Life is full of tests. Some of them we choose, but many of them choose us. Some tests are predictable while others come out of nowhere. The real question is not whether we’ll fall — it’s what we do after we fall.

Without question, “the struggle is real” as they say, and how we face those struggles — how we get up after a fall — defines the very nature of who we are.

The Gemara in Sukkah 23a recounts a debate between two great Sages. Rebbe Akiva and Rabban Gamliel were traveling together in a boat during or around the time of the Sukkot festival. Rebbe Akiva stood up and made a sukkah on the boat. The next day, a wind came and “uprooted” the sukkah – it completely blew away. Rabban Gamliel remarked: “Akiva, where’s your sukkah?”

At first glance, one might think this is merely a legal dispute about the nature of a sukkah: Can a sukkah be built on a moving vessel? Does it have to hold up to a sea wind or merely a common land wind? However, a deeper look reveals a powerful message about life’s tests, falling down, and rising again.

The Gemara later asserts that everyone agrees that if a sukkah cannot withstand even a normal wind on land, then it’s not considered a “sukkah” for the purposes of fulfilling the mitzvah. However, if a sukkah can withstand a common land wind but not a common sea wind (which is stronger), then Rabban Gamliel holds it’s invalid. However, Rebbe Akiva says it’s still a perfectly kosher sukkah.

In other words, Rabban Gamliel requires the sukkah to be permanent (“keva”) — and able to withstand all wind in its environment — whereas Rebbe Akiva accepts that a sukkah is valid even if it can withstand only ordinary conditions and not extraordinary ones.

Halachically, this dispute is reconciled in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 628:2). We hold like Rebbe Akiva: we are not required to build a sukkah that can withstand every possible force of nature. A sukkah only needs to hold up under ordinary conditions on land.

It is this legal ruling that carries a profound philosophical lesson for overcoming challenges in our own lives.

Although Rebbe Akiva’s sukkah blew over, it would have held up in ordinary conditions. However, it simply could not withstand the stronger winds it encountered at sea.

This halacha (law) reflects a hashkafic (philosophical) truth: the Almighty does not expect us to withstand every single difficulty He throws our way. Sometimes the test He gives us is how we handle the fall.

People often consider themselves failures if they fall. However, this Gemara teaches us that — at times — our own personal “sukkah” will fall over. That’s a given. That’s not the test in such situations. What we do after our sukkah falls is the test God is putting in front of us during these trying moments.

Rabban Gamliel’s question — “Akiva, where’s your sukkah?” — is not Talmudic trash talk. It’s not even him saying, “I told you so.” Quite the contrary. The great Sage is challenging his close friend to ponder: “Now what? Are you going to rebuild? Are you going to adapt? How resilient are you when things don’t turn out as planned?”

The tests we encounter help us reveal who we are in the face of adversity. Importantly, some tests are not about avoiding failure; they’re about having the courage to rise after getting knocked over.

The winds of life don’t blow only metaphorically. Families really struggle. Health fails. Loved ones pass away. We lose jobs. Devastating events like October 7th happen. These things can strike with little warning, and they knock our personal sukkot down. Under such conditions, we were not meant to avoid the fall. Our response after our sukkah gets knocked down is where the test lies. In such bleak moments, the question “Akiva, where’s your sukkah?” becomes intensely personal.

The legalistic takeaway (that a sukkah only needs to be able to withstand a common land wind) directly lines up with the Torah’s philosophical message of resilience: You are not required to be perfect or to hold up at all times. However, Hashem does expect you to get back up again and put the sukkah of your life back together as best you can.

Rebbe Akiva’s approach teaches us that resilience is not about invincibility. It’s about responsiveness and valiant effort to keep on going amid challenge.

May we all merit to see our greatness, even during a fall, and to fearlessly strive to get back up.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)