for 7 days...in order that future generations will know that [God] made the Israelite people live in Sukkahs when [God] brought them out of the land of Egypt..."
What is the purpose of dwelling in the Sukkah? Let's take a look at a few commentators. The first suggestion is from Isaac Aboab a 14th century Talmudic scholar living in Spain. He said:
The commandment to dwell in the Sukkah is intended to teach us that a person must not put his/her trust in the size or strength or salutary conveniences of his/her house, even though it is filled with the best of everything; nor should he/she rely on the help of any person, even if that person is the lord of the land. But let him/her put trust in God whose word called the universe into being, for God alone is mighty and faithful, and God does not retract what God promises. (Menorat Ha-Maor 3.6.1)
Rashbam (Samuel Ben Maier, 12th century France) taught that the Sukkah was about humility. He said in his commentary to Leviticus 23:43 the following:
Do not say in your heart, "My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me" (Deuteronomy 8:17); you should remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you strength to make progress. Therefore, the people leave [their] houses, which are full of everything good, at the season of the ingathering, and dwell in booths, as a reminder of those who had no possessions in the wilderness and no houses in which to live. For this reason, the Holy One established the Feast of the Tabernacles.....[so] that the people should not be (too) proud of their well-furnished houses.
Rashi (10th century France) said that the walls of each Sukkah are actually God's "cloud of glory", i.e. The cloud that led the Israelites through the desert. Thus, even though the walls may seem fragile, they are capable of providing protection.
As a harvest holiday, residing in the Sukkah helps us to commune with the natural environment around us. I have also learned that the 7 days of dwelling in the Sukkah may help us to shift from our "near-death" experience on Yom Kippur to our reintroduction back into the world.
While the Sukkah experience is unique and fun, it is not always comfortable. In fact we find ourselves living outside and subject to the weather just as it is usually beginning to turn crisp and windy. Sitting in our temporary home at night, our senses are heightened to our surroundings. We hear the wind, we hear the sounds of nature. We smell the musty scent of leaves that have fallen on the ground.
And while we are tuned in to the beauty of our surroundings, there is also a sense of how small we are when compared to the world of nature around us. Sitting in the Sukkah we become aware of the beauty and wonder of the world that God has created, while at the same time being cognizant of the fragility of life.
Sit, sense, imagine, and be wrapped in the loving embrace of our sacred traditions.
Shabbat Shalom and Moadim L'Simcha - Rabbi Michael S. Jay
Rabbi Jay's High Holiday sermons included some "home-work" using the following handouts:
The Jewish Community Center of LBI 
Let us gather our prayers in memory of the deceased. Let us express our gratitude to the first responders who saved lives on that night in Las Vegas. May they remembered for blessing by their loved ones
