The holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), referred to as “the season of our joy,” is one of the most unique and meaningful holidays in the Jewish calendar. One of the features of the holiday is dwelling in booths, as it says:
As the weather turns cooler and people prepare to retreat indoors for the winter, Jews leave their comfortable homes and step outside to dwell in fragile, temporary huts — the sukkot.
But we are not meant to dwell in these huts alone. One of the traditions we perform on this holiday is welcoming the ushpizin, the spiritual guests, into the sukkah. Why do we invite these guests, and what do they represent?
The ushpizin are the seven “patriarchs” of the Jewish people — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David — who are symbolically invited to join us in the sukkah. On each of the seven days of the festival, one of these spiritual forefathers is honored as the primary guest. According to Rabbi Norman Lamm, their presence in the sukkah is far more than a ceremonial gesture. These figures, who all experienced profound moments of displacement, wandering, and exile in their lives, embody one of the core lessons of Sukkot: how to maintain spiritual resilience in a state of impermanence.
The sukkah itself is a symbol of this impermanence. A temporary structure, it commemorates the temporary shelters the Israelites built during their forty years of wandering in the desert (Leviticus 23:43), a time when they were neither in the land of their bondage, Egypt, nor in their promised home, Israel. Thus, The sukkah embodies transience or, as Rabbi Lamm put it, the sukkah teaches us “how to live in exile — and to survive.”
In the modern world, the feeling of displacement, or alienation, is not foreign. Many people, regardless of their circumstances, experience a sense of not fully belonging, of being strangers in their own lives or environments. This universal experience of alienation is something that the ushpizin deeply understood. Abraham was called to leave his homeland and wander in search of his destiny. Isaac, after the binding on Mount Moriah, became a stranger even in his own household, misunderstood by those closest to him. Jacob fled from his brother and spent years in exile working for Laban. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and rose to prominence in a foreign land, never fully at home in Egypt. Moses had to run away from Egypt and was a refugee in Midian. Aaron, abandoned by Moses who had ascended Mount Sinai, stood helpless as the people worshiped the Golden Calf. David spent years running from Saul and even from his own son. Each of these figures lived through experiences of alienation, yet they did not lose their sense of purpose or their connection to their spiritual identity.
By inviting the ushpizin into our sukkah, we are reminded of their struggles and their ability to maintain faith and integrity in the face of exile. Their presence in the sukkah teaches us how to survive both our national exile and our personal moments of alienation. In a world where displacement — whether emotional, physical, or spiritual — is a common experience, the ushpizin offer us a model for how to remain grounded and connected to our values, even in the midst of turmoil.
Moreover, the presence of the ushpizin in the sukkah extends an essential lesson about hospitality and empathy. Just as we invite these spiritual guests, we are also expected to invite human guests, particularly the poor and the lonely, into our sukkah.
The sukkah, fragile and open to the elements, serves as a powerful reminder of human vulnerability. By welcoming the ushpizin, we acknowledge that every person, like our forefathers, carries their own burdens of exile and alienation. Yet, just as our ancestors overcame these challenges, we too can rise above them and thrive. They are timeless guides reminding us that exile — whether personal or communal, physical or spiritual — can be endured with grace, strength, and faith. And they remind us of the moral obligation to extend kindness and generosity to the vulnerable. True joy is only complete when it is shared with those in need.
Through this sacred ritual, we learn that the key to survival, both physically and spiritually, lies in our ability to carry our values with us wherever we go — and to share them with others.
The text that we recite when inviting the ushpizin into our sukkot, as well as so many other meaningful prayers, can be found in our new prayer book, “Stand By Me Volume II: Daily, Sabbath and Festival Prayers”. Order your copy today!
