The Succah in the Wilderness In what kind of succahs did our
ancestors dwell in the wilderness? Rabbi Eliezer says they were
not man-made succahs, but rather miraculous pillars of cloud -
"clouds of glory" - which protected the Children of Israel from
the inhospitable desert climate. Rabbi Akiva's view is that they
were succahs which the people put up for shade wherever they
camped on their way through the wilderness. Although the
consensus of the commentaries is to accept Rabbi Eliezer's view
(see Targum Onkelos on Vayikra 23:42), there is an interesting
perspective of how to approach these two differing views. There
is a fascinating relationship of mutual love between Hashem and
His chosen people. In the manner of such relationships, each
party seeks to compliment and praise the other. We refer to the
festival celebrating our exodus from Egypt by the name "Pesach,"
which recalls that Hashem did "Pass-over" the Jewish homes when
He slaughtered the Egyptian firstborn. But Hashem, in His Torah,
calls it the "F