Hi I was listening to rabbi Yonofsky’s episode on Chanukah when he mentioned a question he hadn’t found an answer to. I actually asked the same question on Sukkos but had heard an answer from Torah anytime. I wasn’t sure how to get it to him but heres a copy of it.
Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter
Seeing Through the Clouds
In the opinion of R’ Eliezer in the Gemara (Sukkah 11b), the mitzvah of Sukkah commemorates the Annanei HaKavod, Clouds of Glory, which surrounded the Jewish people on all four sides of their travel through the desert. Upon consideration, however, it is interesting to note that specifically this miracle is that which we commemorate over all others. There are many miraculous incidents and aspects which we could have created a Yom Tov around, such as the Manna which fell for the Jews daily and the Be’er Miriam, which provided them with water. Why specifically do we commemorate the Annanei HaKavod?
The answer to this will as well resolve another noteworthy oddity. Chazal tells us that the Clouds of Glory surrounded the Jewish people on all four sides. At the same time, though, halacha permits a Sukkah to have as little as two walls and a tefach (handbreadth). But if the Annanei HaKavod, from which the mitzvah of Sukkah is derived, enclosed the Jews on all four sides, why is it permitted to have any less than four walls for a Sukkah? That should be required, and no other wall configuration should be acceptable.
In truth, though, a Yom Tov could have theoretically been made in relation to the many other miracles which occurred at that time. Such miracles which point at Hashem running the world and extending beyond the confines of nature all ingrain ever-important foundations of belief of Hashem within us. However, the miracles of the Clouds of Glory provide us with a unique window of insight into Hashem’s involvement in our lives.
As the Jews traveled through the desert, due to the miraculous effects of the Annanei HaKavod, they were impervious to any potential harm that could have been caused by the unsafe desert conditions. The challenge was to understand the miracle and appreciate the fact that despite the reality that the desert temperatures were scorching hot and wind was howling, the Jews remained comfortably safe and sound. The Jewish people realized that just beyond the Clouds of Glory protecting them was a merciless and dangerous desert which could easily break and demoralize them. Anyone who would spend just a few moments inspecting, analyzing and thinking about their predicament would come to this conclusion. If the Jews could, so to speak, look through the Annanei HaKavod and see what would otherwise be awaiting just outside, they would be endlessly appreciative and rejoice at their goodness within the Clouds.
For this same reason, halacha allows for the walls of the Sukkah to not necessarily enclose us completely. Sitting in a Sukkah which contains openings allows one to look outside and realize what the conditions are out there and how much better and pleasant it is to be protected and sheltered by the Sukkah. The partial lack of enclosure affords one such an opportunity and sends back to him or her the same message the Jews received when traveling with the Clouds of Glory.
Our level of appreciation for all that Hashem does for us in our daily lives immensely grows when such an attitude is realized. When we gain a glimpse into the conditions we would otherwise be subject to and then consider our current sheltered protection with the Clouds of Glory or Sukkah, our degree of hakaras ha’tov for the many seeming mundane or given things we have in life changes. We become different people, and more appreciative, and from there, grow and grow with new purpose and perspective.
