Για να το διαβάσετε στα Ελληνικά, κάντε κλικ εδώ
Imagine your family inside the Sukka reading the Haggadah… The father makes Kiddush and before drinking the first cup of wine, he looks at the green roof, the s'chach… does it sound strange? How did Pesach and Sukkot get mixed up? The truth is that both holidays celebrate the same event. On Pesach we commemorate our Exodus from Egypt and on Sukkot we commemorate the Clouds of Glory that protected us during our errands in the desert, under the burning sun, for 40 years until we entered the land of Israel.
Why then do we celebrate Sukkot half a year later? It would have been more correct to have Sukkot immediately after, or even at the same time as Pesach, when it all started.
Pesach is at the beginning of the spring and summer. Many people go out to sit outside anyway, because of the weather… If they see the Jews in shadowy huts, they may think that the reason they do it is for their comfort, not because it is a commandment of G-d. To make it cleat that Sukkot is only for the sake of the Mitzvah, we celebrate it in autumn, when it is cold and sometimes rains. Devotion to G-d.
There lies an important message. Even when things are difficult and dark, this is exactly the time to do more actions to light up the world. We are not afraid of the darkness, the cold and the winter! We will do many Mitsvot and bring Mashiach now!
Chag Sameach!
Hanna