Questions

  1. Is it true that the words “Sukkah” and “Torah” appear in the Five Books of Moses and in later Bible books? In the Five Books, “Sukkah” refers to a temporary hut and the holiday when it is used. In the Five Books, “Torah” means “law.” Later, it came to mean the Five Books of Moses or served as a synonym for the Tanakh (the Bible). 2. Is it also true that neither word seems to have a three-letter root (some say a two-letter root), which is common to early Hebrew words, and neither is used for other purposes? 3. Does this suggest that the two are not original Hebrew words, but words borrowed from another culture?

 

Answers

  1. Both “Sukkah” (סֻכָּה) and “Torah” (תּוֹרָה) appear frequently in the Five Books of Moses (the Pentateuch) and in later books of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh). In the Five Books, sukkah refers to a physical, temporary hut, booth, or shelter. For example, in Genesis, Jacob builds sukkot (plural) for his cattle. In Leviticus 23:42-43, God commands the Israelites to live in sukkot for seven days so future generations remember the shelters they lived in after the Exodus. This is where the holiday’s name, Sukkot (the Festival of Booths), comes from. Torah in the Five Books originally means “instruction,” “teaching,” or “guidance.” However, it often carries the weight of a binding legal statute or ritual law (e.g., “This is the torah [law/instruction] of the burnt offering”). Over time, the meaning of “Torah” changed. It became the title for the complete collection of the Five Books of Moses. Later, it was expanded to refer to the entire Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) or even the totality of Jewish law and learning (including the Oral Torah).

 

  1. The question of a three-letter root is incorrect. Semitic languages rely heavily on three-letter roots (shorashim), and both “Sukkah” and “Torah” possess classic, three-letter Hebrew roots. The confusion often arises because both belong to classes of Hebrew words where one of the root letters drops out or changes when the noun form is created. The root of Sukkah is ס-כ-ך (S-K-K), which means “to cover,” “to interweave,” or “to protect.” Because the second and third letters are identical, the final letter frequently drops off in standard noun forms, leading to words like sok (a thicket/covert) and sukkah (a covered shelter). The Root of Torah is י-ר-ה (Y-R-H), which fundamentally means “to shoot,” “to cast,” and “to direct an arrow straight (into a target).” In a causative active grammatical structure (the Hif’il form), it means “to guide” or “to teach” (sending instruction straight to the target). When transformed into a feminine noun, the initial Yod (י) converts into a Vav (ו), yielding תּוֹרָה (Torah). Other common Hebrew words derived from this same root include moreh (teacher) and yoreh (the first seasonal rain).

 

  1. Are They Borrowed Words?

Because both words possess three-letter Semitic roots, linguists and historians agree that “Sukkah” and “Torah” are native Hebrew words. They were not borrowed from an outside culture. Instead, early Hebrew speakers took physical actions from everyday life to create nouns—weaving branches to make a protective covering (S-K-K) and aiming an arrow straight at a target (Y-R-H). By doing so, they elevated those two words to the highest concepts in Judaism: the holiday of divine shelter and the importance of learning.

 

Once we realize that the basic meaning of Torah is “to direct an arrow straight (into a target),” we should also realize the terrible mistake of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others in translating the Hebrew chet into English as “sin.” Clerics love the concept of sin because they attach to it the false notion that donating money to their institution absolves sin, which enriches them.

The word chet is related to the word Torah. While Torah is based on aiming at a target and hitting it, Chet means missing the target.

We need to stop using the word sin.

Judaism describes misbehavior in human terms. In Jewish tradition, misbehavior is not viewed as an inherent, permanent stain on a person’s soul, but rather as a temporary misstep, a boundary crossed, or a symptom of losing focus. Because of this, Hebrew utilizes several distinct words to describe different categories, motivations, and severity levels of wrongdoing.

The three primary biblical terms for misbehavior are famously chanted together during the High Holiday prayers of Yom Kippur: Chet, Avon, and Pesha.

Chet (חֵטְא) comes from an ancient archery term that literally means “to miss the target.” It refers to an inadvertent mistake, a blunder, or an accidental misstep. When a person commits a chet, Jewish tradition views them as someone who aimed for good but lacked the proper focus, discipline, or knowledge, causing their arrow to land wide of the mark. It is the least severe form of misbehavior because it lacks malicious intent.

Avon (עָוֹן) means “to twist” or “to make crooked.” It describes a deliberate misbehavior driven by desire, passion, or emotional impulse. The person knows perfectly well that what they are doing is wrong, but their self-control fails, and they succumb to temptation. They have “twisted” the straight path, but they are generally driven by a pursuit of pleasure or convenience rather than a desire to rebel.

Pesha (פֶּשַׁע) is a rebellion, a breach of trust, or a political rebellion (such as a subject rebelling against a sovereign ruler). This is the most severe category of misbehavior. It describes a willful, defiant act committed purely out of spite or rebellion—explicitly rejecting a commandment, hurting someone else, or challenging moral authority.

Maimonides stressed that prayer, fasting, and charity do not absolve wrong behaviors. They merely remind you to make amends. This is done in three steps. Realize that you missed the mark, decide to remedy the situation, and develop habits that ensure you will not repeat the error.