Tradition teaches that the very first thing we are supposed to do after breaking our Yom Kippur fast is to begin to erect the sukkah. Lox, bagels, and faloodeh down…hammers up. Like all Jewish holidays, Sukkot comes with its list of commandments.
In addition to the usual things the Torah likes to remind us about (you know, praising God and offering sacrifices and generally celebrating) there’s also all this stuff the rabbis come to tell us about the height of the walls, the density of the roof, and just how long you need to stay out there if it starts raining during your meal. The answer—by the way—is until the rain changes the consistency of your soup.
But the Torah has the final words on Sukkot, and they are remarkable. V’samachta b’chagecha…v’hayita ach sameach. “You shall rejoice in your festivals, and you shall be—ach sameach.” It’s usually translated as “nothing but joy,” but let me suggest another possibility. Ach can also mean “despite it all.”
The command to be ach sameach appears only during Sukkot. Not Passover, when we are gathered around a table with friends and family. Not Shavuot, when we stand together to receive Torah. Not Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the world. No, the command is given on Sukkot, when we are sitting there, exposed, out in the open. It seems no coincidence that we must be able to be joyful—that we are obligated—to be joyful, when the rain is falling, when we are at our most vulnerable, when the very structure surrounding us could collapse.
What can bring you joy this Sukkot?
— Rabbi Sari Laufer