THE ONE SUKKAH

THE ONE SUKKAH

"`Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths...' (Lev. 23:42) - to teach that all Israel is worthy to sit in one sukkah."
(Sukkah 27b)

There is a vast difference between a perception of life - of the individual or the general public - which is viewed through the power of the imagination, and that perception of life which is seen in the clearness of Pure Thought, in that moment when it has been cleansed of the blemishes of the imagination.

In the light of this clearness all things will be seen and judged for what they are, and not viewed as they might be through the prism of the individual imagination. Nor is this judgement to be influenced by the possibility that the great goal of comprehending things as they are in truth may not be attained. Nothing less than the true picture of things as they are will be acceptable, whether or not it is understood.

But this is not the goal which the imagination desires to reach. Imagination has no inclination to see things as they are in a clear light, but longs rather to paint pictures suitable for viewing within the private circle of the individual mind.

And so, as long as the individual remains a prisoner of his imagination, his perception of things as they are will be colored by his own private view of things as they might be. And it is this devotion to their imaginary lives that prevents human beings from merging their ideas together to unite in one union.

Only a purely thoughtful perception of life which aspires to comprehend things as they exist and not as they are envisioned by each individual mind, is capable of creating the bonds that can link together in unity different individuals and different societies.

All human sins have their origin in the triumph of gross human materialism over the soul's spiritual delicacy. Thus does the imaginative perception of life, which is by its nature individualistic, predominate in the human spirit. The result is that it becomes impossible for human beings to attain the ideal of absolute unity in their ideas and personal feelings. For as long as both society and individuals, are ruled by the force of an imagination which derives its being from a degenerate spiritual influence spattered on the soul by human materialism, unity of thought is not possible. As long as the lives of individuals and societies, lie shackled in the bonds of sin, there can be no unity of peace.

But when the light of Teshuvah (Repentance) appears in our world, by virtue of the sanctity of the holy day, Yom Kippur, and all Israel has been purged of their sins, then the purity of the soul prevails within us.

Then in place of the imagination which deceives there arises from the depths of our souls, where it lay hidden, Pure Thought to illuminate the horizon of our lives. Then the rays of glory shining forth from Torah light expel the shadows cast by the deceiver imagination within our souls. Then when the holy day of Sukkoth arrives, we have been made fit by the purity of thought which sheds light upon us to face the perception of life as it is, emanating from the source of Absolute Truth.

Thus ideas and thoughts separated by the darkening shadows of the imagination begin to come together and unite. The darkness of divisiveness and enmities, of factional feuds and personal disputes, which corrupt every good thing within us, whether spiritual or material, will be replaced by a pure light. The pure noble light of the Sukkah's holiness will banish the nightmare shadows of deceiving imagination.

And the light of Torah and the radiance of G-d-fearingness for the love of truth, will spread and expand through all our being, uniting all ideas and thoughts. Thus we are uplifted and brought near to that complete unity in whose holy light it is fitting that all the dispersed of Israel should be enveloped.

And all Israel is worthy to sit in one sukkah.

---HaRav A.Y. Kook, Ma’amarei HaRe’iyah

(translated by Rhea Magnes)