This Shabbat is a moment of respite from the intensity and deep introspection of the Days of Awe, which concluded with Yom Kippur on Wednesday as we transition into the Joy of Sukkot.
If Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are days when we confront our fallibility and mortality, Sukkot is z’man simchateinu, “the season of our joy,” where we express gratitude for the Earth’s bounty that sustains our lives.
Spending as much time as we can in sukkot, simple booths that are open to the stars and provide some – but not too much – shelter we experience and the simple joy of being alive. The Sukkah strips away all the “things” that we acquire and reminds us life is a gift.
There is a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud over what the Sukkah represents. R’ Eliezer says the sukkah represents the Clouds of Glory (Ananei HaKavod) that God provided to protect the Israelites during their wanderings in the Wilderness, while R’ Akiva says that God provided the Israelites with actual shelters (sukkot) during their wanderings. Each idea represents a different aspect of God’s care for human beings, sometimes that care is spiritual, like the Clouds of Glory, and sometimes that care is physical, like the Sukkah.
What matters most about the holiday of Sukkot is that we should recognize our own fragility and take joy in our relationship with God.
This week’s Torah portion grapples with this too. As we approach the end of the Torah, Moses promises the Israelites that even when they stray God will ultimately take them back in love. Then he leaves the Israelites to ascend Mt. Nevo, where he will die and appoints Joshua to succeed him. The High Holy Days are a time of transition, just like the story in our Torah portion this week. They all remind us that life is always in transition as well. We are always changing and evolving. Let’s give thanks for that opportunity and keep changing for the good.
Ha’Azinu, Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52, Parshat Hashavua for Shabbat, October 8, 2022
October 7, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
This Shabbat is a moment of respite from the intensity and deep introspection of the Days of Awe, which concluded with Yom Kippur on Wednesday as we transition into the Joy of Sukkot.
If Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are days when we confront our fallibility and mortality, Sukkot is z’man simchateinu, “the season of our joy,” where we express gratitude for the Earth’s bounty that sustains our lives.
Spending as much time as we can in sukkot, simple booths that are open to the stars and provide some – but not too much – shelter we experience and the simple joy of being alive. The Sukkah strips away all the “things” that we acquire and reminds us life is a gift.
There is a debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva in the Talmud over what the Sukkah represents. R’ Eliezer says the sukkah represents the Clouds of Glory (Ananei HaKavod) that God provided to protect the Israelites during their wanderings in the Wilderness, while R’ Akiva says that God provided the Israelites with actual shelters (sukkot) during their wanderings. Each idea represents a different aspect of God’s care for human beings, sometimes that care is spiritual, like the Clouds of Glory, and sometimes that care is physical, like the Sukkah.
What matters most about the holiday of Sukkot is that we should recognize our own fragility and take joy in our relationship with God.
This week’s Torah portion grapples with this too. As we approach the end of the Torah, Moses promises the Israelites that even when they stray God will ultimately take them back in love. Then he leaves the Israelites to ascend Mt. Nevo, where he will die and appoints Joshua to succeed him. The High Holy Days are a time of transition, just like the story in our Torah portion this week. They all remind us that life is always in transition as well. We are always changing and evolving. Let’s give thanks for that opportunity and keep changing for the good.