Sukkot 2026 | Presence, Impermanence, and the Embrace of Hashem

Shalom my ladies and friends, I don't have any live classes at the moment but I thought I'd make this video because it's very important for you to understand that a voter, the spiritual mindful work of being in a sukkha, I say just really teach us that the whole process of a LL leading into Rosh Hashanah, leading into the Assyah Srimatuva, leading to Yon Kippur would just to get to this moment where we can sit and just be in the sukkha surrounded by God's divine presence. I say just actually teach that Rosh Hashanah and Yon Kippur are called the Yom Im Nuraim, the Days of All and it's really based on the a voter of Yira, of God consciousness, of reverence and respect and excited wonder. But now we're moving into Sukkott and Sukkott is a time of Ahava, of an embrace, of just immense oneness. That's the main difference between Yira and Ahava. Yira, there's a bit of distance, it's like wow, respect and it's an amazing thing. Ahava is there's immense closeness, immense intimacy. So really they say that Rosh Hashanah, Yon Kippur is like a mikvah and the mikvah is purification in order for us to be able to even enter the sukkha which is a very very very holy place, it's called the Kadasha Kadasha, it's the Holy of Holies and our sages call it really, we're going under the chuppah. Now is the wedding canopy and it's the Yihudrum, that's why there's seven days. We went to the mikvah and Yon Kippur in order to prepare for the wedding and it's seven days of Sheva Brachers and we're sitting just in this immense divine embrace. There is our brings from the Gomorrah that says the sukkha has to have at least two walls, two full walls and then a tefach, a little bit and it shows that it's like a hug. Shem is pulling us in and embracing us. So we really got to get this idea that the mitzvah of the sukkha is just to be, to be presence. It's called layshave per sukkha, just to be present in the sukkha. Firstly that just means be in the sukkha as much as you can. Every second don't just kind of have it outside and do your thing and then once in a while if you want to eat a cookie you go into the sukkha really you want to be present in the sukkha and even sleep. If you can sleep in the sukkha it's the only mitzvah I know of that when you're asleep you're actually fulfilling a mitzvah every second you're in there. So you're surrounded, you're literally surrounded, you're in a mitzvah, you're in a mitzvah, you're not doing a mitzvah. By the way we don't ever actually do mitzvahs, we are makaim, we fulfill, we establish a mitzvah. How does that work? Because mitzvah isn't a mitzvah, it's a mitzvah item and to fill in it's not a mitzvah, it's a mitzvah item. And to daqah the money isn't a mitzvah, it's a mitzvah item. What a mitzvah is, is when you have a Jew who takes a mitzvah item and does whatever they're meant to be doing with it, that becomes a mitzvah. So you're not doing a mitzvah, you're part of a mitzvah. So when you're in a succo by the way, you are part of a mitzvah, surrounded by a mitzvah. And if you're in ericisrael, just being in ericisrael, that's a mitzvah. So you're being a mitzvah, in a mitzvah, in a mitzvah, ericisrael, it's a very, very high level. And all the other mitzvahs that I can think of, we either do them or we say them, we shake the lulav in it trogan, we eat mitzvah and we give to daqah or we say the shmah, this mitzvah is just to be, that is the mitzvah, it's the only mitzvah where the mitzvah is, be, be present. And it's actually a very hard mitzvah because most people don't have yeeshvah das. So yeeshvah das has two main meanings, but one of them is just to settle your mind, to be in the present moment. So when you're in your succo, don't just be in the succo, which is a mitzvah in itself, but be fully present. If you're thinking about your business and what party you're gonna go to tonight and what guests are coming and what are you gonna do after succo, means you're not being present. For most people it's very difficult to actually do the avodah of, I call it the no avodah avodah, which means just to be present, I'm here. The key as we know to this is your breath. So just breathe, focus on your breath coming in, coming out. And that brings you deeply into the present moment. Firstly, it comes your mind down. It clears your mind, gives you yeeshvah das, that's what it means, layshave basukah to have yeeshvah das to be present within the succo. But then obviously it also taps you into a deeper place within yourself. So develop to spend some time and not even hosting all the time, or eating all the time, just being very, very present. The other meaning of yeeshvah das, by the way, das is awareness, conscious awareness, says in the Torah, why we're even sitting in Sukod, le man yehdu in order to get das, in order to have awareness. So what does that mean? Awareness that we are surrounded by God consciousness, I call the Sukah really a shrena compression chamber. It's very, very powerful, packed shrena into this beautiful little box we're sitting in. And I say just teach us that the sakhr, the leaves on top, really represent that anenea covered, which means the clouds of glory, which were in the desert, which was a palpable experience of God consciousness and God's presence, it was also surrounding us and protecting us. And they're also called the tiladeh mnusa, the shades of emuna. Emuna, once again meaning, I have total trust. I'm leaving my set dwelling, my home, with my structure, and my security, and my habits, and my set ways of being, and I'm just getting out. I'm getting out into a more vulnerable, open place, not so habitual. Out of my comfort zone a little bit, it's the best way to start the year. One of the worst things for our voters, the shem, is just to be doing things habitually. So first thing after Rasushantanyankipur, we don't just want to go back into our set dwelling, into our house, we want to get into this, this out of your comfort zone in the arms of a shem. So I say, just say, you should really look at the shakh as much as you can. Le manyeh do it in order to have das, in order to have conscious awareness that we're surrounded by a shem, and we're surrounded by emuna. And therefore, yeshiva das is settling that awareness, which means to feel, to feel very held, and very protected. And this is why, actually, Sukhati is called Zmansemi Khataino, it's the time of our joy, because true joy comes from emuna, true joy comes from seeing the world through godly eyes, and knowing that there's a plan, and knowing that there's something beyond our reality, and knowing that not every experience we have, however painful it may be, especially this year, is the ultimate reality that there's something far, far beyond that. So we have this ishiva das, and we can tap into real simcha, the other major simcha, by the way, which seems counterintuitive, we read Kohelet, at least Ashkenazim, we read Kohelet on Sukhati, and Kohelet is, I don't know what it's called in English, but Ecclesiastes, maybe. Anyway, it's about Shlomah-Malek says hevel-havallim, hakol-hevel. This whole existence, olem-hazeh, this world and the material world, is just all futile, which chasing after money and fame, and honor, and pleasure, and we're just chasing the world and is empty, there's nothing there. So true happiness doesn't come from getting more. Many people think the more I get, the happier I'll be, or the better I look, the happier I'll be. So they just want to get more, and have more, and look more, and that actually not only doesn't cause happiness, it takes away from happiness, because you're chasing stuff your whole life, you either don't get it, which means you'll be unhappy, or you'll get it, and you realize it's completely empty, which is actually the deep message of Sukhoi is saying, "It's a temporary dwelling. We have this Sukha, it's temporary, it's not going to last, the srach itself, which is so holy, is drying up and is dying, and everything, by the way, the Lula of an Etrog, the Lula of dying, Etrog dying, the willow, and the myrtle, all the four species, they've been picked from the tree, they're not going to be around for a long time. It's also very interesting to note, the four species, they're very, very, very, very holy, for those seven days, that Etrog people spend a lot of money on the Etrog, they look after it very well, and the willow, and very, very holy, the day after Sukhoi, not only are they not holy, you can just throw them out, but they're completely useless. What do you use a Lula for, palm from, what do you ever use that for, a willow, nothing completely useless, even an Etrog, but you can't even make a good salad with it, you need a lemon for that. The myrtle, the hand-ass, we smell on Friday night, so there's a little use for it, but in general, these things are completely useless. It's teaching us a very important lesson in life, the life in this world is temporary, and we go, it's so calm, so what we want to do is become holy. For at least this time, we want to become a holy and tap into that and understand that happiness isn't going to come from chasing this earthly existence, it comes from being holy, connecting to our Nashama, connecting to spirituality, and the Shama is never dying. Everything in the Sukhari is teaching us that everything dies, so if you're connected to the physical world so greatly, then that will die, and that will be your body will get old, and it will stop working so well, and eventually it will die. But your Nashama never gets old, your Nashama just keeps getting greater and greater and bigger, so you tap into some eternal existence, so you're sitting in the Sukhari and you're surrounded by stuff that's basically dying, and it's sending you this amazing message. that use this world, well as we're in this world, use this world, but only to become more conscious and more spiritual and bring God consciousness into the world and really that's what the Lula Venetra is saying. We see that the Suka really represents, it's like a talus, you have a talus and a talus represents God beyond time and space. You don't hate and vaven hate, it's basically limala, beyond time and space, Saviv of Kol Al-Mim is around surrounding us, but in embrace we can feel the talus on our heads. So the Suka is like a big talus. And then you've got the Tephilin. The Tephilin is kind of God within this world and our thoughts and our emotions and our actions in this world and that's what the Lula Venetra is. We're taking an action, that's why it's very important if you can to wave your Lula Venetra in the Suka. So you're going to be in your Suka, maybe in your talus, waving your Lula Venetra and taking these two aspects of Hashem, Hashem, beyond time and space. And Mimala Kol Al-Mim, completely within, completely imminent, completely present. We actually know that the Kammatriya, the numerical value of Suka is 91. And it's the same Kammatriya as two names of Hashem, the name of Hashem beyond time and space. You don't hate and vaven hate, which is 26. And the name of Hashem within time and space, Adnus, Alif Dalid Nunu, which is 65, and 26, 65 is 91, which is a Suka. So we're really bringing all of these aspects together. For me, maybe I'll give a whole separate class about the Lula Venetra. We know that it represents your spine, the Lula Venetra represents your spine, which is your values and your principles that you're living an upright life. And the Etro represents your heart. And your heart is all about your motivation and your passion and your desire, what am I yearning for in my life? And then we have the Myrtle, which is your eyes, how are you seeing the world? Are you looking the world through eyes of judgment and jealousy or through love? Enjoy and God consciousness. And the willow is your mouth, your lips, because how are you speaking, how you speak to yourself, how you speak to other people, that really creates the world around you. Like Hashem created the world through speech. So what we're doing, when we're taking these four species, not only we're taking them, we're taking these four principles in our life, in our hands. I'm going to take my principles and my values in my own hands and my passion and my heart and my desire and my yearning, I'm in control of that and my eyes, how I see the world. I'm in control of that and my speech, I speak, I'm in control of that. I'm taking these things in my hand and I'm saying, I'm going to now bring them into the world. I'm going to express these things, these paths of me into the world in a very conscious way. My ultimate covenant, when I'm shaking the law of a Nechog is just Simcha. There's so many deep, Kabbalistic things, different names of Hashem, and each one represents there are four species for let's of God's name. And there's lots of amazing Kabbalah, but for me, the most simple intention is just like, I'm just doing what Hashem wants me to do right now. And I really enjoy it and I run around my sucker and I'm dancing and singing. So this is really a Zman Simchatain, a real Simchat comes from these two things. Number one, just being able to be fully present. We know our mind takes us away from joy with all our doubt and jealousy and ego and all that stuff. So if we can be present, we'll be joyful. And secondly, realizing that this world is finite and temporary, so we shouldn't get our happiness from that. And obviously gratitude, sitting there being grateful for everything we have. And enjoying time, family and friends and food, but it does not the main thing. If your whole of Sukkot is, we had great guests and great food and we drank and we sang, that's very wonderful. You should do that. Just make for yourself some moments where you can be on your own, in your sucker, maybe holding your little Nechog, just breathing very deeply and trying to feel in the embrace of Hashem. But that's a shame you should have an amazing, a great summer.