Not a tent, but…

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Yup.  Another holiday.  This is why, when I went to college, one of my professors harangued me that I missed so many days of class the first semester.   That I should stop skipping class.    Even though he lived in New York City, he had no clue how many Jewish holidays there were over the first 30 days of school.  (Hint:  If we use the Jewish month, Tishrei, which corresponds to September/October, we are talking about 12 of the first 23 days- and that doesn’t include Shabat!)

Tonight’s holiday, Sukot (the plural of suka) is one of the three festivals mentioned in the Tora.  It is to remind us  we traveled for 40 years in the desert and lived in these sort of huts- or, maybe, because we needed to preempt the pagan harvest festival that occurred this time of year three millennia ago.  The true cause is truly immaterial.  Because either way, we have found meaning in the suka- to remind us that our lives are transient, our lives are fragile, and our lives require our efforts along with Hashem’s help.

Like the proverbial three pigs, our house of straw, our house of wood- even our house of bricks- doesn’t really protect us.  Just look at all those homes wiped away by Harvey, Irma, and Maria over the past few weeks.

Suka

With its flimsy roof, the portion of the suka always erected last on our suka, we recognize the structure of the suka as a shelter for our faith.  Each new day, we are restored to our souls and our brains by Hashem.  By sitting in this suka, this flimsy structure, we are acknowledging our faith in Hashem, who affords us the ability to enjoy our meal with the stars and the sun up above.

The Suka Roof
Either bamboo or branches can be used as the suka roof

That’s amplified with another of our mitzvot- hachnasat orchim- the welcoming of guests.  Not just the metaphysical guests we invite each night (Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef, and David), but our friends and relatives with whom we share our meals.  That’s another shelter of Sukot.   That of family and friends, being part of something more than ourselves.

And, by saying Kiddush, Birkat HaMazon (the blessing after the meal), and Havdala (the closing prayer of Shabat and holidays) [some of us daven shacharit (the morning prayers), mincha (the afternoon prayers), and/or ma’ariv(the evening prayers)] in our suka, we are reminded that t’fila (prayer) is yet another connection.  Our means to maintain a conversation with Hashem.

Of course, if you have neighbors like we used to have, there’s also the shelter of authenticity.  (This neighbor called the police several times reporting that we built a structure without a permit.) The suka reminds us that this tradition, this tenet of our faith,  dates back at least to the time that we entered the holy land of Israel.  As an agricultural people, our connection with the land, with the food and animals we raised, with the offerings of food to Hashem, this is the last connection to those first Jewish citizens of Israel.   And, maybe even back to our 40 years of traveling in the desert.

And, finally, as we examine the full moon of Sukot, the stars, the sun, the clouds, how can we not recall with awe the creation of this world?  To remind us that this world was created- not finished­-  leaving us as the stewards, the effectors of the perfection of the world.  (We call this charge from the Supreme Being “Tikun Olam”.)

May you truly feel enveloped by the love of your family, friends, and Hashem this Sukot.

See you next Monday.  (Chol Hamoed Sukot- part of the holiday where normal toil is considered permissible.)

I’ll be praying for our peace and happiness till then…

Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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24 thoughts on “Not a tent, but…”

  1. Thank you for this post, Roy. I have often said that if I could choose a faith besides the one I was born into, it would be Judaism. Your traditions resonate with me, and I love learning more.

  2. Roy, thank you for sharing about this festival and its meaning. It’s lovely to learn the meaning of some beliefs/rituals. There is such richness there. I add my prayers for peace and happiness to all as well.

  3. I enjoyed your post very much, as well as the pictures. Too bad you had neighbors report you for your sukkah; sheesh! Shanah tovah! (No, I’m not Jewish, but the G-d I worship is). (Well, actually, I guess I do have Jewish blood in me; my great-grandfather was a rabbi).

  4. What a beautiful testimony to your faith. I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone who actually celebrated this way today. I know my Jewish neighbor while I was growing up didn’t, or if he did it was hidden from his neighbors. He and my dad were best friends.

    As to missing school for Jewish holidays, when I was growing up I had a culturally Christian friend (doubt if he was anything but nominal) who used to miss school often. He looked a bit Jewish, and always told the attendance office it was a Jewish holiday. Since he attended our church youth group, I don’t really think he was celebrating what he claimed. I’m not were back in those days the office even checked to see if it really was a Jewish holiday.
    Barbara Radisavljevic recently posted..Photos of Paso Robles Inn at Dusk

    1. FWIW, Barbara, my step-daughter experienced similar thoughts from others. When her elementary (Catholic, as that was her birth religion) school was having a celebration, she was assigned to bring in some sort of ham dish. Which, of course, she refused. The school angrily called us up to complain about her insolence. And, hung up when I told them we kept kosher.

  5. That is so cool! I did not know about this holiday, I love that you observe it, and that you are sharing your tradition for others to see and appreciate, thank you!

  6. I love to learn about the faith of others. I love the analogy of our faith and lives to the flimsy structure. Each year it is torn down and built again. We are all fragile. Thank you for those words.

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