If an extraterrestrial alien were to drop onto Earth next week, the visitor could see people eating and sleeping in fragile huts outdoors, even in cool weather. It would see grown men walking around in circles in synagogues shaking branches while holding a yellow fruit and chanting prayers.
At first glance, the festival of Sukkot seems replete with peculiar rituals, incongruous in todays fast-paced, materialistic world.
But take a closer look.
The sukkah in which Jews eat, entertain friends and sleep during the unpredictable autumn weather is reminiscent of the huts which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. The sukkah is intended to reflect G-ds benevolence in providing for the Jews needs in the wilderness.
We now seem to be entering a financial wilderness. To enter into a mode of displaying trust in G-d may be an antidote to the turmoil and uncertainty that has threatens to consume us.
