The cycle of Torah readings is mostly the same for all denominations during the year, but the selection differs more for the festivals. On the Shabbat during Succot, Orthodox shuls read Exodus 33, in which Moses and God reconcile (read by Reform communities on Yom Kippur morning). The Reform lectionary prefers those parts of Deuteronomy which talk about protecting Israel or the laws of Succot on Shabbat Chol Hamo’ed Succot.
Both traditions, though, choose the same haftarah from Ezekiel, which speaks of the end of days and the last great battle of the future, the battle of Gog and Magog against the people of Israel. It’s a vision of the destruction of Gog so that the Israelites will be safe forever and God will be recognised everywhere. Rabbi Akiva thought this apocalyptic war would herald the Messiah.
So in the middle of Succot, as we eat in the succah and shake the lulav, we are also looking to the future and attempting to bring about the Messianic Age, not through war but through acts of justice, love and kindness, starting perhaps with the tradition of hospitality, of inviting guests into our succah, to share the harvest of the land together.
There is also a tradition of reading the Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) on Shabbat Chol Hamo’ed Succot. Kohelet is almost the opposite of the apocalyptic imagery of Ezekiel. The narrating voice is that of an older man, wealthy and world-weary, who sees the world in philosophical terms and notes that there is nothing new under the sun.