Sukkot is a mere 2 weeks away. What is the point? What is this feast about? How will we serve our Elohim this year?

My vision is that we join together as one people serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I don’t care what your sukkah is built of. I don’t care if you have a lulav or a pinecone. I don’t care if you travel hundreds of miles or go out in your backyard. Let us keep this feast together as YHVH’s people, doing what He tells us to do. Sukkot is a time of rejoicing. We have so much to be thankful for. We have an Elohim that is so committed to us that He sent His Son to die for us. Even when we completely left Him and submersed ourselves in paganism, He waited for us. He awakened us to His truth. He brought us back to His Torah. We need to just worship Him and rejoice in Him this Sukkot.

For me, Sukkot is such an amazing picture of protection. We willingly put ourselves in the most vulnerable place on earth. As everyone else is buttoning up their homes and preparing for the cold months ahead, YHVH’s people are heading outside. We sit in leaky, drafty wooden structures that do not protect us at all. The only thing between me and the elements is some thin boards and black plastic. Why? Why does YHVH tell us to do this?

Because there is a truth that we must learn, that we must make our own. YHVH is our shield, our fortress, our cave, the hands that encircle us. When we willingly put ourselves in this very vulnerable position, there is nothing to save us but YHVH.

We live in a crazy time, and it is just going to get crazier. The economy is about to collapse, people are warring with each other, certainty is a thing of the past. But what can we count on? What will get us through? Will it be the food in our cupboards? Will it be the garden we carefully tend? Will it be our tents or our survival equipment? Is there a safe place we need to be in?

No.

It is only the lesson we learn in the sukkah. We do not provide for ourselves. We do not keep ourselves safe. We do not provide our salvation. We willingly put ourselves in a place of vulnerablility. We learn that only YHVH can save us. We learn that He is our solid rock. He will care for us, even if our homes go up in flames, our food rots, and we have nothing. He is our protection. He is our shield. We are His people, whether we agree on everything or not.

For this eight days of Sukkot, let us gather as one people. Let us throw ourselves unprotected at His feet together. It is then that He will lift us up, reassure us, and keep us safe. But it must be all about Him.

Have a wonderful Sukkot!

Additional Resources

• Torah Family Emagazine Sukkot edition
• Torah kids audio – Sukkot       – a short audio of me talking to kids about Sukkot
• Previous Sukkot posts