The Rainwater in Your Soup Has a High Meaning
Adiel Livnat
The Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shofar, Sukkah, and Lulav 8:12) explains that even though there is a mitzvah to be happy on all festivals, on Sukkot, there is an additional mitzvah to rejoice: Regarding Sukkot, the Torah explicitly says
“You shall be happy before Hashem your G-d for seven days.”
(Vayikra 23:40)
It seems that there are two major contradictions in the instructions for us to be happy on Sukkot: the very mitzvah of the sukkah itself, and our reading of Kohelet. First, the commandment to leave our home and dwell in tiny huts, spending seven days in a temporary home with a thin roof, hardly seems conducive to increasing happiness. Furthermore, Kohelet, which we read after the Torah reading on Sukkot, describes how the pleasures of this world are futile and that all aspects of life are temporary. How can these two mitzvot, which detract from pleasure, play such integral roles in a particularly joyous holiday?
These two aspects of Sukkot bring us real happiness by reassuring us that Hashem has our back, and whatever He does is for a reason. Firstly, we are told to leave our permanent dwelling to reside in a temporary one (Sukkah 2a). From the uncertainty of a sukkah, whose roof is made of mere twigs and branches and is by no means secure, we can understand a deeper (and startling) reality in our lives: Life, in general, is uncertain, and anything can happen to us at any time. This feeling of vulnerability may be hard to appreciate as we sit in our permanent homes, surrounded by solid walls, strong ceilings, and every manner of comfort; we think that we can protect ourselves and live in indefinite security. Therefore, our sojourn in the temporary sukkah reminds us of the uncertainty of life.
Similarly, Kohelet talks about the same theme: the impermanence of life and our inability to control it. This concept can be very scary — something we have experienced firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic, when even our strongest defenses can be vanquished by an invisible foe. It is in these times when we must have full trust in Hashem, and that everything he does is for a reason.
On this note, the sukkah provides us with a measure of comfort and a lesson to take back for the rest of the year: Everything is up to Hashem, and everything He does is for the best (Berachot 60b) — and this is equally true whether we dwell in our fortified house or under a roof of mere twigs and branches. Sometimes we just need the sukkah as a reminder.
We see a very similar theme in Kohelet. After hammering in the point that physical pleasures are transient and pointless, Shlomo HaMelech switches gears, saying (Kohelet 3:14, per ArtScroll’s Stone Edition translation), “I realized that whatever G-d does will endure forever: Nothing can be added to it and nothing can be subtracted from it.” In essence, anything that will ever happen is Hashem’s doing, and what Hashem does is final and unchangeable.
While we might not always remember it in our secure homes, the uncertainty of life always exists. The sukkah and Kohelet indeed bring this fear to the forefront, but they also offer a soothing cure. It is through these two mitzvot of Sukkot that we can gain assurance of our security in the hands of Hashem, and with that in mind, we can truly experience happiness.
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