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September 24, 1999/14 Tishri 5760, Vol. 52, No.4
It's Sukkot time
Be happy and rejoice; celebrate the journey
JILL SUZANNE JACOBS
Jewish Family & Life
After leaving Egypt, the Jewish people dwelt in the desert, protected from the harsh elements by miraculous "clouds of glory" sent by God, which billowed atop the Israelite camp. One tradition holds that the schach, the natural materials used to make the roof of a sukkah (Sukkot booth), represent those clouds, which constituted the first sukkah.
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Coming on the heels of the High Holidays, Sukkot or the Festival of Booths provides both continuity, as well as a startling contrast, to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Sukkot, which falls this year between the 15th and the 21st of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (from this evening, Sept. 24, through Oct. 2) is the third in a series of pilgrimage festivals, which tell the story of the harvest and of the Jewish people.
The first in the series is Passover - the planting of seeds and the Exodus from Egypt. The second is Shavuot - the beginning of the harvest and the day we commemorate the receiving of the Torah. Thirdly, there is Sukkot, which celebrates the end of the harvest, and the days when the Hebrews dwelt in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land, protected from the desert's harsh elements by God and by the thin shelter of miraculous clouds.
The historical and religious roots of Sukkot are somewhat obscure, as it celebrates not an event, but rather a period of time in Jewish history. Yet the mitzvot (commandments) of this holiday provide insight into the holiday's many layers of meaning, as well as the contemporary message that it conveys.
On Sukkot, we have only three obligations: to dwell in the sukkah (booth), an impermanent structure; to wave a long palm-like branch called the lulav, which is a combination of myrtle, palm and willow, and the etrog, a lemon-like fruit; and finally, to be happy and rejoice.
This is in sharp contrast to observing Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, when we spend hours in the synagogue praying and contemplating, reviewing our misdeeds and vowing to change for the better.
On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, God often seems remote, and the liturgy of the season reflects this. God is frequently referred to as a "Ruler" or a "Judge" who sits on a throne on high.
But on Sukkot, as we leave the confines of the synagogue for the great outdoors, God seems closer. We wave the lulav and etrog and call out, "Ana Adonai Hoshiah Na" ("God save us"). It is as if we are shaking God by the lapels and saying, "So, where have you been all this time?"
Outside in the sukkah, with its incomplete roof and temporary walls, we are reminded of the precariousness and the fragility of life. We are reminded of how little control we have over life, how dependent we are on God and nature, and then we are commanded, ironically enough, to find joy in it.
In conjunction with this command, Rabbi Irving Greenberg in his book, "The Jewish Way," teaches us that, "The liberated person is the one who learns to accept the daily challenges of existence as the expression of self-fulfillment and responsibility - True maturity means learning to appreciate the finite rewards of (the) everyday."
Although we leave the High Holidays behind and enter Sukkot with resolutions for the year ahead, the real work begins not when we make those promises, but when we begin to fulfill them. Sukkot, which does not commemorate an event, but rather a journey, contains the implicit challenge to accept the daily complications and frustrations of living, and then to do so with joy.
The Book of Ecclesiastes, which is read each year on Sukkot, echoes this message, reminding us that life is indeed fleeting, and that it is incumbent upon each of us to find "enjoyment with his means" (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
One interpretation of the symbolism of the lulav and etrog likens them to different parts of the body, working in harmony, such as the eyes, ears, lips or spine. Others liken these species to the various segments that come together to make up the Jewish community.
This story was originally published on the Internet at www.jewishfamily.com. Jill Suzanne Jacobs is the Jewish family educator of the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center in Newton, Mass.
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