Parashat Hashavua: Sukkot
If a Sukkah were only about 30 inches high, all of two and a half feet tall, would it be usable? And if someone were desperate enough to try and use such a Sukkah, should they be allowed to? According to the Mishnah, no they should not: a Sukkah “that is not ten handbreadths high…is invalid.” (Mishnah Sukkah 1:1) Why do we have a minimum Sukkah size, rather than just leaving it up to the physical reality of a situation, that if someone can fit into it, then it can be used?
One possible answer is that the Rabbis never met a detail they couldn’t legislate. There is, however, almost always a better answer than this, with a meaningful lesson to be learned. According to Rava, a Sukkah that is too small “is a degraded dwelling, and a person does not dwell in a degraded dwelling / הא דירה סרוחה היא, ואין אדם דר בדירה סרוחה.” (Tractate Sukkah 4a) Such a structure, says Rava, does not qualify as a dwelling, even a temporary one, and therefore cannot be a Sukkah. In other words, even those so eager enough to fulfill the mitzvah that they are willing to lower themselves into such a Sukkah, are not permitted to. There is still a basic expectation of dignity in the experience.
Later in the Talmudic discussion, a different and more complex explanation offered for this ten handbreadths minimum: “The Ark was nine handbreadths high, and the Ark cover was one handbreadth thick, for a total of ten; and it is written: ‘I will meet with you there and I will speak with you from above the Ark cover.’ (Exodus 25:22) / אָרוֹן תִּשְׁעָה, וְכַפּוֹרֶת טֶפַח, הֲרֵי כָּאן עֲשָׂרָה; וּכְתִיב: ׳וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ מֵעַל הַכַּפּוֹרֶת׳.” Thus must we dwell in a Sukkah built at least at the height where God is present, because the Sukkah is where we meet with God.
Tosafot Yom Tov (Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann, Prague, 1579-1654) adds beautifully to this point by drawing our attention to the kruvim/כְּרֻבִים, or Cherubim, that were to be placed atop that Ark. (Sukkah 1:4). The Torah describes that “the Cherubim will have their wings spread out above, covering the cover with their wings, facing each other; the faces of the cherubim will be turned toward the cover / וְהָי֣וּ הַכְּרֻבִים֩ פֹּרְשֵׂ֨י כְנָפַ֜יִם לְמַ֗עְלָה סֹכְכִ֤ים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ עַל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת וּפְנֵיהֶ֖ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־אָחִ֑יו אֶ֨ל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת יִהְי֖וּ פְּנֵ֥י הַכְּרֻבִֽים׃.” (Ex. 25:20) Note that the word here for “covering” is “sochechim/סֹכְכִ֤ים,” precisely the word we use for the cover of the Sukkah, the schach.
And now our experience of sitting in the Sukkah is complete. It is our meeting place with God, protected beneath the wings of the Cherubim. Through this explanation we can also gain a deeper understanding of this beracha we recite in Maariv of Shabbat and holidays: “Blessed are you Lord who spreads the Sukkah of peace over us and all the people Israel, and on Jerusalem / בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' הַפּוֹרֵשׂ סֻכַּת שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל יְרוּשָׁלָיִם.” The formulation of this beracha is not found elsewhere, and is not traceable directly to a biblical source. It therefore seems to me that its recitation reminds us of and connects us with those Cherubim sitting atop the Ark to protect it and communicate with us, the same Cherubim whose wings we sit between in our Sukkah of at least ten handbreadths high.
This Sukkot, may we feel God’s presence and experience God’s protection even more, and may we speedily see the release of all the remaining hostages with סֻכַּת שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל יְרוּשָׁלָיִם, the Sukkah of peace spread over us all, like the wings of the holy Cherubim.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Rabbi and Judaics Studies Head (Ivrit/LQ/Tefillah)
