When I was in Russia on Sukkot ((Sukkot, is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri. The holiday lasts 7 days. In Judaism it is one of the three major holidays known collectively as the Shalosh Regalim (three pilgrim festivals), when historically the Jewish populace traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah)), two non-Jewish girls in Moscow showed me the way to the synagogue. They stayed with us half the night in the Sukkah and then walked me back to the hotel. When they said goodbye, they said something prophetic to me:

“Maybe there shall never be peace in our days — maybe we shall never taste a peaceful world, but we shall always remember those few hours in the Succah of Peace, sitting in Paradise in the shade of G-d”.

My beautiful friends, every second in the Sukkah ((A sukkah is a temporary dwelling that Jews use during the holiday of Sukkot, meaning booth or hut. During this holiday, Jews are instructed to build a temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is intended to reflect God’s benevolence in providing for all the Jews’ needs in the desert. According to Halakha, a sukkah is a structure consisting of a roof made of organic material which has been disconnected from the ground (the s’chach). A sukkah must have at least 2-1/2 walls. It should be at least three feet tall, and be positioned so that all or part of its roof is open to the sky (only the part which is under the sky is kosher.) A sukkah can be built on the ground or on an open porch or balcony. Indeed, many observant Jews who design their home’s porch or deck will do so in a fashion that aligns with their sukkah building needs. Portable sukkahs have recently become available for those who have little space, or for those who are travelling (in order to have a place to eat one’s meals).)) you can taste Paradise in the most eternal way. Once a year we sit with our holy Mothers and our holy Fathers in the Sukkah. I bless you and me, let it also be with our children — all the children of Israel and eventually all the children of the world.

All year long the Torah is such a burden. Every word weighs ten thousand tons and how often do we think it is really too much, but after being in the Sukkah for eight days, living in G-d’s world again — a cleansed and purified holy world — I suddenly realize how light the Torah is. It’s not I who carries the Torah; it’s the Torah that carries me. So I run out from the Sukkah straight to the Holy Ark. I dance with the Torah for forty-eight hours. Before Sukkot I could barely carry the Torah four steps. After Sukkot I can carry the Torah forever.

Transcribed by (Rabbi) Samuel Intrator
Brooklyn, New York
Original version in Connections Magazine
Volume IV Number 1 — Succos 5749
Copyright (C) 1988 The Inner Foundation
Reprinted with Permission