Starry Night

The Halacha is very clear that a sukkah is kosher only if the schach blocks out a majority of the sunlight- Tzilta Merubah Me’Chamta- which means that inside the sukkah there must be more shade than sunlight. Chazal have attributed many philosophical meanings to this legal requirement. Sitting in the sukkah is supposed to remind us of the ever-present protection that we experience from Hashem. The Zohar teaches that when we sit in our sukkahs we should try to experience, or at least appreciate, the Tzila D’Hemnutah, the protection that G-d provides that in return strengthens our faith in Him. It is interesting to note that just as shade symbolizes G-dliness, sunlight can represent the antithesis of G-dliness. According to Maimonides, the sun was the first being other than G-d that was worshipped by human beings. The worship of the sun began a downward spiral that ultimately led to a decrease in recognition of Hashem among all humans. As we sit in our temporary and flimsy huts we are reminded of our dependence on Hashem and therefore are careful to minimize the presence of sunlight.

            However there is another Halacha associated with our schach. Just as it can’t be too thin, it also shouldn’t be too thick. The Halacha states that one should be able to see the stars through the schach. Some poskim understand this requirement to mean that one should be able to see the stars from at least one vantage point in the sukkah. Q: What is so important about the stars that they are required viewing from our sukkahs?

            One of the most famous paintings in the world is “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. In describing his inspiration for this painting Van Gogh wrote “When I have a terrible need of- shall I say the word- religion- then I go out and paint the stars.” Although van Gogh was mentally ill, this statement has a lot of truth to it. Stars, both their physical existence as well as their symbolic meaning, have been fertile ground for religious interpretation and inspiration.

            Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in his philosophical work Derech Hashem writes that the stars serve as the pipeline through which heavenly influences are brought into the physical world. Nevertheless, stars are far removed from our reality. The closest star to our planet is four light years away. In Parshat Breishit, the pasuk tells us about the creation of the stars only after emphasizing the creation of the sun and moon. Rav Hirsch comments that the importance of stars for the earth is less recognizable. Stars play a much more central role as a Jewish symbol and in our own imaginations.

            According to Rav Soloveitchik we must be able to see the stars from our sukkah in order to keep our horizons broad. The Rav explained that man's problem is that his personal schach obscures his vision. It prevents a person from seeing the world, from seeing the full grandeur of Hashem. Each person believes that he has discovered the world's deepest secrets and fancies himself all knowing and all capable. Each of us sits in his or her own tiny booth with such thick personal schach that we cannot fathom the existence of stars, of something beyond our own worldview. By looking at the stars, we remind ourselves that there is a whole universe out there full of possibilities and promise.