God Does Not Only Care About the Spiritual

Yom Kippur is about stripping away everything that blocks us from God, experiencing ultimate intimacy with the Creator. We confess our sins, remove physical distractions, and create a moment where nothing stands between us and God. That’s a level of connection we can’t always maintain during the year, but it might leave us with the misconception that God only cares about the spiritual, the holy, the big things. We might think God only exists in the synagogue, behind the ark, and cares only when we show up and say the right Hebrew words.

God Is Interested in Every Part of Our Lives

But Sukkot teaches us that God is interested in every part of our lives, not just the big, spiritual moments. Sukkot is a bridge between the mountaintop experience of Yom Kippur and the rest of our daily lives. The sukkah itself is a temporary dwelling, a “shade of faith,” where we can feel God’s presence more than anywhere else, similar to the holiness of the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple). But in the sukkah, we’re supposed to be normal—eat, relax, spend time with family, and be ourselves. Why? Because God is showing us that He cares about all aspects of our life, even the mundane.

Taking God’s Presence with Us Beyond Sukkot

God is with us in every moment, in everything we do. He’s not just interested in the mountaintop experiences like Yom Kippur; He’s with us in the mundane, in the daily grind. The sukkah represents this reality: it’s a hug from God. The minimum requirement for a sukkah is two walls and a little bit, which is the minimum you need for a hug—one arm, two arms, and a little bit around you. When we enter the sukkah, we’re stepping into God’s embrace.

If you can be in a physical sukkah, amazing—spend as much time as you can there. But if you can’t, at least enter that space in your mind. Recognize that during this time, God wants to be found in the mundane, in every aspect of our lives. Talk to Him, connect with Him in your own language. If we can approach Sukkot with this mindset and practice it, when the holiday is over and we step into the rest of the year, we won’t be alone—we’ll take God with us.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and deeply connected Sukkot. May we feel God’s presence under the sukkah and carry it with us throughout the year.

Note:
The above quotes are taken from the original audio/video content.