But, you know, I don’t want to “skip Succos” anymore

How wonderful to feel you have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of close friends who share your fears and tears, your challenges and triumphs. I was reminded of that when a longtime reader recently wrote to tell me that my articles about raising my son Saadya z”l over the years gave her chizuk to face her personal challenges. Saadya succumbed to COVID-19 in April. I’m so grateful to this reader for that comment, because those words are actually a nechamah for me — and so important in my search for clarity, to find the answer to the “why” of what the One Above has determined for me.

I just put up my succah. Yes, even though there are no men in residence at this address. Originally, I was going to skip it. A few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone close to me that I wasn’t sure about putting up a succah — why bother?

“Really, you just want to sit inside and ignore Succos?” she asked me.

Well, yes, in fact, that’s the general idea…

But then I realized she was right. Not building a succah, ignoring Succos, would essentially mean I was giving into the “why” that has no answer.