From the Desk of the Chairman

We are about to enter our Sukkos, our annual reminder that Hashem runs the world and protects us 24/7. We experience this protection first-hand in our flimsy Sukkos, and then bring that thought back with us into our reinforced concrete homes.

Some people in the Holy Land recently declared that this idea is not true. That while Hashem might be able to protect us from certain maladies while we are in the Sukkah, there are some from which He is unable to protect us—and hence these mortal men will come and save us by forcing us to minimize the mitzvah of Sukkah.

Good luck with that.

We read in the shemoneh esrei that Hashem is hagadol, hagibur, hanorah. The Michtav M’Eliyahu (ח״ג עמ’ פ״ב וה״נ) says that on the word “hanorah” we are to remember that only Hashem is worthy of fear, because there is no other force out there which can cause good or bad. I am going to try to internalize this even more this year.

I didn’t internalize this about 20 years ago when I was in my sukkah with my family. Just a few moments after Kiddush the lights went out in the sukkah due to a thrown circuit. We were a young family and while we knew about a 3 year old being “permitted” to “flip” the switch on*, we sort of stretched that and had a 5 year old do it (because the 3 year old wasn’t able to throw the switch).

But that apparently is not what Hashem wanted. So a few years later, again on the first night of Sukkos, the lights went out. This time I said “leave it!” We managed, and hopefully managing meant we “passed” the test.

The Sukkah is a box, similar to Noach’s teva. Noach couldn’t steer his ark, and ultimately we can’t direct what happens in our Sukkah, even if we make the best efforts to ensure everything runs smoothly. And then after Sukkos, ultimately we aren’t in control even in our own reinforced concrete homes.

But we can try our best to do mitzvos—that is what Hashem wants from us.

So sit in your Sukkah this year (where else can you go?), enjoy the company of your family and greet the ushpizin with joy!


*The halachos of “using” an under 3-year old to turn on a switch on Shabbos are beyond the scope of this article. If such a situation should arise, make sure that you either learn the exact halachos or consult with the Rav before attempting this on your own.