As we celebrate Chag Ha’Sukkos and move toward the conclusion of the Torah with the reading of V’Zos HaBracha on Simchas Torah, we encounter one of the final messages of Moshe Rabbeinu’s life: the importance of achdus (unity) within Am Yisrael.

In V’Zos HaBracha, Moshe blesses the nation before his death. In the opening verses of the parsha, the pasuk declares:

תּוֹרָה צִוָּה־לָנוּ מֹשֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב - The Torah that Moshe commanded us is an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov (Devarim 33:4).

The very next pasuk states:

וַיְהִי בִישֻׁרוּן מֶלֶךְ בְּהִתְאַסֵּף רָאשֵׁי עָם יַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל - And He became King in Yeshurun, when the heads of the people gathered, together the tribes of Israel (Devarim 33:5).

Who is the King referred to in this pasuk? 

Rashi explains: וַיְהִי בִישֻׁרוּן מֶלֶךְ - הַקָּבָּ”ה, And He became King in Yeshurun - this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rashi then explains further:

דָּבָר אַחֵר, בְּהִתְאַסְּפָם יַחַד בַּאֲגֻדָּה אַחַת וְשָׁלוֹם בֵּינֵיהֶם, הוּא מַלְכָּם, וְלֹא כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ מַחֲלֹקֶת בֵּינֵיהֶם, Alternatively, when they gather together as one group and there is peace among them, He is their King, but not when there is division among them.

Rashi is teaching us something profoundly important: when Am Yisrael is united, Hashem is our King.

The pasuk does not simply say that the tribes gathered. It emphasizes when they gather yachad - together. The twelve tribes were different from one another. Each had its own identity, its own portion of the land, and its own unique role within Klal Yisrael. Unity did not mean that everyone became the same. It meant that despite their differences, they recognized that they belonged to one nation, under one King, working together to bring glory to the Name of Hashem. 

Chazal are teaching us that when there is shalom, Hashem is our King. However, this means that the opposite is also true. When there is machlokes, when we become divided and stop seeing ourselves as one people, our fundamental strength is weakened.

This message is especially meaningful as we approach the third yahrzeit of October 7, 2023. The tragedy of October 7 and the years that have followed have reminded us, with tremendous pain, that we are one people. In the aftermath of the massacre, we witnessed extraordinary examples of Jews caring for one another, sacrificing for one another, opening their homes, providing food and clothing, supporting soldiers and families, and standing together in the face of unimaginable loss.

There is tremendous strength when Am Yisrael stands together.

But the opposite is also true. Division weakens us, R”L. When we focus on that which separates us, we lose sight of the mission of an entire nation, together: one Torah, one people, one Land, and ultimately, one Hashem.

Perhaps this is also why the message of achdus is so deeply connected to the yomtov of Sukkos.

On the phrase כָּל־הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת, Every resident in Israel shall dwell in sukkos (Vayikra 23:42), Chazal teach that:

מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל רְאוּיִם לֵישֵׁב בְּסֻכָּה אַחַת, This teaches that all of Israel are worthy to dwell in one sukkah (Sukkah 27b).

The image Chazal outline for us is incredibly moving: all of Israel sitting in one sukkah.

Sukkos brings us together beneath one roof. We leave our permanent homes and enter a temporary dwelling. We bring our families and guests into the sukkah, and we sit together beneath the schach. The sukkah reminds us that what ultimately protects us is not the permanence of our physical structures, but our relationship with Hashem.

And perhaps the sukkah also reminds us that there is room for all of Klal Yisrael. We do not have to be identical to be united. We can have different minhagim, different communities, different personalities, different strengths, and different ways of serving Hashem. The twelve shevatim themselves were different. Yet the Torah calls them yachad - together.

Our differences must not divide us. They can exist within the larger unity of Am Yisrael.

After forty years of leadership, after the struggles, mistakes, rebellions, triumphs, and revelations of the Wilderness, Moshe's final words include a hopeful prayer of what happens when we come together.

בְּהִתְאַסֵּפָם יַחַד - when they gather together as one, הוּא מַלְכָּם - He is their King.

As we celebrate Chag Ha’Sukkos this year, may we remember that we are all part of the same nation. We are all children of the same Father, and we are all subjects of the same King. 

May the memory of October 7 strengthen our commitment to achdus, rooted in Torah and our shared destiny, rather than allowing the pain and disagreements of these difficult years to divide us further.

And may our unity bring greater Kavod Shamayim, so that Hashem's kingship will be revealed among us, and we will merit the day when all of Klal Yisrael will dwell together in peace, in Eretz Yisrael.

Ha’Rachaman Hu yakim lanu es Sukkas Dovid ha’nofeles.

בברכת בשורות טובות וחג שמח

L’zechut refuah shalaimoh b’karov for Neriya Dov ben Chana (Neriya Leiter), seriously injured in this morning’s (9/23/27) car ramming attack. Neriya’s older brother, Moshe Yedidya H”YD, fell almost three years ago in battle, in the aftermath of Oct. 7. The Leiter family has asked klal Yisrael to pray for the merit and healing of Neriya.