Sukkah: the Portal into the Holy Land

Sukkah: the portal into the Holy Land Sitting with my wife in our sukkah-hut recently, I was struck by a memory from some four decades ago. During Chol HaMoed Sukkot, I visited my mentor and friend, Rabbi Benzion Feldman. I shared with him that, while sitting in our sukkah, my wife and I had discussed the possibility of making Aliyah to Israel. Rabbi Feldman smiled and said, “The reason you and your wife were thinking about Israel while sitting in your sukkah is that the air in the sukkah is the air of Eretz Yisrael.” Indeed, Eretz Yisrael is under constant divine watchfulness, as it says: A land which the Lord your G-d cares for; the eyes of the Lord your G-d are always upon it. (Deuteronomy 11:12) The sukkah also symbolizes G­‑d's protection [...]