“Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: lulav, seven; and sukkah, one” (Sukkah 45b). So…
Sukkah 45: Seeing Double
The arava, the willow branch, has a dual function on Sukkot. It is the last of four species that…
Sukkah 43: My Lulav Is Better Than Yours
Despite the explicit command to take the lulav on the first day of Sukkot--…
Shemini: Holy Cow!
In Jewish law, it is the middle that is most important. We surround the sefer Torah with …
Sukkah 38: Shake the Lulav
"A child who knows how to shake [the lulav] is obligated to take the lulav" (Sukkah 42a).
Sukkah 36: Lulav in the Sukkah
We tend to view the mitzvoth of sitting in the sukkah and the arba minim (henceforth…
Sukkah 35: Long Live the Etrog
The Rambam in his introduction to the Mishna divides the Oral Law into various categories. He…
Sukkah 34: Don't Cut Yourself
"And you shall take for yourself on the first day pri etz hadar, a beautiful fruit tree,…
Sukkah 30: Why Steal a Lulav?
My first introduction to the writings of Rabbi Soloveitchik was in yeshiva in Israel when I…
Sukkah 27: I Love My Sukkah
Considering that one is supposed to live in one’s sukkah as one lives in one’s home one…
Sukkah 26: I'm Too Busy
"Rabbi Yossi Haglilee used to say: One who is involved in a mitzvah is exempt from another…
Sukkah 22: Seeing Stars
One of the basic requirements of a sukkah is that the s'chach provide more shade…
Parshat Shekalim (Pekudei): Pre-empting Haman
“Reish Lakish said: It was well known beforehand to Him at whose word the world came into…
Sukkah 21: Time to Go to Bed
As important as classroom education may be, informal education is often more valuable. "The…
Sukkah 17: No Walls
"For G-d is bringing you to a good land...a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs,…
Sukkah 14: Open Your Heart
The halachic system, like all legal systems, is on based on verifiable actions. What one may think…
Sukkah 11: If You Build It...
While the Jerusalem Talmud rules that one makes a bracha upon construction of a sukkah (…
Sukkah 6: What's in a Letter?
In 1878, Yehuda Leib Gordon published a poem, Kotzo shel yud, in which he pokes