When the Torah gives the mitzvah of building a sukkah, it also gives a reason which at first glance seems inconsistent with our literal understanding of the narrative of the Exodus. The Torah says (Vayikra 23:43): “For I caused Israel to dwell in sukkot.” The context of this statement is obscure, as is the description of these “sukkot” in which Hashem settled us.
Rabbeinu Bachye points out that there is a difference of opinion among the Sages of the Talmud as to whether this statement is to be understood literally. Did Israel actually build sukkot in the wilderness to dwell in them? He brings proofs for each point of view, but in the end expresses his opinion that the sukkot are to be understood figuratively, as symbolic of the Clouds of Glory which surrounded us for 40 years in the desert. According to this reading, the sukkah is a means of miraculous protection that Hashem provided for us after we left Mitzrayim, and that we also ask Him to surround us within our time of need. Thus, for example, David HaMelech says in the chapter of Tehillim that we recite from Elul until the end of Sukkot, “He conceals me in the sukkah on a terrible day, He hides me in the shelter of His tent…” (Ps. 27:5). From this we learn that the sukkah refers to Divine protection, and Hashem’s refuge for us is a sukkah.
When the Torah restates the mitzvot of Sukkot in Devarim (17) – although it doesn’t actually mention there the mitzvah of sukkah (!) – Rabbeinu Bachye discusses some of the hidden aspects of this mitzvah, particularly as they relate to the mitzvah of rejoicing on the holiday and in the context of all the major pilgrimage holidays under discussion there. He explains that the notion of the sukkah also derives from the power of Divine inspiration (Ruach HaKodesh), and that it signifies the Divine Attribute of wisdom (chochma). This in and of itself is intriguing, because Ruach HaKodesh is typically associated with bina (understanding) in the tradition of the Arizal, so Rabbeinu Bachye must have known that in referencing these two attributes, he was invoking two of the three nodes of the Divine intellect, commonly signified by the acronym ChaBaD (chochma, bina, and da’at).
The connection between sukkah and Ruach HaKodesh comes from the Gemara in Megillah (14a) relating to the connection between our mother Sarah and her other name, Yiska, which shares an etymological root with sukkah. The derivation of chochma is a bit more complicated, but it has to do with the idea of place in general and the demarcation of sanctified space as exemplified in the construction of the sukkah. For as the Midrash states (Bereishit Rabbah 68:9), “Hashem is the place of the universe but the universe is not His place.” Thus, we learn that the establishment and enclosure of space into a place is a mark of wisdom, as when Yaakov our forefather traveled to Sukkot (the place) and built a house (bayit) there. The house is also symbolized by the Hebrew letter bet, the first letter of the Torah. The shape of a kosher sukkah likewise represents a bet, and it wraps us in Divine wisdom, protection, and inspiration.