Community Torah Corner, October 6, 2023

Rabbi Shira Johnston
Upper School Jewish Studies Faculty
Golda Och Academy
Shemini Atzeret 

The sukkah is a symbol of reconciliation between G-d and B'nei Yisrael. The mitzvah of building the sukkah is connected to the Days of Awe and the processes of teshuvah and forgiveness. In the Gemara in Sukkah 11b, we find that Rabbi Eliezer associates the sukkah with the ananei kavod, “the clouds of glory,” which protected the B'nei Yisrael on their journeys through the wilderness. The clouds of glory accompanied the B'nei Yisrael when they left Egypt, and they were a tangible reminder of G-d’s presence.

After the events of the golden calf; however, the clouds of glory departed. With the departure of the ananei kavod, it may have seemed to the people that G-d would never forgive them for the sin of the golden calf and the betrayal of the covenant. Yet, G-d does forgive. Not only does G-d forgive, but the covenant is “amended” to have forgiveness at its heart. This forgiveness lives at the very heart of our relationship with G-d.  
When Moshe goes up to Har Sinai a second time, on the first of Ellul, he remains there for the next forty days, coming down the mountain on Yom Kippur with the two tablets of the covenant. The sin of the golden calf was forgiven on Yom Kippur, and it was then that the ananei kavod returned to the B'nei Yisrael. Why, then, do we not celebrate Sukkot immediately after Yom Kippur, on the very next day?

The Vilna Gaon wrote that the clouds of glory may not have returned to the camp immediately. Full atonement came only with the building of the mishkan, which began on the 15th of Tishrei. Building the sukkah evokes the building of the mishkan. As such, it reflects our reconciliation with G-d and the renewal of the covenant.

Sitting in the sukkah reflects our joy at being forgiven and reconciled with G-d during the Days of Awe. The sukkah, the mishkan, and the ananei kavod are interconnected. The sukkah is connected to the ananei kavod, the presence of the divine which we can experience in our world. The return of the ananei kavod is connected to the building of the mishkan, which begins on the 15th of Tishre, the first day of Sukkot. Dwelling in the sukkah expresses our joy at being, once again, close to G-d.
_______________________________________________________________
  1. Rashi, Shemot 34
  2. Gra, Kol Eliyahu number 84
  3. Tanchuma, Terumah 8
Back

Wilf Lower School Campus

Eric F. Ross Upper School Campus

©2020 Golda Och Academy - All Rights Reserved