D'var Torah: Sukkot • Leviticus 22:26–23:44 • Numbers 29:12–16 • DAY 1,085
Updated: Sep 27
TIME IS NO REFUGE
TGFIF WEEKLY D’VAR TORAH
SUKKOT • LEVITICUS 22:26–23:44 • NUMBERS 29:12–16 • DAY 1,085
TIME IS NO REFUGE
A Sukkot D'var Torah For This Moment
בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
“You shall dwell in sukkot for seven days.” - Leviticus 23:42
OPENING
As we enter Shabbat and Sukkot, it is Day 1,085 since the atrocities of October 7. We leave our permanent homes and enter the sukkah, a structure deliberately temporary, deliberately vulnerable.
Sukkot reminds us of something we spend much of our lives trying to forget:
Very little in this world is permanent.
Not governments.
Not institutions.
Not political majorities.
Not even the walls we build around ourselves.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
HYPOCRISY. MORAL INVERSION.
This week, the nations of the world gathered once again at the United Nations.
They spoke of peace. Justice. Human rights.
Yet once again, Israel, the nation attacked on October 7, was placed in the dock.
This is more than hypocrisy. It is moral inversion.
The victim becomes the accused.
The terrorist becomes the victim.
Terrorism is defended.
Self-defense is condemned.
Long before there was a United Nations, Hashem told Avraham:
וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאֹר
“I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” - Genesis 12:3
Nations have always had to decide where they stand.
The podium changes. The choice does not.
And here at home, November approaches.
Politicians jockey for position.
Parties calculate.
Candidates watch the polls.
But time is no refuge.
An election may change who holds office.
It does not change what is right.
BRIDGE TO THE TORAH
Sukkot asks us to leave the apparent security of our homes and sit beneath a fragile roof.
The Torah tells us why:
לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
“So that your generations shall know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.”- Leviticus 23:43
The lesson is not that shelter is unimportant.
It is that we must never confuse what protects us today with what sustains us forever.
The sukkah is temporary.
Our obligations are not.
On Sukkot, the Torah commands an extraordinary series of offerings. Our Sages understood the seventy bulls offered over the Festival as corresponding to the seventy nations of the world.
Israel prayed for the nations.
Today, the nations sit in judgment of Israel.
That, too, is moral inversion.
TORAH LESSONS FOR TODAY
1. MORALITY IS NOT DECIDED BY MAJORITY VOTE
The UN can count votes.
It cannot determine truth.
Wrong does not become right because enough nations applaud.
2. TIME IS NO REFUGE
November will come.
Elections will pass.
History will remember:
Who stood where when it mattered.
Leadership is not knowing where the crowd will be tomorrow.
Leadership is knowing where you stand today.
3. THE TEMPORARY REVEALS THE PERMANENT
Walls alone have never guaranteed Jewish survival.
Faith. Courage. Memory. Community. Responsibility.
These endure.
WE REMEMBER
This week, once again, Jewish families mourn those murdered by terrorists.
We pray for the healing of the wounded and comfort for those who mourn.
May the memories of those we lost be a blessing.
STEWARDSHIP INSIGHT
PERMANENCE IS NOT THE SAME AS PURPOSE
The sukkah will come down.
The question is what remains when it does.
Faith. Family. Community. Israel. The Jewish future.
That is stewardship.
FINAL TAKEAWAY
On Day 1,085, we sit beneath a fragile roof and remember an enduring truth:
Governments change.
Majorities change.
Elections change.
Public opinion changes.
Our responsibility does not.
The sukkah teaches us not to mistake temporary things for permanent ones.
History teaches us not to wait for tomorrow to decide where we stand today.
Time is no refuge.
Choose where you stand.
May Hashem protect the people of Israel and guard the courageous men and women of the IDF and the United States Military.
May He bring healing to the wounded, comfort to those who mourn, and protection to our families and communities.
Shabbat Shalom v’ Chag Sukkot Sameach. Am Yisrael Chai. 💙🔯🇮🇱🔯💙
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