Sukkos occurs at the time of year when farmers gather in most of the year’s crops. It is natural for a farmer to attribute the year’s turnover to his hard work and shrewd innovations, and therefore to celebrate this time of year as a milestone of personal achievement. A farmer is liable to feel that he did not need Hashem in the past nor does he need Him in the future. Not only does such a celebration lead a person toward arrogance, self-worship, and sin, but it is also limited to the temporal confines of this world. One cannot celebrate over more than what he possesses, and even this he cannot enjoy if his neighbor possesses more. In Hashem’s kindness, He commanded us with a series of mitzvos that guide us to focus our celebration during this time of the year around Him. In this way, the celebration has only a positive effect and the joy is so much greater, as shall be explained.

The beauty of the Four Species arouses joy in the hearts of all who behold them (Sefer Hachinuch). We stand before Hashem and take these species at hand as representatives of the year’s produce, thus attributing our successes in the past year to Hashem and rejoicing over His kindness. Gratitude to Hashem always goes hand in hand with increased dedication toward His service, as it is only fitting that we use the bounty that He has granted us for His sake (Chovos HaLevavos). Therefore, we take the Four Species, which symbolize body parts that we are now dedicating to Hashem's service. The Esrog represents the heart, the Lulav represents the spine and the nervous system, the Hadasim represent the eyes, and the Aravos represent the mouth. It is especially appropriate to dedicate ourselves to His service now, after Yom Kippur, when Hashem has atoned for our sins and granted us new life.

We are commanded to dwell in sukkos during the festival of Sukkos, in remembrance of how Hashem protected us from the sun in His Clouds of Glory as He led us out of Egypt. The schach must be made specifically from ground-grown material so that it resembles a cloud, which forms from vapor that rises from the ground (Sukkah 11b and Shulchan Aruch §625). One might wonder: Hashem could have commanded us to symbolize the Clouds of Glory in another way, such as by making the schach out of fluffy white materials. Why did He focus on the seemingly minor detail that the Clouds of Glory rise from the ground? We may suggest that we use grown-grown material to symbolize the Clouds of Glory so that we will take to heart that all of our hard-earned "ground-grown" accomplishments materialize only with Hashem's help and for the sake of His glory.

Let us appreciate the significance of the original Clouds of Glory that surrounded us in the Wilderness, and then we will apply it to the sukkah. A cloud is the most temporary of shelters and a wilderness is the most bereft of shelter. We seek to recall that element of the Exodus every year as we sit in the sukkah. Though we are no longer in the wilderness and have homes of our own, we remind ourselves once a year that the shelter that this world provides is as temporary as a cloud in the wilderness. Our only reliance, therefore, is upon Hashem, Who sheltered us in the Wilderness and continues to shelter us throughout history. It is imperative that we do so now, at the time that we gather in and appreciate the past year's accomplishments, when we are liable to view our possessions as our permanent acquisitions and to think that we can trust in ourselves.

Another idea we see regarding the original Clouds of Glory is that there was nothing other than Hashem in the Wilderness. We literally lived with Him, for His presence rested visibly in the Mishkan in the center of our encampment and we witnessed His miracles on a daily basis. Just like the Jewish people had no earthly pursuits in the Wilderness, and were therefore able to engage solely in spiritual pursuits, so too, once we realize that this world has no intrinsic and lasting worth, we can serve Hashem wholeheartedly. We sit in the sukkah for seven days, corresponding to the seven decades in a standard lifespan (Abarbanel), to bring attention to the fact that our lives in this world are limited, and that the only way to make them last forever is by filling them with mitzvos that connect us to the Eternal.z

On a deeper level of understanding, dwelling in a sukkah is not only a reminder of how Hashem protected us in His Clouds of Glory following the Exodus; it is also a miniature manifestation of that event. Every year during Sukkos, following the restoration of our relationship with Hashem on Yom Kippur, we live together with Hashem in the sukkah in a state of married bliss. The Kabbalists teach that “the two walls and a handsbreadth” of a sukkah represent Hashem’s upper arm, forearm, and hand, encircling us in a Divine embrace.