Why do we dwell in sukkot (booths) for seven days? Such a seemingly straightforward and simple question is nonetheless a source of debate and controversy for the early Rabbis. The Torah understands the sukkah as a reminder to future generations that God caused our ancestors dwell in booths: 

You shall dwell in booths for seven days; all citizens of Israel shall dwell in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.  I am the Eternal your God." (Leviticus 23:42-43).

  What are the sukkot that the children of Israel dwelled in?   In the Talmud, two early rabbis disagree about the nature of these booths in which the Israelites dwelled.  Rabbi Eliezer says that these "booths" are a euphemism for the clouds of glory which accompanied the Israelites in the desert.  Rabbi Akiba disagreed.  He argued that the word "booths" should be understood in a straightforward manner - namely, the booths that the Israelites dwelled in to protect themselves from the sun during their 40-year journey.   While Rabbi Eliezer's explanation may seem unusual, it finds support in the Bible itself.  In Exodus 13:2, we read,

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to guide them ...

The miracle of these protective clouds is expanded and elaborated upon in the Midrash. 

How many clouds of glory encompassed Israel in the wilderness?  Seven clouds: one at each of the four sides; one above them; one beneath them; and one that advanced in front of them.  The one that advanced in front of them raised every lowland, lowered every highland ... it also killed snakes and scorpions, and swept and sprinkled the road before them. (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael! ).

 Rabbi Eliezer's explanation - that the sukkah is a symbolic representation of the clouds of glory which accompanied the Israelites - seems far-fetched.  Yet, this explanation seemed more plausible to the ancient rabbis.  Sukkot, after all, recalls the miracles which God performed for us during the forty years of wandering in the desert.  Rabbi Eliezer's explanation enables the sukkah itself to represent a miraculous element in the story of the exodus from Egypt.  In contrast, Rabbi Akiba's explanation seems to be lacking any miraculous quality.  If the sukkah of the ancient Israelites was a! ctually a booth they built for their families, the degree of divine providence and protection on that journey seems diminished.  The sages asked, "Where is the miracle in the Israelites' building of booths to provide shade?"

This ancient disagreement speaks to the different contemporary perspectives that Jews bring to religious life.  For some, like Rabbi Eliezer, the miraculous involves the suspension of natural law. It must be obvious and overpowering, marked by unprecedented historical events.  For others, like Rabbi Akiba, holiness manifests itself primarily through human initiative.  The miraculous is to be found in the everyday.  Rabbi Eliezer's explanation of the sukkah celebrates God's power. Rabbi Akiba's opinion commemorates human action, adaptation and the power of survival.