There’s a Chassidic teaching that (on a spiritual level) the Schach-cover of the Sukkah comes from the smoke cloud of the Ketoret-Incense of Yom Kippur. This has some roots in a Talmud teaching/opinion that the Schach cover reminds us of the “Clouds of Glory” that surrounded and protected the Jewish people during their journeys in the desert/wilderness after the Exodus.
I thought about this teaching during the Sukkah Building BBQ of 5787/2026.
We had a tight Minyan this Yom-Kippur. We made Minyan each time, and had good paced and flowing, beautiful prayer services. No complaints! Quite a few students were quite into it and meaningfully invested. But I realize that not all students are up to all that lengthy prayer, they might not relate as much to Yom Kippur. It might go over their heads and hearts.
This is generational shift we’ve witnessed over our 30 years here (since Fall 1997): It used to be that Yom Kippur was an absolute must for the vast majority of even marginally Jewish students. But that’s not the same anymore. There may be a lot more factors, of course, demographics and all that, but bottom line we have far fewer Yom-Kippur committed than we had when we first came.
Two days later we had the Sukkah Building BBQ. A much more diverse mix of students came out for this hands-on Mitzvah. It was such an uplift to see students of all backgrounds energetically invested in getting the walls up and in, the mats rolled out, and so many students worked to stuff the evergreen Schach up and around. They stood on ladders, atop the trellis, passing and pushing and helping – with so much energy, positive vibes… OK, there was food involved, and it was a good BBQ, but it wasn’t just about that. There were happy Sukkah vibes, the guys were really into it!
I’m thinking while the Yom Kippur incense may be more ethereal and ephemeral, more elusive, more intangible. But Chassidus says that the same highly spiritual Ketoret-cloud translates into the very tangible, earthy, hands-on Schach. And it enables more Jews to connect in ways they can feel, appreciate and relate to.
And according to this Chassidic teaching – that tangible earthy external Schach they are connecting with, that is indeed the Ketoret of the innermost Yom Kippur Temple Holy of Holies service!
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After writing this post above, I came across a talk of the Rebbe that explains this “Ketoret to Schach” concept – in a very beautiful inner perspective Jew-Appreciation style, as is the Rebbe’s way. It explains the details of the story how he heard it from his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak in 1947. And it means that my sentiments in the above post are BH also in line with Rebbe’s teachings on this.