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September 20, 2002/Tishri 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 4
Give us shelter
FLORENCE ECKSTEIN
Publisher
To gather in the sukkah on the Jewish festival of Sukkot is to be enveloped by past, present and future.
Our fragile huts recall the temporary shelters the ancient Israelites put up to protect them from inclement weather as they wandered through the desert ("How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!" Numbers 24:5), and later as they stayed in the fields to bring in the fall harvest.
For seven days beginning Sept. 20 we will sit in the sukkah encircled by loved ones - family members and friends.
And we will pray together for the still-elusive shelter of true peace - in a better tomorrow.
"A storm is threatening my very life today. If I don't get some shelter, I'm gonna fade away," the irrepressible Mick Jagger wrote in the rock classic "Gimme Shelter." Life is tough. Trouble is inevitable. Tragedy happens. Anxiety threatens to dispirit and engulf us.
Mercifully, this year the High Holidays arrived neither too early nor too late but exactly when we most needed them. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, now Sukkot, soon Simchat Torah - offer respites from the challenges of day-to-day living and the assaults of breaking news. They allow us to sit quietly, to think, to draw upon the experience and wisdom of our deep heritage, to renew our spirits, and then to move forward optimistically and decisively into the new year.
The lessons of the autumn harvest festival of Sukkot are especially relevant, as we consider our connection with the world around us. We gather the four species (the lulav, comprised of palm, myrtle and willow branches, and the etrog, a citrus fruit) to express gratitude for the gifts of nature that sustain us.
We construct the roof of the sukkah of loosely placed palm branches, so celebrants can gaze at the stars - a blessing for city dwellers whose homes shut out not only the vicissitudes but also the splendors of the natural world. "There is no blade of grass, no plant, no flower, without its own star," Midrash teaches us. "That star looks down with light, and says, 'Grow.' "
The humble sukkah stands in stark counterpoint to the homes in which most of us live. It reminds us of the vulnerability we all experience in the natural world, no matter how substantial our dwellings, and it relates us to the particular defenselessness of the poor and homeless.
Sukkot also teaches us the joy of connecting with other people. After all, it's not edifices that make our lives rich and meaningful, but relationships with family, friends and colleagues - those whose caring shelters us with warmth, comfort and support.
"The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL's Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals & Blessings" proposes that as the Sukkot festival draws to a close, we "contemplate how we can continue to bring the feeling of being together" with loved ones, sheltered in the sukkah, throughout the year.
Best wishes for a safe and secure year, brightened by the stars above, in the embrace of those we love.
Contact the writer at flo_eckstein@jewishaz.com.
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