Having succumbed to idolatry so soon after the revelation at Sinai, the Jewish people have reached an all-time low. The tablets of the covenant lie decimated. Moses begs God for national forgiveness. While not dealing with it overtly, our reading is all about rehabilitation.
Moses is commanded to hew new tablets. They will be different. They will be human, unlike the first set that were written with “the finger of God”. Following this, the Jewish people are commanded to keep three pilgrim festivals — Pesach, Shavuot and Succot. It is as if they are the antidote to the crisis.
Pesach recalls the inception of our nation, with values of liberty and dignity at its core. Shavuot recalls the moment we became a covenantal nation at Sinai. Succot appears as a curve ball. How is sitting in a succah integral to collective Jewish identity?
A talmudic story presents the succah as the best vehicle for rehabilitation. In days to come people will approach God, asking for another chance at life. God responds by instructing them to build and dwell in succot. They immediately precede to build succot on the roofs of their houses. All is going well, until the hottest summer days. Unable to stand the heat, they leave the succot they have built, kicking them on the way.
