During the festival of Sukkot, we add into our blessing after meals the supplication, “May the Merciful One rebuild for us the fallen sukka of David,” recalling the verse (Amos 9:11), “On that day I shall rebuild the fallen sukka of David.”
Why is this specific image chosen to depict Knesset Yisrael? Could the prophet not have used some other, more impressive or more stately image – such as, for example, a tower, based on the verse (Shir Ha-shirim 7:5), “Your neck is like an ivory tower”? The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 35) explains as follows:
“The kingdom of the House of David is called a ‘sukka.’ For every kingdom is called a ‘house’… because something that is a powerful reality in the world is called a ‘house,’ which is a permanent structure. Accordingly, a kingdom is called a ‘house,’ because of the strength and permanence that it embodies…
If a house collapses, the symbol that it originally represented is nullified. If it is rebuilt, then it is a new house. The builder is not regarded as having rebuilt the fallen house – an entity that has ceased to exist; rather, it is as though he built a new house from the start.
A sukka, on the other hand, is not a complete, permanent structure. Therefore, if it falls, the idea of ‘rebuilding’ does apply to it, and it is easily restored to its original state. Likewise the kingdom of the House of David: by virtue of its potential for reestablishment following the fall of the kingdom, it is referred to as the ‘fallen sukka of David.’ At the time of its fall it belongs to the category of ‘sukka,’ for a sukka can be rebuilt, and indeed rebuilding it is a simple matter.”
The collapse of a house is absolute and final; it cannot be re-established. A sukka, on the other hand, can fall much more easily, but it can also be rebuilt.
This is what characterizes Am Yisrael and the kingdom of Israel. A house is strong and stable, withstanding nature’s storms – but if it falls, it cannot be rebuilt. A sukka is quite fragile; a wind that is just slightly stronger than usual is enough to blow it over. In a similar way, the kingdom of Israel is fragile; it cannot withstand storms and it can easily collapse – but it arises anew, re-establishing itself.
Based on a sicha by Harav Yehuda Amital zt”l
Adapted by Boaz Kallush, translated by Kaeren Fish, and abridged by HaTanakh.com Staff
Courtesy of the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il