Life is a Sukkah
by Rabbi S. Weiss

And onl　y He can keep us safe.

Like so many symbols in Jewish life, the sukkah is multi-dimensional. A matzah can stand for the "poor bread" of slavery, or it can proudly represent our zeal to follow HaShem into the wilderness without hesitation. The white kittel we wear on Yom Kippur can be either a symbol of purity, or of the tachrichim shrouds we are dressed in at death.

The sukkah, too, has a "dual personality." On the one　 hand, leaving our spacious homes for a tiny hut is a kind of "exile," so that - if we were judged unfavorably during Yom Kippur - this can be the "punishment" for our sins. But at the same time, the sukkah has a beloved side to it, symbolizing our faith in HaShem's protection of us.

There are three distinct components to the sukkah. The earth upon which we build the sukkah represents our love for the land, which produces nourishment for us
The sukkah is meant to be a heimish, yet humbling experience.
and sustains us. In particular - though we traveled in sukkot during our desert wanderings - the earth beneath our feet reminds us of Eretz Yisrael, the destination to which we were then headed, and to which all Jews should be headed at all times.