Time-transcending preparation by our forefathers: What succos is about, and Yaakov's role in it.

According to a certain path in the Traditional commentaries,  it was Passover when Lot invited the angels to join him and served them matza. That is, chazal relate this event, and the mention of 'matzah' to pesach, despite it ocurring hundreds of years before the exodus (see my writing on this).

Similarly, based on  our parsha's story about the 'sukkot' booths Jacob built, some sources teach that Jacob prepared the energy of sukkot for his descendants, for the time when they would be going into the desert, and for later, when  leaving that desert to enter Eretz Yisrael. 

Similarly, Avraham was promised that his descendants would be in a strange land and then leave and would inherit the Land, and so he didn't just listen passively he worked to create energy-assistance for them, and served the angels matza right before  the story of Lot and the matzot. And Yaakov was promised the same re these future descendants of his, ie of Abraham,  and so he did the same as his grandfather had done, prepared energy for them.

Details: 

 i. Rav Tzodek HaCohen says that to understand the deep meaning of a word in chumash, look at the first mention of that word (Reb Shlomo called it: "the headquarters")

ii. The first mention of the word 'succos' is after Yakov's wrestling, and after Esav left, but before Yaakov continued on into Eretz Yisrael, to Schchem (story of Dina etc). Yaakov built a house and a shed (a "succa") for the sheep. This was East of the Jordan River. He called the place 'succos': וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכֹּתָה וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת עַל כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם סֻכּוֹת

iii) There are two important aspects to note: 

a: Yakov built a house, which is very unusual for him, the man who "dwells in tents". In fact he dwelt in tents only when he was lucky, much of the time he dwelt in fields! b: he names the place not "bayit"(house/home) but "succos". Why name a place after the sheep-sheds instead of after your new home, which was after all such an innovation for Yaakov?

So how is the holiday of succos related to Yaakov avinu's sheep-huts?!

iv) Note that the passage may be refering to this in a hidden way: the words "al ken" mean "and therefore" which is absurd, since we would not say "Yakov built a home and a hut for the sheep, and therefore called the place "sheep-hut"! But in fact it may be that when the Torah uses "al ken" it actually means the opposite in most cases, ie 'nevertheless" rather than "therefore"! (As per R S R Hirsch; see my article on this). Either way, the pasuk is calling attention to the fact that despite having built a house as well, Yakov called the name of the place "hut" - not "house" or "home" or "house & hut" (like eg "bayit vegan").

ANSWER: Yakov is building the energy needed by Bney Yisrael when they leave Egypt AND when they are ready to enter Eretz Yisrael 40 years later, from the East, exactly where Yaakov built "succos". 

Explanation: 

The attitude we are to be infused with during succos is of leaving the comfort-zone, literally going outside the house, and it is an energy meant to carry us through the year (to be aware all year, thankful, and not materialistic and not to think "kochi veotzem yodi" keeps us safe & protected.).

Yakov was not into permanent dwelling, he was "yoshev ohalim", and slept outdoors for years watching the sheep and on the way etc. And had just now become 'yisroel' after a night outdoors. And this exemplifies the non-materialism needed to stay in Eretz Yisrael "pen tivneh batim tovim" etc, and that's why Bnei Yisrael needed to enter EY from there. And they entered the desert from a place with that name because that was the beginning of living outdoors for 40 years (as it turned out) and they needed the strength of that energy of the place, though it was in the west and yakov's succos was in the east. And it was the beginning of needing the anan on a constant basis. So maybe that's what it means that they were in 'succos' as the first place in the desert.

And re "Batim tovim": Yaakov who now has a large flock of sheep and a nice house as in the passages above, but who remebers and is grateful for all the protection God gave him in his years of wandering, build a sheep-shed for the sheep and names the place for it, not for the house.

[This 'outdoors' attitude is exemplified by Yaakov avinu who slept outside various times:

a. When running away, he slept with a few rocks to protect him, and as pillow. He trusted in H' to protect him, and the joining of the stones into one was a sign that H' indeed wsa active there (and H's promise was to watch over him on the journey, similar to the role of the anan in the midbar, and joining of the rocks into one was a phsical manifestation of the spiritual aspect, like seeing H's presence as an anan was, to his descendants B"Y in the midbar). 

b. When tending lovon's flocks of sheep: As we are told: הָיִיתִי בַיּוֹם אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב וְקֶרַח בַּלָּיְלָה וַתִּדַּד שְׁנָתִי מֵעֵינָי. In other words(I wrote this to search google:) יעקב ישן בחוץ בשדה כשׁהוא שמר על צאן לבן, So again, by sleeping outdoors Yaakov exemplifies the attitude H (via MR) wants us to inculcate during succos by being outdoors. 

H' brought B"Y to a place with the same name right after leaving Egypt!

וַיִּסְעוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵרַעְמְסֵס וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּסֻכֹּת " That was outside EY to the West, and Yaakov avinu's succos was outside EY to the East.

By bringing them to a place named succos right after leaving Egypt,perhaps this was H's message, reminding them of the place where Yaakov build the succah, and indeed H protected the BY throughout the desert 40 yrs, and so when BY were ready to enter EY, they were to remember all this, and that's why they entered EY from exactly the place succos that Yaakov had built for this pueprose, and this was meant as the message of the building of the succah ( and the anan was partly therefore in in Yaakov's zchus, partly the other ro'im and that's why they are the Ushpizin).

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Appendix

Next level should be the question of why Yakov deliberately builds succos at this point? Why now? And why not return to the Land of Israel, ie Shchem, why wait a while (a few years?) in succos? 

Maybe the reason Y built the succos and named it that was to prepare the energy as soon as it was possible - it was immediately after he got the name Yisrael from the "ish" (before getting it from H?), and so he was now able to prepare energy for the future Bney Yisrael?

Maybe he had to send Esav away because Esav interefered, he is a different energy, either materialistic, or Esav is "ish sadeh"., ie outdoors but in a different sense. Or maybe Y wanted to make sure his descendants captured the energy of outdoors, not leave it all to Esav, so after leaving Esav, with the name Yisrael, he builds succos, so that his descendants will have that energy?!

 Y gains the name Yisrael outdoors, very much outdside!, and wrestles it away from Esav, so now Yisrael has the potential for outdoors energy, and just as he is about to enter EY but makes preparation for a few years, for his descendants who will also be some years (40) on the way and will enter EY right there, from the East. So there is succos as they leave Egypt and succos as they enter.

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Interesting that BY had to go around Esav when entering EY....

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Maybe a connection in the words "VaYichun" re Yaakov and "VaYachanu" re BY?:טז וַיָּשָׁב בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עֵשָׂו לְדַרְכּוֹ  שֵׂעִירָה.  יז וְיַעֲקֹב נָסַע סֻכֹּתָה, וַיִּבֶן לוֹ בָּיִת; וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת, עַל-כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם סֻכּוֹת.  {ס}  יח וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם עִיר שְׁכֶם, אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן, בְּבֹאוֹ, מִפַּדַּן אֲרָם; וַיִּחַן, אֶת-פְּנֵי הָעִיר.  יט וַיִּקֶן אֶת-חֶלְקַת הַשָּׂדֶה, אֲשֶׁר נָטָה-שָׁם אָהֳלוֹ, מִיַּד בְּנֵי-חֲמוֹר, אֲבִי שְׁכֶם--בְּמֵאָה, קְשִׂיטָה.  כ וַיַּצֶּב-שָׁם, מִזְבֵּחַ; וַיִּקְרָא-לוֹ--אֵל, אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.   

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Appendix: The actual location of the place called "Succos"

Interesting that the place where Yakov built succos for the sheep is one of the hottest places in the world:

"On 20 August 2010, it recorded a scorching temperature of 51.1C, the new official highest temperature in the history of Jordan.[8]   "

So maybe it is known as being very hot and that's why the sheep needed protection?

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Yabok = Zarka river, East of the Jordan, running further East, north of Amman.

Succot =  Deir Alla (Arabic: دير علا) : Almost on the Jordan, but East of it, directly East of Shchem. It was on the way from Maavar Yabok to Shchem. Medrash says Yakov lived there a few years, and send Esav gifts continuously, but when he kleft to Schchem, which was in EY, he felt unthreatened by Esav, Rashi says maybe bec it was in EY (or bec their father Yitschak was still alivve, in EY)

It was the site of an ancient Near Eastern town in Balqa Governorate, Jordan, thought to be the biblical Pethor.[2]  The town was a sanctuary and metal-working centre, ringed by smelting furnaces built against the exterior of the city walls,[3]whose successive rebuildings, dated by ceramics from the Late Bronze Age, sixteenth century BCE, to the fifth century BCE, accumulated as a tell based on a low natural hill. The hopeful identification of the site as the Biblical Sukkot is not confirmed by any inscription at the site. However, in Jerusalem Talmud ZeraimShevi'it 9:2, Sukkot is referred as Tar'ellah' hence maybe deformed later into Deir Alla.[4]

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Appendix: quote from Deuteronomy

11 Beware lest thou forget the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command thee this day; 12 lest when thou hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; 15 who led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;