(א) וַיֵּרַע אֶל יוֹנָה רָעָה גְדוֹלָה וַיִּחַר לוֹ. (ב) וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אֶל יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר אָנָּה יְהוָה הֲלוֹא זֶה דְבָרִי עַד הֱיוֹתִי עַל אַדְמָתִי עַל כֵּן קִדַּמְתִּי לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה כִּי יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אַתָּה אֵל חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה. (ג) וְעַתָּה יְהוָה קַח נָא אֶת נַפְשִׁי מִמֶּנִּי כִּי טוֹב מוֹתִי מֵחַיָּי. (ד) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה הַהֵיטֵב חָרָה לָךְ. (ה) וַיֵּצֵא יוֹנָה מִן הָעִיר וַיֵּשֶׁב מִקֶּדֶם לָעִיר וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ שָׁם סֻכָּה וַיֵּשֶׁב תַּחְתֶּיהָ בַּצֵּל עַד אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה מַה יִּהְיֶה בָּעִיר.
- What is Jonah's state of mind when builds and enters his sukkah?
- Does Jonah's physical setting reflect his mindset? Why or why not?
- Do you feel that Jonah's sukkah adventure relates to how you approach Sukkot?
(מב) בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כָּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת. (מג) לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
- The original sukkot were in the desert after the Jewish people left Egypt. How would the experience of Sukkot be different in a desert, city, or suburb? Would different aspects of the holiday be focused on in different places?
R' Yisrael Salanter
Most people repent during the Selichot week preceding Rosh HaShanah; the more pious during the month of Elul preceding Rosh HaShanah; but I say that one should begin to repent immediately after Yom Kippur.
"In Liminal Time and Space", Katy Z. Allen
Transience has to do with change, and liminal space and time are in-between places and moments. They are boundaries. They are neither here nor there. Transience is also neither here nor there. It is always on its way. Both are areas that can feel uncomfortable, they are conditions or places where we humans like least to be. However, if we can accept them, we can open ourselves up to the third meaning of which is emptiness’the great void, the time and place before creation from which all newness comes. Learning to stand comfortably in our sukkah, in liminal space and time, requires us to empty ourselves, but it also makes it possible for us to empty ourselves. And once we have done this, we open ourselves up to the possibility that God will fill that space, and the result will be a new creation’a new creation of who we are. Only then will the process that began with the month of Elul and reached its climax on Yom Kippur be temporarily completed, and only then will we taste the fruits of teshuvah; we will be recreated; we will be transformed. This transformation will bring with it true happiness, for only in being fully in relationship to the Divine can we find contentment and peace, and contentment and peace lead to happiness.
5. מהר"ל, נצח ישראל:ל"ה
ולפיכך קרא מלכות בית דוד 'סוכה', לפי שמלכות בית דוד הוא מלכות אלקי, לא כמו שאר מלכות שהוא חול. ולפיכך לא קראו אותו 'בית', שהוא בנין קבוע, כמו הדברים הטבעים שהם בעולם קבועים. אבל הדברים האלקים אינם בעולם הזה קבועים, רק הם ארעי, כמו הסוכה שהיא ארעי. ולפיכך קיימא לן סוכה דירת ארעי בעינן, מפני שהסוכה מצוה אלקית, ראויה שתהיה הדירה שבה ארעי ולא קבע. ואמר (עמוס ט, יא) "ביום ההוא אקים את סוכת דוד הנופלת": ועוד, הבית כאשר נופל, נתבטל ענינו הראשון שהיה לו. ואם חוזר לבנות, הוא בית חדש. ולא נקרא שהקים בית נופל, שכבר נתבטל, רק כאילו בנה בית חדש מתחלה. אבל הסוכה, שאינו בית שהוא בנין גמור וקבוע, ובקלות הוא חוזר ומעמידו, לכך אם נפל שייך בו הקמה, והוא חוזר לענין הראשון בקלות. וכן מלכות בית דוד, שהוא עומד להקמה אחר נפילת המלכות, נקרא המלכות "סוכת דוד הנופלת".
Mahara"l, Netzach Yisrael 35
The kingdom of David was called a "Sukkah", because the Davidic kingdom is a Divine kingdom, not like a regular kingdom. So it wasn't called a "house", which is an established building, the way things are established in the world. But Divine things aren't established in this world, but rather they're temporary, like a Sukkah. We similarly rule that Sukkah has to be a temporary dwelling, because it is a Divine commandment.. It is also written "on that day I will raise the fallen Sukkah of David". And also, when a house falls down, it loses its initial state. And if it is rebuilt, it's a new house - and we don't refer to it as the first house being raised, for it was already nulified, and it's as if you built a new house. But a Sukkah, which isn't a finished and established house, and which is easily stood up, thus if it falls down it can be raised and it simply returns to its original state. So too the kingdom of David, as it is to be raised after having fallen, is called "the fallen Sukkah of David".
- What messages/values emerge from the 2 structural elements of Sukkah highlighted by Mahral?
- What messages emerge from the structures of our synagogues/Jewish spaces? Or what messages should emerge - and how can we build to reflect that?