Sukkot and Shabbat Chol-Hamoed - 2024

Chevre, tonight and tomorrow is Chag Sukkot (סֻכּוֹת). Outside of Israel, the Chag will be 2 days and will flow directly into Shabbat Chol-Hamoed. So I won’t be posting another Dvar Torah on Friday, even though I’m in Israel.

This year in Israel there is a paradox between building our flimsy huts outside and keeping in mind that we may need to run into our bomb shelters. In a more normal year, we would spend Shabbat Chol-Hamoed with cousins that live near Tiveria, but those cousins are coming to us because of the distance of their Succah from the house and the probability of having a siren in their town verse the probability of having a siren in our town.

Also top of mind are the hostages that were taken on Simchat Torah last year. We have some special decorations of our Succah (see the picture) where we invite some of our holy brothers and sisters to visit us virtually in our Succah.

We say that Sukkot is זמן שמחתנו our time of joy. And we move out to our flimsy huts in recognition that we repented before our creator and now we move out of the house and into the Succah, where HaShem will protect us. This year more than any other in my memory, I feel that we need that protection for our soldiers on the front lines in the north and south. And for the homefront folks here in Israel. And for Am Yisrael that is not in Israel, who are still in danger at this time.

May our prayers be answered and allow us to only rejoyce in this season. Chag Sameach, Shabbat Shalom.

https://www.clouded-torah.org/articles/2024/Ushpizin.png