Sukkot 2026: The empty chair is gone, but the threat of Hamas and Iran remains - opinion

For the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, Israelis will enter Sukkot knowing that not a single hostage, living or dead, remains in Gaza.

A year ago, the picture was very different. Last Sukkot began with 20 living hostages still being held by Hamas. Their photographs hung from sukkah walls, while empty chairs symbolized the Jews who could not sit with their own families.

Then, on Hoshana Raba, October 13, 2025, all 20 were finally released and returned to Israel.

But even then, the ordeal was not entirely over. The bodies of several murdered hostages remained in Gaza.

This Sukkot, then, there is an added reason to give thanks on the festival the Torah calls zman simchateinu, “the season of our rejoicing.”

Yet the deal that secured the release of the remaining hostages and ended the large-scale war left Hamas in place in Gaza.

The terrorist group committed to disarm but, to no one’s surprise, has failed to do so.

In recent months, senior IDF officers have reportedly warned that Hamas is recruiting new fighters, including young men between the ages of 18 and 22, producing large numbers of explosive devices and anti-tank weapons, and resuming training for members of its elite Nukhba force.

THE SUKKAH speaks directly to this situation.

As Rava explains in the Talmud (Sukkah 2a), the festival requires us to exchange our permanent dwelling for a temporary one. Yet it is while living in the sukkah that the Torah commands us, “You shall rejoice on your festival” (Deuteronomy 16:14).

Rejoicing is not a declaration that all is well. Nor is it a verdict on the wisdom of the hostage deal or on the state of Israel’s security. It is an acknowledgment that something long prayed for came to pass and deserves to be recognized, even though serious problems remain unresolved.

For Israelis, that distinction matters after Oct. 7. The Jewish state had fences, cameras, sensors, and sophisticated intelligence, and none prevented the massacre.

Israel must strengthen those defenses, improve its intelligence, and remain prepared to act when necessary. The failures of Oct. 7 leave no room for complacency about the intentions or capabilities of our enemies.

What it does require is that they not become the sole measure of whether there is anything to celebrate.

For more than two years, the hostage crisis hovered over virtually every aspect of Israeli life. Families waited through endless negotiations and conflicting reports, never knowing whether the next announcement from Gaza would bring relief or devastation. The country shared their anguish, week after week, as the fate of the captives remained unresolved.

That daily uncertainty has been absent for months, but this is the first Sukkot on which its absence can be felt in the festival itself. No hostage family enters the holiday wondering whether a loved one will spend another Sukkot in captivity.

That is not a small thing, and it should not be treated as one.

Nor does acknowledging it diminish the continuing struggle against Hamas or the threats from Lebanon and Iran. It simply means refusing to let unresolved dangers erase a blessing that Israelis once prayed desperately to see.

Jewish life has rarely unfolded under conditions of perfect security. If rejoicing must wait until every enemy has been defeated and every threat removed, it will always be pushed into some distant future.

Sukkot rejects that bargain. The Torah places joy inside the sukkah, not after we leave it.

This year, the empty chair can finally be put away.

And that, for now, is reason enough to rejoice.■