Sukkot: Why God Commanded Our People to Rejoice

The sukkah reminds us that for forty years in the wilderness, we had no permanent home. We had only God. He fed us with manna, gave us water from the rock, and went before us in the cloud and the fire. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, a time to thank God for all He has provided.

So the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles comes down to two things: remembering and rejoicing. We remember that God carried us, and we rejoice because He still does.

I want you to hold on to a number: three.

Three times a year, God called all Israel up to Jerusalem to worship Him. We call these the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrim festivals:

1. Pesach (Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated together)
2. Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks)
3. Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles, the one we’re in now)

At these appointed times, God didn’t just ask our people to show up. He told them to rejoice before Him.

The Hebrew word for joy is simcha. For Sukkot above all, the Torah uses it again and again:

“You shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.” (Leviticus 23:40)

“You shall rejoice in your festival…” (Deuteronomy 16:14)

“…and you shall have nothing but joy.” (Deuteronomy 16:15)

Our sages noticed that joy is mentioned three times in connection with Sukkot. That is part of why it became known as the Season of Our Joy.

Think about that. Three times a year, God called His people to be happy in Him. He wanted them thankful, uplifted, and free, just beaming with His glory.

Throughout the Tanakh, three is a sacred number that speaks of completeness and wholeness. Let me show you a few examples.

I AM: Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh

When Moses stood at the burning bush, he asked God, “Who should I say sent me?” God answered, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Then He revealed His Name, the four Hebrew letters Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei.

Think about the words “I AM.” “I AM” encompasses the three dimensions of time: past, present, and future. When God said “I AM,” He was telling us that He fills all three. He always was, He is right now, and He always will be.

We sing this every Shabbat in Adon Olam: v’hu haya, v’hu hoveh, v’hu yihyeh—“He was, He is, and He will be.”

The Mishkan: Three Places to Meet God

“Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

In Exodus 25, God told our people to build a mishkan, a tabernacle. The mishkan was the meeting place between God and Israel. And how many parts did it have? Three: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant rested.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Our people come from three fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Every time we pray the Amidah, we call on Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, v’Elohei Yaakov—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Three speaks of completeness, wholeness, and perfection. So when God commanded our people to rejoice at all three pilgrim festivals, this tells me He wants His people to be happy all the time, not just on holidays.

I know life is hard. It’s hard for me, and it’s hard for everybody. Some days we wake up carrying a lot of weight. Many of us carry grief, worry, and generations of pain. Our people know suffering better than almost anyone.

But God is asking us to practice something. We have to do our best to build a disposition in our hearts of gratitude, because Sukkot is about being thankful, and of simcha.

This doesn’t mean we won’t face challenges and struggles, or that nothing will make us sad. It means that at the deepest core of our being, we can have joy. We know that God chose us, that He loves us, that He is with us, and that He is working all things in our lives for good.

The prophet Zechariah tells us that Sukkot still has a future. In the days of Messiah, the nations will come up to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:16).

So have joy this Feast of Tabernacles, my beloved friend. Sit in the sukkah, look up through the branches, and thank the One who always was, who is, and who always will be. He carried our people through the wilderness, and He wants to carry you too.

If this raised a question in your heart, we’d love to hear from you:

• Watch Rabbi’s video teachings at jews.com/teachings.
• Read Hear, O Israel: Is Jesus the Jewish Messiah? and First Rejected, Then Revealed.
• Ask a private question in the form below or text us at 212-203-6406. Someone from our team will personally read and reply.

Chag Sameach.