YOSSI: Oh wow! Yoeli! Look at that fancy esrog!
YOELI: Thanks Yos! Yours isn’t too shabby either! How do you even hold it? It’s so big!
YOSSI: You should see my Zaide’s! It’s enormous!
ZAIDE: You mean this?
YOSSI: Oh Zaide! I didn’t see you… behind that esrog…
ZAIDE: Haha! You know boys, Sukkos and the arbaah minim are very connected to Eretz Yisrael! The Abarbanel says that Sukkos is seven days long — just like the seven special fruits of Eretz Yisrael! He also explains that these special four minim show the beauty of Eretz Yisrael, especially the aravos, which only grow near water. Eretz Yisrael has everything – from desert to snow to streams of fresh water where aravos can grow, unlike the midbar.
YOSSI: Did we keep Sukkos in the Midbar, Zaide?
ZAIDE: Good question Yossele! We only had the mitzvos of Sukkos once we entered Eretz Yisrael, and that’s sort of the point. If you think about it, we left Mitzrayim on Pesach, received the Torah on Shavuos, and then comes Sukkos, which we kept in Eretz Yisrael! Sukkos is about coming into Eretz Yisrael!
YOELI: But isn’t Sukkos about the Ananei HaKavod? Weren’t they in the Midbar?
YOSSI: Good Yom Tov everybody!
YOELI: Amen! Now let’s go daven Shacharis with that Yid over there – it looks like his lulav is touching the clouds!
ZAIDE: You boys are on the ball. Yes, Hashem took care of us in the Midbar with the Ananei Hakavod, but as the passuk says, Hashem’s eyes are always on Eretz Yisrael. When we bring in our crops on Sukkos, and remember how much Hashem is taking care of us in Eretz Yisrael, it takes that closeness to the next level! It’s just an extension of the protection of the Ananei Hakavod! When we bentch on Sukkos, we ask Hashem to rebuild the Sukkas Dovid Hanofales – the Sukkah of Dovid Hamelech; the Beis Hamikdash. May we all reenter our Holy Home very, very soon!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 54 Sukkos 2025.