23 Sep PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING SUKKOS – ABOVE AND BEYOND

What is the joy of
Sukkos all about?
When Bnei Yisrael
traveled through
the desert, Hashem
provided three miraculous gifts to sustain
them: manna descended from heaven,
fresh water flowed from Miriam’s well,
and the ananei ha’kavod – the Clouds of
Glory – enveloped the nation (Ta’anis 9a).
At first glance, it would seem that the first
two miracles were the most important.
Without food and water, the Jewish
people never could have survived forty
years in the wilderness. Yet no holiday
commemorates those indispensable gifts.
Instead, Sukkos celebrates the ananei
ha’kavod (Sukkah 11b).
That is surprising because the clouds
hardly seem essential at all. The Jewish
people could have survived the desert
inside their own booths – literal “sukkos.”
In fact, Chazal emphasize that the true
benefit of the clouds was not protection,
but comfort. They leveled the roads,

laundered clothing, and spared the nation
the blisters and hardships of desert travel
(Rashi to Bamidbar 10:34 and Devarim
8:4). It is this “spa treatment” that we
commemorate each year!
Doesn’t that seem backward? Shouldn’t
we be thanking Hashem more for the
necessities than for the luxuries?
The Mabit (Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef
Trani zt”l, d. 1585) in Beis Elokim
(Sha’ar HaYesodos 37) offers a beautiful
explanation. In a sense, Hashem “had to”
provide food and water. After bringing the
Jewish people into the middle of a barren
wilderness, He could hardly leave them
without the basic necessities for survival.
The Clouds of Glory, however, were
entirely different. Hashem didn’t have
to smooth the roads, clean our clothes,
or make our journey more comfortable.
Those were gifts that went above and
beyond what was necessary. Through
them, Hashem demonstrated not only His
responsibility toward the Jewish people,
but His deep love for us.

Every healthy relationship
includes obligations.
Parents provide for their
children. Employers
pay their employees.
Spouses fulfill countless
responsibilities toward
one another. Those duties
sustain a relationship.
What transforms it into
something deeper are the
thoughtful gestures that
no one was required to do
– the small acts that communicate, “I care
about your comfort and happiness.”
The same is true in our relationship with
Hashem.
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur focus
on obligation. We recognize Hashem’s
sovereignty and seek another year of life
because we depend upon Him. We stand
before Him with awe because these days
are essential to our spiritual survival.
Sukkos is our opportunity to go above and
beyond. We remember that Hashem once

cared not only about our survival, but
about our comfort as well. In response,
we don’t merely fulfill another obligation;
we celebrate with unrestrained joy. We
reciprocate Hashem’s extraordinary love
with an extraordinary expression of our
own.
If it seems over-the-top to devote an
entire holiday to the ananei ha’kavod, it is
because we are responding in kind to the
One Who went over-the-top in showering
us with His love in the desert.