B"H
Tishrei 18, 5766 * October 21, 2005
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F R I D A Y N I G H T F O R Y O U N G P E O P L E
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Sukkot
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Sukkah
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It was a beautifully clear night, the stars were shining through the cracks in the leafy roof as the Cohen family sat huddled up together in their Succah. There were Mr and Mrs Cohen sitting at the head of the table. On their right were some friends they had invited. On their left were the Cohen children: David, Rachel, Benny, Sara and Sam.
The Cohen Succah always had a special atmosphere and the food always seemed to taste much better out of doors for some reason. "I wonder what it is that makes the Mitzvah of sitting in the Succah so special that the whole festival is called by that name," thought Mr Cohen as the chicken soup was being served. It might have been called the Festival of the Lulav, or, or.
These are thoughts which might occur to a person while the chicken soup is being served, while sitting in a Succah hut with a roof of evergreen branches with leaves. Mr Cohen decided to ask the children.
"This evening I have a question. Why is this festival called Succot? There are several other Mitzvot that we do during this festival, what makes the Mitzvah of sitting in the Succha so special that it gives the whole festival its name?"
"I know" said Sam. "Because the Mitzvah of sitting in the Succah starts the very first second of the festival, unlike the Lulav and the Etrog for which we must wait till the morning in order to do the Mitzvah".
"Very good" said Mr. Cohen. "Anything else?
"Oh, my teacher said something about that in school last week" said Sara. "She said that the mitzvah of Succot is something that we can do the whole time but the Mitzvah of Lulav and Etrog can only be done one time during each day. And we do not wave the Lulav on Shabbat, but we do sit in the Succah."
"That is very interesting Sara" Mr Cohen answered. "Lets hear what you think Benny."
"Well" said Ben, "I cant really remember any thing from school about it.
"Maybe you can say some thing from yourself" said Mr. Cohen. "You know, not every thing you say has to be from school. What do you think?"
"Okay," Ben said, slowly, trying to think of something. "Umm when you shake the Lulav and Etrog you are doing something specific, but on the other hand when you sit in the Succah there is no specific action you are just sitting inside a Mitzvah surrounded by it from all sides."
One of the guests, a lady, noticed a beetle crawling along the tablecloth. It must have dropped down from the leaves. The guest shuddered. Mr Cohen leaned over and blew it off the table with a single puff.
"Wow, Benny, that is very impressive" Mr. Cohen said. "We are surrounded by the Mitzvah of the Succah. This shows us how we can bring holiness to our everyday life. Everything we do in the Succah becomes holy.
Even avoiding having a beetle in our plate of soup! added Mrs Cohen, who had noticed the beetle saga. The lady guest smiled, and for a moment stopped worrying whether another beetle was about to drop from the dark green leaves. In the Succah, it was all holy.
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Are you prepared for Sukkot?
Our extensive Jewish New Year website has how-to’s, stories, lessons and even recipes! It's sure to make your holiday more meaningful and insightful!
All this at:
http://www.chabad.org/highholidays
PLUS:
Find a Sukkot Event near you!
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/jewishnewyear/calendar_events.asp
Wishing you and your family a happy and joyous Holiday!
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By Dr. Tali Loewenthal, Director of Chabad Research Unit, London
Brought to you by Chabad.org
For more Parshah study, please visit:
http://www.chabad.org/parsha
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