David finds himself surrounded by King Saul and those allied to him who have slandered him. Although, by the hand of fate King Saul is suddenly diverted to dealing with the Philistines, leaving David to live another day, David turns to G-d to save him from his tormentors.
He appeals, תצפנם בסוכה — "Hide them [the righteous] in a Sukkah — shelter, מריב לשונות — from the strife of tongues." (תהלים לא כא)
The Gaon of Vilna sees in this verse that the objective of the mitzva of Sukkah is the subduing of the inclination from speaking Loshon Hora — slander.
He points out how the very letters in the word סוכה indicate this.
The pronunciation of the word סוכה — Sukkah engages four out of the five parts of our mouth—our lips, teeth, throat, and palate—but excludes the tongue.
The ס is from the group of letters pronounced using our teeth: ז,ס,ש,ר,צ.
The ו is from those expressed using our lips: ב,ו,מ,פ.
The כ from the palate: ג,י,כ,ה.
The ה guttural: א,ה,ח,ע.
One category of letters though, those associated with the tongue: ד,ט,ל,נ,ת, is statedly absent.
The tongue is of course associated with לשון — speech. By omitting the tongue, the word סוכה subtly reminds us to guard our speech, especially against lashon hora —slander, and to refrain from gossip, criticism, and divisiveness within our temporary dwelling.
The tongue, the Gaon of Vilna teaches, is blocked by two 'guards' on both sides, the lips and teeth in front, and the palate and throat from behind.
This is what King David alludes to in his appeal to G-d, "Hide the righteous in the סוכה" — with two guards in front, and two behind, and shelter us "from the strife of לשונות" — tongues [loshon hora].
One must always refrain from slandering others and certainly within the confines of the holy Sukkah, but in what way is fulfilling this specific command the antidote for the sin of loshon hora?
We sit in the Sukkah to remind us of the great miracle of the ענני הכבוד — Clouds of Glory, that protected us during our forty year sojourn in the desert.
The more accurate translation is Clouds of 'Honor'.
Who is being honored? The clouds? Is the Divine Presence being intimated here — the clouds of His Honor?
Perhaps the 'honor' implied here is the respect G-d showed to each, and every Jew, how precious they are to G-d. As differentiated from the miracles of the Manna and Miriam's Well which were necessities to sustain them, the Clouds of Honor was an extra measure of grace G-d conferred on them displaying before the world His appreciation for each one of us.
The very word כבוד some have suggested is rooted in the two letter root, בד — singular, as in the verse where Bilaam extolls our greatness, that we are a nationלבדד ישכון — who dwell alone.
The great 16th century rabbinic leader, Rav Aharon Shmuel of Kremenetz, adds: This teaches us that aside from being a unique nation, each righteous one has a dwelling singular to his כבודו — honor, no two alike, to indicate the inherent closeness we each possess with the Almighty. (נשמת אדם פ"י)
The verse that states 'Every native in Israel shall dwell in booths' teaching us that all of the Jewish people of fulfilling this command with just one Sukkah, is not simply proof that there is no requirement for personal 'ownership' to fulfill this command, but to indicate as well that each one of us is special and worthy of being acknowledged by G-d in being connected to Him uniquely.
So, the Sukkah is then a testament to how valued we are in G-d's eyes. That realization will humble us before one another, awakening us to our personal qualities, thus quashing the instinct to put down another with slanderous words and accusations.
It is indeed an antidote to speaking loshon hora.
The very first time the root word כבוד — honor appears, is when Yaakov, after having been exposed to Lavan's devious business practices, he heard the slanderous words of Lavan's sons, saying, "Yaakov has taken all that belonged to our father, and from that which belonged to our father he amassed all his כבוד — honor [wealth]."(בראשית לא א)
In the mouths of the uninhibited sons of Lavan, slanderous claims are lodged against the loyal but victimized son-in-law of Lavan — Yakov, with their false notion of כבוד — honor, which is earned by wealth and material achievement, and never by virtue and inherent worth.
The Yom of Sukkos, the Tur teaches us, corresponds to Yaakov, as the verse tells us that his destination after having fled Lavan and encountering Esav, is סוכות, calling it so since "he built himself a בית — 'house', and for his possessions he made 'Sukkos' — shelters, therefore calling it Sukkos."
בית is a house, but more literally it translates as 'interior' or 'contain', reflecting on something internal, not just a facade.
The Sukkah reminds us not to let our tongues lap at all that seems tempting, but to use our minds and hearts to contemplate and realize the nobility we each possess.
We are living through difficult times with increasing antisemitism and slanderous accusations against our people.
The antidote lies not in diplomacy and effective media messaging. It starts at home. When we appreciate each other, discovering our own worth in G-d's eyes, the Clouds of Glory too will return in its full splendor, capturing the world with our message and defeating our enemies, and finding eternal shelter in the ultimate Sukkah.
ויהי בשלם — Then was in Yerushalayim, סוכו — His Tabernacle, ומעונתו ציון — and His Dwelling in Zion!
חג שמח
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
