A Year of Stories #13: Sukkot or Shabbat?

More a teaching than a story, file it for next year to share on Shabbat Sukkot

The Voorker Rav and The Kotzker Rebbe were discussing the relative merits of Sukkot and Shabbat.

Comparing the different mitzvot that are observed on Sukkot the Voorker Rav declared, 
"I prefer the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah over the mitzvah of the Dalet Minim, the Four Species. After all, when you let go of the lulav and etrog, you let go of the kedushah, the holiness, whereas when you are in the Sukkah you cannot let go; the sanctity completely surrounds you."

The Kotzker Rebbe nodded his approval, but responded, "Yes, it is true that the Sukkah has this advantage, but, when compared to Shabbat, even the Sukkah falls short. After all, one can
walk out of a Sukkah, but one can never walk out of Shabbat, no matter where in the
world a person is and no matter his or her level of observance. For those hours it is
Shabbat. You cannot escape it -  Shabbat is completely enveloping."

In praising the Sukkah, the Voorker Rav was praising the concept of kedushat makom, the sanctity of space/place.
The Kotzker Rebbe countered that with praise for the Sabbath, our oasis in time, for the concept of kedushat z'man, the sanctity of time. For space can be abandoned or destroyed, as opposed to time which is not physical, and therefore its sanctity can never be undone or abandoned.

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My late rebbe, R' Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, zt"l, (זכר צדיק לברכה) was a master storyteller. He taught: "a good story is one where the mind surprises the heart". "A Year of Stories" is dedicated to his memory. I invite you to forward the link to these stories so that they find their way into the hearts of other listeners and tellers.

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Minyan Oneg Shabbat. Thank you.
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