In this year’s Nekuda Tova Sukkos magazine, we’re going to uncover the ahhhhhhh of Sukkos.
We’ll dive into the deep simcha of Sukkos and the multifaceted avodah of Hoshana Rabbah. We’ll soak in our “one last day together” of Shemini Atzeres, and when it’s all done, become “Masters of Returning” to our “normal” lives in a whole new light. We’ll learn how to turn mistakes into merits, we’ll get a taste of Sukkos in Yerushalayim Habenuya even if we are still in galus, and connect to two of our tzadikim whose yahrtzeits fall on Sukkos, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and the Vilna Gaon.
Through it all, one theme that emerged, beginning with the beautiful cover artwork and weaving its way throughout the magazine, is the Divine embrace that is the mitzvah of Sukkah.
Building on the ideas of the Arizal and the Zohar, the Alter Rebbe (Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim) connects Tishrei with the pasuk of וֹ שמאלו תחת לראשי וימינו תחבקניוּ — His left hand is beneath my head, and His right hand embraces me. He writes that Aseres Yemai Teshuva is a mix of trembling and awe together with rejoicing, and that was a time of ‘His left hand is beneath my head.’ But now that we’ve moved on to Sukkos we have entered a state of pure rejoicing, a time of “His right hand embraces me.”
In the Alter Rebbe’s words: “Just as a person would give his friend a warm embrace, holding him close, so to on Sukkos, the s’chach and the three walls are an expression of Hashem’s embrace and closeness ( ), surrounding and encompassing a person from every side, not allowing him to be in a state of separation, chas v’shalom.”
To be inside the sukkah is to be inside a hug from Hashem. The most authentic joy we can taste in this world is the pure spiritual bliss of our neshamos experiencing closeness with Hashem. If we can open our hearts to feel that embrace, Sukkos can become seven (or eight!) days of pure joy, feeling Hashem’s loving embrace and embracing Him right back.
And that, indeed, is the ahhhhhhhhhh of Sukkos.
Ah freilichin Yom Tov!
The TYH Family
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 100 – Sukkos.