Sukkah 24

The Mishnah states that if one makes his Sukkah among the trees and the trees serve as walls for the Sukkah, the Sukkah is valid.

This statement can be interpreted homiletically to mean that a Sukkah, which symbolizes man’s frailty, should be built amongst the trees, i.e. the righteous, who are likened in Scripture to trees. When the spies returned from Eretz Yisroel with their disparaging report, Calev responded to them, “their protection has departed from them; HaShem is with us. Do not fear them.

The Medrash states that the protection of the Canaanites was Iyov, a righteous person, who had died. Thus, we see that the righteous are referred to as the protectors, and the righteous protect the nation just like a Sukkah provides shade for one dwelling inside. When one dwells in the Sukkah, he is not alone, because the Ushpizin, the seven righteous Patriarchs and leaders of the past, are also with him in the Sukkah.

Sukkah 12

The Gemara quotes a verse that states, ‘go out to the mountain and bring olive leaves, leaves of the oil tree, myrtle leaves, palm leaves and leaves of the braided tree, to make Sukkahs, as it is written in the Torah.’ It is noteworthy that the items mentioned in this verse allude to Torah, to those who study Torah and to the righteous. The mountain is an allusion to the righteous, as the Patriarchs are always likened to the mountains. Oil is a reference to wisdom, as the Gemara states that one who seeks wisdom should head south, as the Menorah was placed in the southern section of the Bais HaMikdash. Myrtle leaves alludes to the righteous as it is said, ‘and he was standing among the myrtles,’ and the Gemara in Sanhedrin interprets this to be referring to the righteous. Palm leaves also allude to the righteous, as it is said in Tehillim, ‘a righteous man will flourish like a date palm.’ The purpose of gathering all these items was to make a Sukkah and this is appropriate because after being judged favorably on Rosh Hashanah and gaining atonement on Yom Kippur, the Jewish People enter the festival of Sukkos as a completely righteous nation.