What is the surprising connection between the festival of Sukkot and all the nations of the world, and why does this Jewish festival in particular take on such a universal meaning?
The connection is far more surprising than it seems: on Sukkot the people of Israel are not celebrating only their own story. According to the Sages, within the Temple service of the festival they carry, in a certain sense, the whole world as well.
1. The mysterious number hidden in the festival offerings
In the passage of the additional offerings, the Torah sets out that on Sukkot 13 bulls are offered on the first day, 12 on the second, then 11, 10, 9, 8, and on the seventh day 7. Together:
13 + 12 + 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 = 70.
This is a highly unusual structure among the festival offerings, and it is detailed in Numbers 29:12-34.
The Sages asked exactly the obvious question: why seventy?
In tractate Sukkah it is said:
“These seventy bulls, what do they correspond to? To the seventy nations.”
Sukkah 55b.
That is, according to Rabbi Elazar, the seventy bulls of Sukkot are directed toward the seventy nations of the world.
And here comes something even more striking.
Rabbi Yochanan says of the nations of the world that when the Temple stood:
“The altar would atone for them.”
Sukkah 55b.
In other words, according to these words of the Sages, when Israel stood in the Temple and offered the sacrifices of the festival of Sukkot - the service was not concerned with Israel alone.
It held a dimension of atonement for the nations of the world.
Rashi there explains that the bulls come “to atone for them, so that rain will fall throughout the whole world, because on the festival they are judged concerning water” (Rashi on Sukkah 55b).
This already turns Sukkot from a purely national festival into a festival with a worldwide dimension.
2. And then Zechariah comes and says something even more astonishing
The prophet Zechariah describes a vision of the future in which it is precisely the festival of Sukkot that becomes the focus of the nations’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
The verse, according to the Masoretic text:
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to bow down to the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.”
Zechariah 14:16.
Notice:
The prophet is not describing here only Israel celebrating Sukkot.
The nations of the world themselves go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.
And even more surprising - in the next verse Zechariah ties this to the falling of rain. A family among the families of the earth that does not go up to Jerusalem - upon them there will be no rain. Zechariah 14:17.
And here everything begins to connect.
3. Why Sukkot in particular?
From here I move to idea and interpretation, and not to an explicit quotation from the Sages.
Passover tells a very particular story:
The people of Israel go out of Egypt.
Shavuot is tied to the giving of the Torah and to Israel’s special covenant.
But when Sukkot arrives, we meet things that are on the one hand very Jewish, and on the other hand entirely human:
Water. Rain. Harvest. Shelter. Impermanence. Dependence on the Creator.
Rain does not fall only for Jews.
The earth does not bring forth growth only for Jews.
A person who needs protection from heat, cold and rain is not necessarily Jewish.
And the question of whether a person truly controls nature or depends on something greater than themselves - is a question for all of humanity.
That is why one can understand why this universal dimension appears precisely around Sukkot.
4. And there is a beautiful paradox here
The sukkah is one of the most prominent Jewish symbols of all.
But think about what a sukkah is.
There is no palace in it.
There is no fortress in it.
There is almost nothing in it that expresses national power.
There are a few walls and a covering of branches.
And the person sits under the sky.
The next idea is a homily: perhaps precisely when a person leaves the strong house for the temporary structure, the common denominator of all human beings is revealed.
Kings and the poor can build completely different houses.
But when the rain does not fall - both need rain.
When a person stands before nature - both are human beings.
And when the walls are removed - it becomes clear how much all of us depend on a kindness that we do not produce ourselves.
5. And then Shemini Atzeret arrives - and the picture turns over again
Right after the seventy bulls of the seven days of Sukkot, the Torah commands on Shemini Atzeret:
One bull - Numbers 29:36.
And the Sages say:
“A single bull, why? To correspond to a singular nation.”
Sukkah 55b.
And immediately they bring a parable of a king who made a great feast, and at the end asks the one he loves to make a small feast so that he may enjoy his company alone.
And this creates an astonishing structure:
The seven days of Sukkot - seventy bulls - the whole world.
Shemini Atzeret - one bull - Israel and the Holy One.
As if the festival of Sukkot says two things that do not contradict each other:
On the one hand - the people of Israel have a special covenant with the Holy One.
On the other hand - the blessing they strive for is not meant to end at their borders.
And here, in my eyes, is the most fascinating question:
Why does the festival on which Israel remembers how the Holy One protected them in the wilderness become, in the prophet, the festival on which all the nations come to serve the Holy One?
The idea I propose is this:
Perhaps the Torah does not want Israel to remember the protection in the wilderness and reach the conclusion:
The Holy One watches over only us.
But rather a deeper conclusion:
The One who watched over us in the wilderness is the King of the whole world.
And then the sukkah turns from something that looks small and local - into an enormous message.
The people of Israel sit inside a small sukkah.
But from within it they discover the God of an entire world.
And this is perhaps one of the beautiful ironies of the festival:
Precisely when we enter our smallest structure - the festival opens up to all of humanity.