A Thought for Sukkot: Let's Set Up a Tent

I have a task for all of Israel: You are obliged to set up a tent near your home. In this tent, you will eat, drink, and sleep - this tent must be your permanent residence for a week.

What do you think the response of the people of Israel would be to my request? At best, they would ignore my words, and at worst, they would stone me. Even if the Prime Minister of Israel asked for this, do you think anyone would agree to listen to him? Could he possibly enforce such a decision? Clearly not. Such an order cannot compel an entire nation to comply!

So, can someone explain to me how the people of Israel sit in a sukkah for seven days every year, using it just like a house: eating, drinking, and even sleeping? How does an entire nation agree to do this? As we've seen before, no sensible person would accept such an obligation without a justified reason.

Logic dictates that there must have been a significant ‘historical event’ in the past that led the people of Israel to observe the mitzvah of sukkah voluntarily and agreeably. Following this ‘historical event,’ the people of Israel began to live for seven days in a type of temporary dwelling. An entire nation wouldn't be willing to undertake this mitzvah unless such a powerful event had occurred.

If we reflect, we will conclude that only a great and significant event - like a divine revelation to an entire people - could cause an entire nation to agree and accept many restrictions, such as performing a brit milah on an eight-day-old baby, whom to marry, what to eat, observing Shabbat, family purity, building a sukkah, and more. Without such a significant and impactful event that reached the hearts of an entire nation, who would be willing to accept so many restrictions upon themselves?

What ‘historical event’ on a global scale could persuade an entire nation - perhaps the revelation of the Creator to all of Israel at the giving of the Torah? What do you think?