The Gemara (Succah 3) requires that ורובו ראשו הסוכה בתוך ושולחנו, one's head, most of his body, and table be inside the succah. One cannot sit partially in the and mostly out of the succah. Even his table must be in the succah. The Sfas Emes explains this halachah to mean that we must be immersed in the mitzvah, involved in it, happy with it, and think about it. One shouldn't physically sit in the succah with his head and heart elsewhere.
They didn’t believe him. It didn't make sense to import dirt to save a few pennies, so they sifted through the earth, expecting to find hidden contraband, but couldn’t find anything. They let him pass. The following day, he arrived at the border again in his shiny Mercedes. The border patrol sifted through the soil again, didn’t find anything, and let him go. This happened daily. After a while, they stopped sifting through the earth because they knew they wouldn’t find anything exciting. One day, he informed the guards that he won’t be coming anymore. "I'm just about finished building my house, so there's no reason for me to bring more earth," he said. The border police couldn’t contain their curiosity any longer. They said, "Tell us why you carried dirt over the border daily. We don't believe you were importing earth to save a few pennies." He replied, "If you promise not to arrest me, I will tell you." They promised, and he said, "I am a luxury car dealer. You thought you were seeing the same car every day, but every day, I imported another brand-new Mercedes tax-free. I needed a decoy so that you wouldn’t suspect me, so I began importing earth. That took your focus away from what was really happening."
This mashal reminds us to stay focused on what is important and not get distracted by trivialities. There is a lot to focus on these days. We can focus on being happy, on the greatness of the mitzvos, and the lessons of the mitzvos. But then something trivial happens, and people turn all their focus to that matter. We must remember that we don’t have time for that; there are great things to accomplish now.
His table should be in the succah. The table represents the family. The head of the family should create a joyous atmosphere in the succah so that his wife and children will be absorbed with the Yom Tov and its mitzvos.
The Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah writes regarding the mitzvah of succah, "When a person learns about the greatness of this mitzvah and its great reward, and about the seven exalted Ushpizin who visit him in the succah, he will yearn with all his heart for this mitzvah...because the mitzvah of succah is very great."
The Torah (Vayikra 33:42-43) writes, תשבו בסוכות ...ימים שבעת מצרים מארץ אותם בהוציאי ישראל בני את הושבתי בסוכות כי ...ידעו למען , "For seven days you shall sit in the succah...to know that I had Bnei Yisrael sit in succos when I took them out of the land of Mitzrayim."
This is one of the few times the Torah explicitly tells us the reason for a mitzvah. Hashem obligates us to sit in a succah, so we will remember that we sat in succos when we left Mitzrayim. And since the Torah tells us the reason for the mitzvah, the Bach says that we must have the reason in mind when we perform the mitzvah. It isn't sufficient to think, "This is Hashem's will. I am performing Hashem's mitzvah." That thought may be adequate for most mitzvos of the Torah, but this time, the Torah requires us to think about the reason for the mitzvah.
The Mishnah Berurah (625:1) writes, "When one sits in the succah he should think that [this mitzvah is to] remind us of yetzias Mitzrayim and to remember the הכבוד ענני, the clouds of glory, in which Hashem surrounded us in the desert to protect us from the elements. One should think these thoughts; in this manner, he will keep the mitzvah properly. However, bedi'eved, one fulfilled the mitzvah even if he only had in mind that he is performing Hashem’s mitzvah."
On Succos, it is important to contemplate why we have this mitzvah. We can explain that it is because one should keep the mitzvah of succah with his whole being, including his mind. He should think about his actions and be connected to the mitzvos. Ideally, all mitzvos should be performed with mind, heart, and soul. There are endless reasons for the mitzvos; the tzaddikim revealed some of them over the generations.
