Parashah of the week: Shabbat Chol Hamo’ed Succot

In the special Torah reading for this Shabbat, we find the instruction not to appear before God “empty-handed”. In biblical times, this meant that when people travelled to Jerusalem for the festivals, they brought offerings. Yet the phrase has a broader resonance that speaks powerfully to our own lives today.

Succot, often called the festival of joy, is really about gratitude. For one week we leave the comfort of our homes and step into a fragile hut with a roof made of branches. It feels temporary, exposed, and even a little inconvenient. But it is precisely this experience that helps us remember how fortunate we are.

Think for a moment about how people lived just a few generations ago. Most did not have running water or heating. Even kings and queens lived without the simple luxuries that we take for granted every day.

The ability to turn on a tap and have clean water flow out, to flick a switch and light up a room, or to flush a toilet is a level of comfort and security unimaginable to the wealthiest households of 200 years ago. Succot asks us to pause and to recognise that we are surrounded by blessings.

This is the deeper meaning of not coming “empty-handed”. We do not show up to life with nothing to offer. Each of us can bring gratitude, awareness and presence. When we step into a succah, we are reminded that joy does not depend on lavish possessions or permanent walls, but on appreciating what we already have.

A temporary shelter can still be a place of abundance when it is filled with thankfulness.
The message extends well beyond the festival itself. In daily life it is easy to slip into habit and to overlook the comforts that surround us. Succot interrupts that routine. It teaches that happiness is not achieved by constantly seeking more, but by realising how much we already enjoy.

When the Torah says, “Do not appear before Me empty-handed,” it is urging us to bring something of ourselves. Gratitude is a gift we give, both to others and to ourselves. By choosing to live with thankfulness, we ensure that we never come empty, but always full: full of perspective, full of humility, and full of joy.

Photo: Celebrating Succot in Johannesburg, Succot (Photo: Getty Images)