Two years ago, our perception of Simchat Torah changed forever. The Hamas invasion on Simchat Torah undermined our simchah then and will continue to challenge our celebration in years to come. Just as Yom Kippur reminds us of the Yom Kippur War, so too we now associate Simchat Torah with the Hamas attack.

But the day of the attack was not just Simchat Torah — it was also the morning after Sukkot. That is significant because the sukkah symbolizes Hashem’s protection. It commemorates the Ananei HaKavod that safeguarded the Jewish people during their forty-year journey through the desert. Each year, we sit in the sukkah to recall Hashem’s protection then, and His continued protection today.

Two years ago, however, that protection felt absent. Less than twelve hours after sitting in the sukkah, we were attacked gruesomely. The attack was not confined to military bases; it extended to the home front. Families were murdered in their private homes, and many were taken hostage.

How can we still identify with the message of the sukkah — the sense of Hashem’s protection — after October 7?

The Last Two Years

Although this question was painful on October 7, 2023, it is much easier to answer two years later. Over the past two years, we have witnessed tremendous miracles — not only on the battlefield, but also on the home front.

Our enemies have fired more than twenty-five thousand rockets, missiles, drones, and other projectiles at the State of Israel, sometimes hundreds or even more than a thousand at once. Yet the vast majority failed to take human life.

Though the loss of even one soldier or civilian is a tragedy, we must recognize the miraculous way Hashem has protected the Jewish people over the past two years. Our enemies believed that October 7 would spark an ongoing massacre of Jews. While Hashem allowed that terrible day to unfold, He has since turned the tide against them. He has enabled us to strike our enemies on all sides, while protecting our communities from devastation.

We still have brothers and sisters held hostage, and the fighting continues, but the tables have been turned. Hashem has helped us dismantle each part of Iran’s “ring of fire” — and even to strike Iran itself.

The events of these two years also revealed another dimension of Hashem’s protection: only after our enemies’ full intentions were exposed did we realize the extent of the danger. Their plan included not only Hamas’s invasion, but also a simultaneous assault by Hizbollah in the north and terror forces from Judea, Samaria, and other parts of Israel as well. This was meant to be coordinated with missile barrages from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. Together, these attacks were designed to overwhelm Israeli defenses and, chas v’shalom, threaten the very existence of the state.

Hashem, however, disrupted their coordination. Hamas struck prematurely, before the others were ready. Instead of facing a united front, Hashem allowed us to confront and defeat each enemy one at a time.

The lessons of the last two years remind us that although our enemies in every generation devise elaborate plans to destroy us, Hashem ensures our survival. For reasons known only to Him, He sometimes allows us to be attacked, but at the same time, He spreads His protective clouds around us to limit the devastation.

Our Prayers for the Future

Recognizing Hashem’s great care for and protection of us should inspire us to deepen our prayers to His continued shelter. In recent years, we have seen the profound significance of His protection — both in times when it was revealed and in times when it was concealed.

When His protection is revealed, we glimpse how Hashem, our Father in heaven, longs to relate to us at all times. Our task is to return to Him in a way that allows Him to draw close. We must remember that Hashem uses our enemies to remind us of our need to strengthen our relationship with Him — and that lasting peace with them depends on true peace with Him.

Let us turn and return to Him so that we may merit the restoration of the ultimate sukkah  — the fallen Sukkah of David — and His spreading of His Sukkah of peace upon us, upon Yerushalayim, and upon the entire world.

הרחמן הוא יקים לנו את סוכת דוד הנופלת

ופרוש עלינו סוכת שלומך

Rav Reuven Taragin is the Dean of Overseas Students at Yeshivat Hakotel and the Educational Director of World Mizrachi and the RZA.

His new book, Essentials of Judaism, can be purchased at rabbikeuventaragin.com.