In the Shadow of Faith

In the Kabbalah, the sukkah is called “the shadow of faith” – but what is faith? Rabbi Shagar answers: “The moment in which consciousness opens up to the possibility of its own freedom; a freedom that is not only the liberty to rebel, but also the freedom to believe… faith in the good, even when reality does not back it up, out of the sober recognition that the good truly lies in a person’s decision to trust in God.” (from the sermon “Rebellion and Grace”)

This book brings to light, for the first time, essays, sermons and lectures by Rabbi Shagar zt"l on the festival of Sukkot. For Rabbi Shagar, Sukkot was the seal of the Days of Awe, and in several of his sermons he illuminates the spiritual continuum that begins on Rosh Hashanah and continues through Sukkot. As was his way, he connects the themes of the festival to contemporary questions: How can a person rejoice despite the hardships of this world? What do faith, Divine providence and trust in God mean? How can social solidarity be created without crushing the individual? What is the relationship between peace and disagreement?

These and other questions are explored through the analysis of a wide range of sources: verses of the Torah, the Midrash of the Sages, the Rishonim and the great Hasidic masters, up to the teachings of Rabbi Kook and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Woven into all of these are insights drawn from Western, modern and postmodern thinkers, with whose help Rabbi Shagar uncovers the meaning of the festival and casts it in a new light.