Sukkot: The Divine Embrace in a Temporary Hut

Moving from your permanent home to a temporary cabin for a week may seem like a symbolic or even humorous gesture. But behind this act lies a profound spiritual message.

Una celebración actual de Sucot: la alegría de habitar bajo el abrazo divino, en una sucá iluminada por la fe y la unión familiar.

For forty years, the people of Israel were protected by God in the desert. Manna descended from heaven, water gushed from the rock, and the divine presence was openly manifested. However, upon entering the Land of Israel, these visible miracles disappeared. The people began to sow, plow, and harvest like any human being.

Did that mean God had walked away?

The answer is no. The change was not an abandonment, but a transformation. The divine presence moved from the miraculous to the everyday. God intended His dwelling place to be in the physical world, not in a supernatural bubble. Thus, daily work, challenges, and temptations became the new setting where faith was to flourish.

Trusting that every drop of rain and every breath of wind comes from divine will is the true act of faith. This awareness transforms ordinary life into a sacred experience.

Sukkot: An Embrace of Light

The sukkah (Sukkot), the hut where we live during Sukkot, symbolizes that divine embrace that surrounds and protects us. Although today it does so through natural means, the essence is the same: God continues to care for His people.

Preparar la sucá en familia: un acto de fe, alegría y continuidad de la tradición.

For seven days we receive spiritual visits from the ushpizin , the seven faithful shepherds of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Yaakov, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. Each inspires us with a different quality to strengthen our connection with the Creator.

The Four Species: Unity in Diversity

The commandment to take the four species— etrog (citron), lulav (palm), hadasim (myrtles), and aravot (willows)—symbolizes the unity of the people of Israel:

• Etrog: It has flavor and aroma; it represents one who possesses knowledge of the Torah and keeps the commandments.

• Lulav: Flavorful but aromaless; symbolizes knowledge without action.

• Hadassim: Aromatic but tasteless; they symbolize action without study.

• Aravot: Without aroma or flavor; they represent those who have not yet studied or fulfilled their duties, but whose presence is essential.

Only together do we form a whole. Jewish spirituality is not based on individual perfection, but on a unity that reflects the diversity of the people.

Las Cuatro Especies: cada una representa una parte del pueblo, y juntas reflejan la unidad espiritual de Israel.

Serve with Love

The Midrash teaches that, in the future, the nations will complain that they never had the opportunity to serve God. He will offer them a simple mitzvah: to live in the sukkah. At first, they will accept with joy, but when the scorching sun forces them to leave, they will do so with disdain. Israel, on the other hand, even when forced to leave the sukkah because of the heat, does so with longing and love. This difference reveals the essence of serving God: not out of self-interest, but out of love .

A Dream of Peace

May we soon dwell in the “Sukkah of Peace”—the divine dwelling that, according to the sages, will be built from the skin of the Leviathan—a symbol of final redemption and universal peace .