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 It is said in the name of the Vilna Gaon that there are only two
opportunities among all the 613 mitzvos to physically "enter
the mitzvah." One is the opportunity to live in Eretz Yisrael,
and the other to be in the succah you have constructed for the
Festival of Succos. When you cross the border into the land of
Israel, or walk into the succah, you have "entered" the
mitzvah. What is the connection between the succah and the Land of
Israel? Judaism is unique to the world in that Jewish national and
religious destinies are identical.
 The concept of a successful
Jewish nation in the Land of Israel is fundamental to our religious
destiny. Other nations have holy places and live elsewhere, but for
us, our land is our home, our holy soil and the necessary setting
for the ideal fulfillment of mitzvos. Accordingly,
the Torah includes both civil and religious law, instructing us in
our everyday behavior and our acts of worship, both of which are
equally holy. The way we live in the Land is part of our service to
Hashem. Thus we see in the Book of Joshua, that the first decisions
that Joshua made when the Jews entered the Land of Israel were for
urban planning, as important to their spiritual lives as the
transportation of the Holy Ark. Living in Israel gives the Jewish
people the opportunity to sanctify every little act that they do,
Jewishly. Merely going to the corner store to buy a carton of milk
is part of the fulfillment of the Jewish destiny when it is done in
the Land of Israel. Similarly, during the festival of Succos, a Jew
has a chance to make every little act he does a holy act by being in
the succah. Eating a celebratory meal or even sleeping in the succah
is a mitzvah, a symbol of the total fulfillment of G-d's plan for
the Jewish people.
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