Sitting in the Succah and Feeling Secure (1994)
Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane
Translated by Lenny Goldberg
It is crucial during these days of "peace and security" to stress the central message of Succot. And what is the message? Security or "bitachon" in Hashem, even in situations where such trust seems totally illogical to
the naked eye.
But there is something about the succah itself that arouses curiosity. Here we are thanking G-d for sheltering us in a succah in the middle of the desert, and King David, too, praises G-d by proclaiming, "He will hide me in
His succah" . And the question that begs asking is: Why is the succah, which is by its very nature a flimsy and unstable structure, the symbol of G-d's protection over us? Would it not be more appropriate to sit in a "fortress" in order to portray G-d's ability to safeguard His people?
Indeed, precisely in this succah there is a tremendous lesson to be learned, a lesson which we must internalize during these days of "peace" that have come upon Israel. After all, what really motivates them to turn over
territories and succumb to the enemy's demands? One thing only: Fear. And at first glance, they are right! Here we are, sitting in this tiny country, a lamb amongst seventy ravenous wolves who do not hide their teeth, their
tanks, their airplanes, and the millions of soldiers they have at their disposal to march on Jerusalem. And then there is us. With all the talk about our "strong army", what are we really? How many tanks do we have when
compared to their huge arsenals? How big is our "qualitative advantage" versus their gigantic quantitative advantage? How many more wars can we expect to hold out against them? They can lose a hundred wars, but all they need is one victory to fulfill their dream of liquidating us and thus finally rid themselves of the Jewish problem in the Middle East.
The arguments of the secular nationalists fall like a house of cards when matched against the above contentions. How feeble and ineffective are the "bitachonist" (security-related) arguments of Bibi, Sharon and Raful when
relating to the Arab problem. The left is 100% correct when they say that the right wing is out of their minds for insisting to live by the sword, thinking Israel can hold on forever against hundreds of millions of Arabs.
Nu, have we become leftists in our old age? Have no fear of that. We will continue to fight in the front lines for our land as our forefathers did, and as the generation before us did. It's just that our reasons for "the greater Israel" are entirely different than the reasons given by Bibi and co.
The Holy One Blessed Is He sends us out to sit in a flimsy succah which is vulnerable even to a strong wind. He does this in order to tell us: Jew - to protect you, there is no need for fortresses or even a regular house. A
succah is enough. This is what the Holiday of Succot is all about.
One can say to a certain extent, that G-d in this generation sent us to sit in a succah! G-d took a battered and humiliated people, gathered us from the four corners of the earth, and placed us in the middle of a volcano -
surrounded by millions of Arabs who dream and lust to wipe us out. And then, G-d comes and demands of us: "Bitachon!". With all their power and intimidation; with all their weaponry and massive armies, they are not
capable of moving you. And the test is: Will we, in our "succah", feel secure enough not to be intimidated by those who attempt to frighten us from outside our succah and from inside as well?
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