Stories of Succah and Ushpizin
Avraham’s Ushpizin and the Non-Jewish Guest
Father's great distress. As the hour was getting late and the mitzvah of eating in the succah had still not been fulfilled, he went out again to search thoroughly. But when he still could not find any Jewish guest, he devised a plan: he approached a local non-Jew, offering him a good and hearty meal. He dressed him as a Jewish traveler and instructed him not to speak at all, only to sit quietly and eat his meal!
Soon, the boy returned with the new "guest," brought him home, and joyfully declared, "At last, I found a guest!"
However, in the middle of the meal, after the rebbe examined the guest a few times, he realized that this person was a complete non-Jew. He asked his son, "Why did you pull such a prank?"
The child wisely responded, "Isn't today the day of the Ushpizin of Avraham Avinu? And Avraham would also welcome non-Jewish guests! As is clearly stated at the beginning of Parshas Vayeira, he warmly welcomed the men who appeared to him as Arabs. Therefore, on the day of Avraham's Ushpizin, even a non-Jew is a fitting guest!"
‘Tiv HaZikhronot’, The Holy Rebbe of Ropshitz
Learning Succah and Buried Near the Builder of Succahs
One of the esteemed magidei shiur at the great Beis Medrash in the old Zichron Moshe neighborhood was Rebbe Aharon Leib Shapira. He was renowned as a righteous man, a great Torah scholar of tremendous stature, who dedicated all his days to Torah learning. He sat in the tent of Torah, toiling with heart and body. After his passing, when they brought him to the burial plot he had purchased in his lifetime, they found that he was buried adjacent to Rav Dov Konigsberg, who was a famous metalworker in Jerusalem.
One of Rav Aharon Leib's brothers was friendly with Rav Dov Konigsberg's brother. When they met one day, Rav Aharon Leib's brother expressed his surprise to his friend: "How did your brother, who was a simple man, merit being buried next to such an esteemed Torah scholar and righteous man?"
His friend pondered for a moment and then replied, "Perhaps he merited this due to his great love for the mitzvah of the succah. As a metalworker by trade, he built many succahs throughout Yerushalayim. Many of Yerushalayim’s residents would seek his advice on how to build a succah on their balconies, and he became known as the 'Succah builder of Yerushalayim.' Maybe it was this love for the mitzvah that earned him this merit!"
Rav Aharon Leib’s brother, filled with joy, responded, "Indeed, Mesechta Succah was Rav Aharon Leib's mesechta! He studied it hundreds of times throughout his life and would refer to it as 'my mesechta of the World to Come!' (The mesechta that I will study in the World to Come)."
It was no coincidence that these two were buried next to each other. One held tightly to the study of Mesechta Succah all his life, and the other cherished the mitzvah of succah and devoted himself to building succahs for the Jewish people.
What a wonder!
