Sukkot - Day to Day
The key to spiritual success lies in bringing meaning and holiness to everyday life.
There’s an intriguing mitzvah on the first night of Sukkot: we are required to eat an olive-sized (kezayit) or egg-sized (kebeitza) portion of bread (or matzah, according to the Pri Megadim) in the sukkah. This mitzvah reflects the Torah’s היקש —a conceptual link—between Sukkot and Pesach, as both holidays begin on the 15th of their respective months.
Building on this connection, the Gemara in Mesechet Sukkah (27a) establishes the obligation to eat bread in the sukkah on the first night of Sukkot, just as we are obligated to eat matzah on the first night of Pesach. But why does the Torah introduce this connection between the two holidays in the first place?
To explore this further, we must ask a broader question: Why are there two holidays, Pesach and Sukkot, that commemorate the Exodus? The Tur suggests that ideally, we would observe Sukkot in the spring alongside Pesach, since both recall the Exodus, and the spring is when Yetzias Mitzrayim occurred. However, Sukkot is celebrated in the fall so living in a sukkah stands out as a mitzvah, not simply as a way to enjoy pleasant weather. But the question remains: why do we need two holidays for the same event?
I think the answer lies in the distinct aspects of יציאת מצרים that each holiday highlights. Pesach celebrates the miracles—the dramatic moments of liberation from Egypt. In contrast, Sukkot commemorates the day-to-day life of the Jewish people in the desert, when they dwelled in actual huts (in the words of the Gemara: סוכות ממש) and depended on the Clouds of Glory (ענני הכבוד) to shield them from the harsh desert conditions. While Pesach focuses on the miraculous, Sukkot emphasizes the steady, divine protection that sustained them.
This connection deepens when we consider why Sukkot follows Yom Kippur. The Midrash teaches that the four species—lulav, etrog, hadasim, and aravot—symbolize our victory over Satan after Yom Kippur, representing our positive judgment for the coming year. These species, comparable to the weapons of a victorious army, reflect our spiritual success.
After the intense spiritual high of Yom Kippur, Sukkot allows us to focus on bringing that inspiration into our everyday lives, represented by the sukkah.
The key message of Sukkot is not just about commemorating past miracles, but about living with God in the everyday. True spiritual success isn’t defined by extraordinary moments, but by how we live day-to-day. Sukkot reminds us to bring the holiness of the extraordinary into the mundane.
We see this lesson in the story of Avraham. After the monumental test of the עקידה (the Binding of Isaac), which occurred on Rosh Hashanah, Avraham returned to the everyday tasks of life. In the Torah’s narrative, this transition is marked by his negotiation for a burial plot for Sarah. My Rebbe, Rav Yissocher Frand, shlita, explains that Rabbeinu Yonah considers Avraham’s final test not to be the Akeidah, but the effort he made to purchase her plot. This demonstrates that greatness is not only found in rising to extraordinary challenges, but also in handling challenging but prosaic responsibilities with composure and faith.
Sukkot, much like Avraham’s return to his routine life after the Akeidah, teaches us to maintain our spiritual values in ordinary moments. The mitzvot of Sukkot are tangible ways of bringing spirituality into our daily existence. The sukkah reminds us of the simple huts in which the Jewish people lived during their desert journey, highlighting the value of the seemingly mundane aspects of life. Moreover, the lulav and etrog represent our success in carrying the inspiration from Yom Kippur into our daily lives.
Ultimately, Sukkot teaches us that the real test of our Yom Kippur experience is not what happens during the awe-filled moments in synagogue, but how we apply that inspiration to our ongoing interactions—with our family, friends, and community. Spiritual success is not just about grand gestures, but about infusing everyday life with meaning and holiness.
Chag Sameach
Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch