Why does the temporary structure become our home during the festival?
We love permanent things: a permanent contract, steady work, a permanent home, a clear plan. The word “temporary” sounds threatening. Yet for seven days the Torah turns precisely the temporary structure into the place of the mitzvah. The Mishnah says that a person makes the sukkah his permanent dwelling and his house temporary (Mishnah Sukkah 2:9).
This does not deny the value of stability. It reminds us that even the most stable parts of life are not eternal. Children grow. People age. Jobs end. Houses change owners.
That knowledge can frighten us, but it can also make us more present. If the moment is temporary, then this meal is not merely “another meal.” The child sitting beside us will not always be this age. The parent we can call today will not always be waiting on the other end of the line.
Impermanence is not a reason to love life less. It is exactly a reason to love life now, before the moment we take for granted becomes a memory we would give anything to receive for one more hour.